LibGuides: Literature: Reference Works

Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Essay Collections - General

The sources below either cover many different subjects, literature being one, or are not limited to a particular genre or time period.

Britannica Online
Encyclopedia covering a wide variety of subjects.
Gale Literature Resource Center
Encyclopedia and journal articles about writers from a variety of fields and time periods.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Specialized online encyclopedias covering a variety of topics
LION (LIterature ONline)
Provides biographical essays and criticism on authors from all genres and time periods.
MLA Handbook Plus
Online version of the citation style handbook published by the Modern Language Association.
Oxford English Dictionary
Web version of the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.) and the Additions Series. New entries and revisions are added quarterly.
Oxford Reference Online
Reference sources in a single cross-searchable interface plus key titles from the acclaimed Oxford Companion series.
Scribner Writer Series
Literary criticism and overviews of writers from around the world. Antiquity to the present.
Twayne’s Authors
Literary criticism and in-depth introductions to writers from around the world, from antiquity to the present. Also includes essays on specific works.

Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Guides - Specific Topics

American Women Writers, 1900-1945: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook
Offers biographical information and critical reception of major works for women authors who published their most significant works in the first half of the twentieth century.
Bioethics and Medical Issues in Literature
Essays that use literature to explore several scientific and medical issues.
A Companion to World Literature
Covers major authors, texts, and topics from around the globe, from ancient times to the present.
Contemporary Novelists
Essays on contemporary novelists from around the world.
Contemporary Poets
Essays on contemporary poets from around the world.
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism
Provides overviews of particular kinds of literary theory.
Modern South Asian Literature in English Literature
Covers Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan writers.
Oxford Companion to the Book
Edited by Michael F. Suarez and H. R. Woudhuysen. Covers the history of the book from antiquity to the present.
Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics 2012
Covers all aspects of poetry, including terminology and history. 2012 edition. Also contains link to the 1993 edition, The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism
Covers eight key subject areas including Literature, Architecture, Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Theatre, Film, and Intellectual Currents. Over one thousand articles, global in scope, with interdisciplinary content on the Modernist period.
Third World Women's Literatures: A Dictionary and Guide to Materials in English
Essays on authors, works, and themes.
UXL Graphic Novelists
Essays on major writers and artists.

Other General Reference Works on the Web

Bibliography of Literary Theory, Criticism and Philology
Lists over 130,000 items with a focus on English-speaking authors.
Biography.com
Includes an online version of the Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia (1994) containing about 20,000 short biographies.
Cambridge History of English and American Literature
Includes all eighteen volumes of the classic literary encyclopedia.
Literary Dictionary
(edited by Robert Clark, Emory Elliot and Janet Todd)
Pulitzer Prizes
"Documenting 80 years of American intellectual and artistic excellence in journalism, letters, drama, and music."
Style/Usage Manuals
Guide to citation styles from the MIT Libraries.

Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Global Languages, Literature, Philosophy, and Theater Arts Librarian; Acting Program Head for Teaching and Learning

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Literature: Reference Works

Table of Contents

Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Essay Collections - General

Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Guides - Specific Topics

Other General Reference Works on the Web

Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Global Languages, Literature, Philosophy, and Theater Arts Librarian; Acting Program Head for Teaching and Learning

More ways to get help