Literary Reference Center is a full-text database that combines information from major respected reference works, books, literary journals as well as original content from EBSCO Publishing. Literary Reference Center contains full text for more than 31,000 plot summaries, synopses and work overviews, nearly 100,000 articles/essays of literary criticism, more than 159,000 author biographies (including more than 22,000 in-depth bios), 450 literary journals, more than 632,000 book reviews, more than 69,000 classic and contemporary poems, more than 18,000 classic and contemporary short stories, more than 5,600 author interviews, more than 8,200 classic texts and much more.
Helpful Resources on Literary Theory & Criticism
Not sure how to use an outside source? Feeling overwhelmed?
The resources below can help solve some of your "Critical Essay Writing" questions.
How to use literary quotations
Information from the University of Wisconsin's Writing Center about how to include literary quotes and analysis from other authors as a way to emphasize your own ideas.
Literary Analysis Guide
Here you will find principles from Goshen College on how to analyze a passage of text. Examples are included.
Literary theory and schools of criticism
Feminist criticism? Decontructionism? New Historicism? Find out more about these literary theories and more and Purdue's OWL sites.
Reading criticism
Useful tips and tricks for how to actively reading criticism of literature from Purdue University's OWL (Online Writing Lab).
Writing about literature
From the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University, this site provides a helpful introduction to writing about literature, including how to choose a topic, develop a thesis statement, start your research, and more.
