{"id":112,"date":"2019-12-12T00:22:51","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T00:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jefferson-english102\/chapter\/finding-literary-criticism-american-literature-i\/"},"modified":"2019-12-13T16:46:06","modified_gmt":"2019-12-13T16:46:06","slug":"finding-literary-criticism-american-literature-i","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jefferson-english102\/chapter\/finding-literary-criticism-american-literature-i\/","title":{"raw":"Finding Literary Criticism","rendered":"Finding Literary Criticism"},"content":{"raw":"
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Literary criticism is writing that explores the meaning of works of literature. Among other things, literary criticism analyzes works of literature in terms of their historical and literary context. It can also examine a particular type of literature or compare different works by the same author or works by different authors.<\/p>\r\n

Literary criticism analyzes fiction, poetry, drama and some types of non-fiction by considering key issues such as plot, character, setting, theme, imagery, and voice. Literary criticism may also consider the effectiveness of a work of literature, but it\u2019s important to note that in this context the word \u201ccriticism\u201d doesn\u2019t simply mean finding fault with the writing but rather looking at it from a critical or analytical viewpoint in order to understand it better.<\/p>\r\n

It\u2019s also important to note that literary criticism involves more than just summarizing the plot or offering biographical information about the author.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Evaluating Sources of Literary Criticism<\/h2>\r\n

If you\u2019re asked to find\u00a0scholarly<\/em>\u00a0sources of literary criticism, you should look for journals that are peer-reviewed. In other words, before articles are accepted for publication in the journal, they\u2019re reviewed by other scholars. Articles in a scholarly journal will also include citations for other works that are referenced. Scholarly books, likewise, will document their sources and are usually written by someone affiliated with a college or university and published by a university press. Sometimes a book of literary criticism is actually a compilation of articles that have previously appeared in journals. If that\u2019s the case, you can try to ascertain the nature of the journal in question.<\/p>\r\n

Even if you know an article has come from a peer-reviewed journal, you may still wonder about its relevance, particularly if the work or author you\u2019re researching is one that\u2019s been studied extensively. One way to get more information about a source is to type the title of the article into Google Scholar and see how many times it\u2019s been cited. The higher the number, the more likely it is that the article is influential\u2014or at least controversial. You can do a similar search to learn more about the reputation of a journal, book, or author.<\/p>\r\n

Finally, when looking for critical work, don\u2019t rely on sources like SparkNotes, which provide help for students but are not considered reputable scholarly sources.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Sources of Literary Criticism<\/h2>\r\n

An ideal placeto begin your search for literary criticism is the English subject guide on the TAMU libraries\u2019 website: library.tamu.edu\/subject-guides\/English. We also recommend their handout \u201cStarting Points for Literary Criticism.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Here are some of the useful links you\u2019ll find on the library website:<\/p>\r\n

ABELL (Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature):<\/strong>\u00a0This database includes English-language articles, books, and reviews published since 1920 on English language and literature, traditional culture and bibliography. It also includes unpublished dissertations from the years 1920-1999. It covers English, American and Commonwealth writers.<\/p>\r\n

Academic Search Complete: EBSCO<\/strong>: This online database, a general source for scholarly works in a variety of disciplines, covers works on the literature of all languages. The database covers almost 11,000 publications and offers full text on about 5,000 of those.<\/p>\r\n

Modern Language Association (MLA) International Bibliograghy:\u00a0<\/strong>This is a key resource for information on literature, linguistics, and folklore. The database includes more than 4,000 journals in the field, as well as books, collections of essays, dissertations and other bibliographies. It covers work from 1920 to the present. When searching, you can specify the kind of references you want, i.e. books, journals, websites. You can also choose only those listings that link to a full text version of the material. You can also set the search parameters to show you only scholarly (peer reviewed) journals or you can request entries within a certain timeframe, such as only those published after the year 2000.<\/p>\r\n

The TAMU library\u2019s English subject page also links to databases geared to specific time periods (such as Brepolis Medieval Bibliographies) and those pertaining to certain types of literature (such as the Children\u2019s Literature Database).<\/p>\r\n

A few other resources you may want to investigate:<\/p>\r\n

African American Review:<\/strong>\u00a0This online journal specifically focuses on African American literature and ethnic studies, \u201c[providing] a lively exchange between writers and scholars in the arts, humanities, and social sciences who hold diverse perspectives on African American literature and culture.\u201d The website features full-text online access to back issues.<\/p>\r\n

American Literary Scholarship:<\/strong>\u00a0This journal offers current critical analysis of American literature. Among the writers discussed are Whitman, Hawthorne, Poe, Melville, Twain, and Faulkner. It is available in print at PS3.A47 or electronically.<\/p>\r\n

A Handbook to Literature:<\/strong>\u00a0A collection of defined literary terms, movements, and theories, this text is edited by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman\u00a0and is easy to use. It is available in print at PN41 .H355 2000.<\/p>\r\n

Literary Research: A Guide to Reference Sources for the Study of Literature in English and Related Topics:<\/strong>\u00a0This book, published in 1993, is helpful for locating other bibliographies for English and American literature by period. It also provides a list of related topics (music, science, art, etc.) that may also be useful. The book is edited by James Harner and is available in print at Z2011.H34 1993.<\/p>\r\n

The Year\u2019s Work in English Studies:<\/strong>\u00a0This bibliography lists and assesses the scholarly literary criticism published in a given year. The information is presented according to major literary periods, such as \u201cAmerican Literature to 1900\u201d and can also be searched by author. It can be accessed at:\u00a0ywes.oxfordjournals.org\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Also recommended for you:<\/h2>\r\n

Literary Terms<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Analyzing Novels & Short Stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Analyzing Plays<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Analyzing Poetry<\/a><\/div>\r\n
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