Links to Literary Analysis and Criticism Resources

Students interested in doing literary research and finding literary resources for a paper may find this guide a useful starting point. We've compiled a list of library databases as well as links to helpful websites. 

Featured literature databases provided by the Long Hill Township Library
	Bloom's Literary Reference Online	Use Bloom’s Literary Online Reference to get started on doing research on a literature topic. Bloom's includes biographical information on authors plus critical information on their works and characters within the works.
	Literary Reference Center (Ebsco)	Ebsco Literary Reference Center includes biographies of authors, plus plot summaries and criticism of their works.
	NoveList: Your Guide to Fiction	Looking for a good book to read? Try Novelist Plus. A reader’s advisory tool for all ages providing reviews and notes for over 200,000 fiction and nonfiction titles. Includes series information for fiction titles, author read-alikes, book discussion guides, and more.
	JerseyClicks (New Jersey's statewide portal for searching the statewide full-text databases offered by the New Jersey State Library, the New Jersey Library Network)	These high quality databases cover subjects such as health, history, business, education, science, current events, literature, and popular fiction.
Watchung Hills Regional High School Literary Pathfinders & Citation Guides

American Authors

http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/aufram.html 

Links to brief biographical material, bibliographies of authors' works, plus literary criticism bibliographies for authors of American literature. Also includes a timeline of American literature and information on literary movements.

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature

http://www.bartleby.com/cambridge 

An online, full-text encyclopedia of literary history and criticism. Encompasses a variety of genres (poetry, drama, essay, humor and more), as well as magazines and newspapers. Other topics are writings on travel/exploration, economics, philosophy, theology, politics. German, French, and Yiddish writings are also included.

Cliff Notes 

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature-study-guides.html

Trustworthy study guides written by real teachers and professors.

Glossary of Literary Terms

http://virtualsalt.com/litterms.htm 

An excellent reference tool for finding a term and examples of it.

Literary History

http://www.literaryhistory.com 

Covering more than 250 major British and American authors from the 16th through 20th centuries, this site has links to full-text scholarly articles of literary criticism (screened by a literary scholar), as well as web sites and online bibliographies. 

Online Literary Criticism Collection

http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit 

Contains 1,253 critical and biographical web sites, searchable by author and by literary period.

Online Symbolism Dictionary

http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html 

A helpful page about the "cultural significances of various symbols and...ways in which those symbols may have been used in context." 

PAL: Perspectives in American Literature

http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/home.htm 

A site devoted to American literature from the Puritans to the present day. Organized by time period and literary movement, with introductory overviews, and bibliographies by author. Also covers literary styles, research, citing, and other tools.

ReadWriteThink  

http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp

With this collection of interactive tools, students (K-12) can explore elements of books & stories; develop characters; create poems, comic strips, newspapers, flyers, & booklets; organize & outline essays; generate letters; improve vocabulary; and much more. (International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English)

Shmoop Literature Analysis of Classics

http://www.shmoop.com/literature/

Shmoop will make you a better lover of literature, history, life. See many sides to the argument. Find your writing groove. Understand how lit and history are relevant today. We want to show your brain a good time.

SparkNotes: Perspectives in American Literature

http://www.sparknotes.com/

SparkNotes guides contain thorough summaries and insightful critical analyses. They provide guides for English literature and Shakespeare and a number of guides for other subjects.  Their No Fear Shakespeare provides side-by-side translations of Shakespeare into plain English. 

Twentieth Century American and British Poetry

http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/20CAmericanandBritish.htm 

Direct links to high-quality literary criticism from open access sources that meet standards of academic scholarship. Criticism covers over two hundred 20th century British and American poets, organized by school and literary movement. 

World Literature

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/worldlit2e/full/welcome.htm

 A web companion to The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 'designed as a springboard to help students extend their exploration of world literature and identify and frame topics for writing and research,' this site features overviews, outlines, summaries, quizzes, audio glossary, timelines, discovery modules, and more. See also Western Literature, a web companion to The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. College level (W.W. Norton & Co.). Invitation to World Literature  is 'a multimedia series introducing drama, epic poetry, and novels from many times and cultures. Thirteen half-hour videos form the centerpiece of the project, and feature a mix of writers, scholars, artists, and performers with personal connections to world literature, from Philip Glass to Alan Cumming, Wole Soyinka to Kristin Chenoweth, all brought together by Professor David Damrosch of Harvard University, a world-renowned expert on world literature.' (Annenberg Foundation).