The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language by American Heritage Dictionary EditorsThe much-anticipated Fifth Edition of The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language is the premier resource about words for people who seek to know more and find fresh perspectives. Exhaustively researched and thoroughly revised, the Fifth Edition contains 10,000 new words and senses, over 4,000 dazzling new full-color images, and authoritative, up-to-date guidance on usage from the celebrated American Heritage® Usage Panel.
Call Number: REF PE1628 .A623 2011
ISBN: 9780547041018
Publication Date: 2011
British Writers by Ian Scott (Editor); George Stade (Editor)The Scribner Writers Series has set the standard for literary reference for more than 25 years. In addition to addressing the lives and careers of important writers, the articles discuss the themes and styles of major works and place them in pertinent historical, social and political contexts for today's readers. Novelists, playwrights, essayists, poets, short story writers, and more recently, genre writers in science fiction and mystery, are all expertly discussed in the more than 16 sets comprising this series. Seventy of the most requested authors from the 11-vol. British Writers Series are now collected in a 3-vol. set. With contents chosen by teachers and librarians, the more affordable Selected Authors contains the full-text articles of the essential authors studied in every school's British literature curriculum.
Call Number: PR19 .B68 1997
ISBN: 0684805189
Publication Date: 1997-06-01
Chronology of English Literature by Michael Cox (Editor)This chronology includes nearly 30,000 works by more than 4000 authors, covering fiction, poetry, drama, literary scholarship and non-fiction. Each entry includes invaluable subsidiary information.
Call Number: PR87 .O98 2002
ISBN: 0198606397
Publication Date: 2002-01-01
Classical Literature and Its Times by Joyce Moss; David Galens< I>World Literature and Its Times< /I> helps students and researchers make connections between political/social climate during which books were written and the works themselves. Each volume focuses on major fiction, poetry and nonfiction from a particular country and region, representing approximately 50 works. The detailed essays are approximately 10 pages in length and offer the following features: < ul>< li> Introductory profile -- an overview that discuss genre, time, place and other important elements with a synopsis and introduction that places the work in the context of the authors' life < li> Events in history -- a report on the social, political and cultural climate relevant to the work, including primary source documents, charts, timelines and other illustrative materials < li> Literary work in focus -- three sections that place the work in context with an in-depth summary, related history and historical sources < li>Sources for more information -- full citations offering additional sources of information < /ul>< P>Additional features include illustrations; maps; author and title tables of contents; sidebars; timelines; advisor information; and an alphabetical index of authors, titles, events and personalities. < P>The series contains eight volumes covering the following literatures: < ul>< li> < I>Latin American literature < li> African literature < li> British & Irish literature< /I> (2 volumes - < I>The Victorian Era to the Present< /I> and < I>Celtic Migrations to the Reform Bill < /I>)< li> < I>Spanish & Portuguese literature < li> Middle Eastern literature < li> Italian literature < li> Classic literature < /I>< /ul>
Encyclopedia of American Literature by Jay Parini (Editor)This four-volume set covers American literature, from the European discovery of America to the present, with entries in alphabetical order. It includes 350 substantive critical and interpretive essays on the most-studied American authors, literary masterworks, and genres or movements.
v. 1. Literary theory from 1900 to 1966
v. 2. Literary theory from 1966 to the presentv. 3. Cultural theory
Literary Movements for Students"Literary Movements for Students is designed to meet the needs of students and researchers studying literary movements and the specific works representative of various movements. Entries provide in-depth historical background information on each movement as well as modern critical interpretation of each movement's characteristic styles and themes. Approximately 25 movements are covered, including absurdism, Greek drama, modernism, science fiction/fantasy, surrealism and many others.
The Oxford English Dictionary by Edmund S. Weiner (Editor); John Simpson (Editor)The Oxford English Dictionary is the ultimate authority on the usage and meaning of English words and phrases, and a fascinating guide to the evolution of our language. It traces the usage, meaning and history of words from 1150 AD to the present day. No dictionary of any language approaches the OED in thoroughness, authority, and wealth of linguistic information. The OED defines over half a million words, and includes almost 2.4 million illustrative quotations, providing an invaluable record of English throughout the centuries. The 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. The OED has a unique historical focus. Accompanying each definition is a chronologically arranged group of quotations that trace the usage of words, and show the contexts in which they can be used. The quotations are drawn from a huge variety of international sources - literary, scholarly, technical, popular - and represent authors as disparate as Geoffrey Chaucer and Erica Jong, William Shakespeare and Raymond Chandler, Charles Darwin and John Le Carr#65533;. In all, nearly 2.5 million quotations can be found in the OED . Other features distinguishing the entries in the Dictionary are authoritative definitions of over 500,000 words; detailed information on pronunciation using the International Phonetic Alphabet; listings of variant spellings used throughout each word's history; extensive treatment of etymology; and details of area of usage and of any regional characteristics (including geographical origins).
Salem Literature
This includes Masterplots; Critical Insights series on the themes of Dystopia, Good and Evil, Nature and the Environment, Technology and Humanity, The Hero’s Quest, and War. The Critical Surveys series includes Long Fiction, Graphic Novels: Manga, Graphic Novels: History, Theme, and Technique, Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore: World Mythology.
Reference sources can provide you with valuable information such as:
Background information
Important figures
Dates, places, and people
Definitions and key terms
Lists of additional sources (articles, books, etc.)
They are an excellent way to begin your research by allowing you to become familiar with the topic in preparation to choose the best articles, books, and additional resources.