English Language Literature
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Background Information
Benet's Readers Encyclopedia - PN 41 B4 1996 Main Reference
Includes information for the general reader on writers, literary movements, works, historical perspectives, etc.
Encyclopædia Britannica (Available only to UA Students, Faculty, & Staff)
Concise as well as scholarly articles on a wide range of subjects.
Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory PN98.W64 E53 1997 Main Reference
A dictionary of feminist literary criticism
Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century PN 771 E5 1981 Main Reference
Includes information on individual writers, literary movements, and national literatures.
Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature - PN 41 M42 1995 Main Reference
"Comprehensive coverage of literatures of the world." Includes information on literary characters, plot summaries, terminology, etc.
Online version available through the Literature Resource Center.
Middle English Compendium
An electronic version of the Middle English Dictionary, a HyperBibliography of Middle English prose and verse, based on the MED bibliographies, and an associated network of electronic resources, including a large collection of Middle English texts.
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - The Roget's II: The New Thesaurus website contains 35,000 synonyms in an easy-to-use format and features succinct word definitions and an innovative hyperlinked category index.
Oxford Companion to American Literature - PS21 .H3 Main Reference
Short summaries of biographical information, important works, definitions, literary movements, by alphabetical arrangement.
Oxford Companion to English Literature - PR19 .D73 Main Reference
Designed to "quickly, easily and clearly satisfy the immediate curiosity of the...reader"
Oxford English Dictionary Online- Print Equivalent: Oxford English Dictionary. PE1625 .O87 1989 Main Ref.
Contains the complete text of the OED's 20-volume Second Edition. The Oxford English Dictionary is the most comprehensive dictionary of the English language. It traces the development of English from approximately 1150 AD up to the present day. A wide variety of English dialects are included.
Shakespeare Glossary [Click on Reference Shelf on lower left frame to select the glossary]
An aid to the study of Shakespeare. Compiled originally by C. T. Onions, one of the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, it concentrates on explaining those words whose senses or connotations would be unfamiliar to a modern reader. Dialect forms, idioms, and colloquial phrases receive special attention.
See also:
English Majors' Library Research Guide
American Indian Studies Research Guide
Creative Writing Research Guide
Women's Studies Research Guide
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