Literary Reference Works
Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia
Publication
- book, 1987
- Siepmann, Katherine Baker. Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia. New
York: Harper-Collins, 1987.
- PN41 .B4 1991
Contents
- Writers, such as Homer, Sappho, Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare,
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Virginia Woolf, and Ralph Ellison
- Important poems, short stories, novels, plays, essays, and other works,
such as Poema del Cid, "The Metamorphosis," Pride and
Prejudice, Hedda Gabler, Areopagitica, and Life on
the Mississippi
- Major literary characters, such as Lazarus, Cassandra, and Donna Inez
- Major periods in history and literature, such as the Ciceronian Age
- Important historical events and persons, such as the French Revolution,
the Trojan War, Elizabeth I, and Confucious
- Overviews of Chinese literature, German romanticism, the French Renaissance,
and other literary fields and movements
- Other terms and tidbits, such as free verse, the underground railroad,
the unities, music of the spheres, and karma
- "Benet's also contains general essays that give the reader
an even wider range of information, as well as a number of special-interest
entries. Such entries are Afro-American literature, Asian-American literature,
children's literature, drama, feminism, humor, Jewish-American literature,
literary criticism, magazines, motion pictures, Native American prose and
poetry, science fiction and fantasy, the short story, and the South"
(Kimmel, Jeremy. Journal for English 28. University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. August 28, 1996.)
Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
Publication
- book, 1995
- Kuiper, Kathleen. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature.
Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1995.
Contents
- Major writers, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf,
and Jorge Luis Borges
- Major works, such as Oedipus the King, Paradise
Lost,Frankenstein,
and Black Boy
- Important characters, such as Achilles, Merlin, Shylock, and the Snopes
family
- Literary terms, such as epic, essay, Shakespearean sonnet, stanza,
and novel
- Other items relevant to the study of literature, such as Restoration
literature, Expressionism, and Harlem Renaissance
A Handbook to
Literature
Publication
- book, 1992
- Holman, C. Hugh, and William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature.
Sixth Edition. New York: Macmillan, 1992.
- PN41 .H6 1992
Contents
- Literary terms, such as "anaphora," "naive narrator,"
"plot," and "symbol"
- Other terms and concepts relevant to the study of literature, such
as "Great Chain of Being" and "Enlightenment"
- Index of authors
- Timeline of literary history
The Oxford Companion to the English Language
Publication
- book, 1992
- McArthur, Tom, ed. The Oxford Companion to the English Language.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Contents
- Linguistic terms and phenomena, such as absolute, dialect, diphthong,
fricative, and jargon
- Important linguists, such as Noam Chomsky and Edward Sapir
- Important works, such as Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language
and Oxford English Dictionary
- Overviews of Old, Middle, and Modern English
- Other names and tidbits, such as Winston Churchill, Louise Pound, freedom
of the press, and Linguistic Society of America
American Authors 1600-1900
Publication
- book, 1938
- Kunitz, Stanley J., and Howard Haycraft, eds. American Authors 1600-1900:
A Biographical Dictionary of American Literature. New York: H.W. Wilson,
1938.
- PS21 .K8
Contents
- Jonathan Edwards
- T.D. English
- Herman Melville
- Frank Stockton
- R.H. Stoddard
- hundreds of others
Entry
- biographical sketch
- principal works
- secondary works
American Literary Scholarship
Publication
- serial, 1965-
- American Literary Scholarship. Ed. Gary Scharnhorst. Durham:
Duke University Press, 1995.
- PS3 .A47
Contents
- Annual survey of critical books and articles written about American
authors
- Chapters on major writers and periods
- Index of authors
- Index of subjects
Entry
- trends: Puritan studies are down, while studies of Enlightenment writers
are up
- criticism on authors
Contemporary Literary Critics
Publication
- book, 1982
- Borklund, Elmer. Contemporary Literary Critics. 2nd ed. New
York: Macmillan, 1982.
Contents
- Leon Edel
- F.O. Matthiessen
- Richard Chase
- dozens of others
Entry
- vital statistics: birthdate, positions
- publications
- review of work
Fifteen American Authors Before 1900
Publication
- book, 1984
- Herbert, Earl P., and Robert A. Rees, eds. Fifteen American Authors
Before 1900. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984.
Contents
- Henry Adams
- William Cullen Bryant
- James Fenimore Cooper
- Stephen Crane
- Emily Dickinson
- Jonathan Edwards
- Benjamin Franklin
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
- William Dean Howells
- Washington Irving
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- James Russell Lowell
- Frank Norris
- Edward Taylor
- John Greenleaf Whittier
Entry
- bibliographical works
- editions, translations
- criticism
- biographies
- criticism
- source studies
- influence studies
- works on aesthetic concerns
- genre studies
- cultural studies
The Oxford Companion to American Literature
Publication
- book, 1995
- Hart, James D. The Oxford Companion to American Literature.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
- PS21 .H3 1995
Contents
- American authors, such as Cotton Mather, Kate Chopin, Ernest Hemingway,
and Amy Tan
- Historical persons and events, such as Andrew Jackson and the French
and Indian Wars
- Literary clubs, such as the Saturday Club and the Junto
- Major literary characters, such as the Sartoris family and John Henry
- Major poems, short stories, novels, essays, and other works, such as
Evangeline, The Fall of the House of Usher, O Pioneers!,
Nature, and Black Boy
- Literary movements, such as Transcendentalism and Naturalism
- Important periodicals, such as The Dial, The Liberator and
The Atlantic Monthly
- Real and fictional places of significance in American literature, such
as Harlem and Yoknapatawpha County
- Major literary critics, such as R.W.B. Lewis and Perry Miller
- Other terms and tidbits, such as Mingo, Millerites, the Wildnerness
Road, and winners of Pulitzer Prizes
Reference Guide to American Literature
Publication
- book, 1987
- Kirkpatrick, D.L., ed. Reference Guide to American Literature.
2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1987. PS21 .R43
Contents
- Introduction
- Writers
- Works
- Chronology
- Title index
Entry
- vital statistics: birthdate, schools, jobs
- publications: collections, poetry, fiction, nonfiction
- critical studies
- overview: genre, style and literary theory, biography, themes, significance
The Almanac of American Letters
Publication
- book, 1981
- Nelson, Randy F. The Almanac of American Letters. Los Altos,
Calif.: William Kaufmann, 1981. PS 92 .N37
Contents
- Facts and Figures: first press in each state, literary clubs
- Calendar of birthdates
- Names: sobriquets, pseudonyms
- Collector's Items
- Bestsellers
- Losers: books that did not win the Pulitzer Prize, worst sellers
- Banned in Boston and Elsewhere
- Quotations
- Realities behind Evangeline, Charlotte Temple, and other
works
- Hoaxes, Forgeries, Frauds, Thefts
- Phenomena
- Anecdotes
- Chronology
- Bibliography
- Index