What is Literary Criticism?
“The analysis and judgment of works of literature. The body of principles by which the work of writers is judged. Note: The principles used in judging a literary work vary from the highly personal and subjective to the relatively objective; they may involve but are not limited to specific consideration of moral values, historical accuracy, and literary form and type; they may be different from one literary period to another.”
Where can I find literary criticism about a specific book or work?
These are the resources that contain critical analysis and interpretations of a work.
Internet Resources
♦ Internet Public Library. http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/
Browse by the title of the work or by literary period.
♦ Online Literary Criticism Guide. http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/guide.html
♦ Library Spot-Literary Criticism. http://www.libraryspot.com/litcrit.htm
♦ Librarians’ Index to the Internet. http://lii.org/
Print Resources
Gale Literary Criticism Resources:
Indexes to Gale Resources can be found online at http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitIndex
♦ Contemporary Literary Criticism
R 809 CON
♦ Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism
R 809 TWE
♦ Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800
R 809 LIT
♦ Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
R 809 NIN
♦ Short Story Criticism
R 809 SHO
For more print resources on literary criticisms, check 809 in both the circulating and reference sections, do a subject search of the name of the work in the online library catalog, or ask a librarian for help.
Where can I find definitions of terms or concepts?
These are resources that will help define and describe different literary words or phrases.
Internet Resources
♦ A Glossary of Literary Terms. http://www.virtualsalt.com/litterms.htm
♦ A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices. http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm
Print Resources
A Glossary of Literary Terms
803 ABR 1988
R 803 ABR 1988
A Dictionary of Literary Terms
803 CUD
A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms
803 QUI
California State Board of Education. (2005). Glossary – English-language arts content standards. Retrieved April 25, 2005, from http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/engglossary.asp