Library Research Guides: WRIT 120: Critical Interpretation: Home

Background & Overviews

Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Biographies, bibliographies and full-text critical analysis of authors from all genres and eras, including the contents of Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, and Contemporary Literary Criticism.

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Over 1,100 entries on the history, theory, technique, and criticism of poetry, including coverage of more than 100 nations, regions, and languages.

SuperSearch

SuperSearch is a great place to start for journal articles, books and almost everything else the library has, in one easy to use interface.

For searching with more focus and precision, try one of the databases recommended on this guide.

Key Databases for Literary Criticism

Databases can contain a combination of full-text articles (ready to read online) and/or citation information about articles, book chapters, or books.

MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
This is the most comprehensive database for finding scholarly articles, books, and book chapters on literature and related fields, from the latest scholarship back to the 1880s. Use the "Find it! @Wellesley" link to get the full text. If we don't have it, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan.
Literature Online (LION) This link opens in a new window
Literary criticism from over 400 journals, along with thousands of literary texts from 1600 to the present. Focused on literature in English. Includes the Cambridge Companions, a series of accessible introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics, and periods.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Biographies, bibliographies and full-text critical analysis of authors from all genres and eras, including the contents of Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, and Contemporary Literary Criticism.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
This database contains scholarly journal articles in many disciplines, including literature and history. For most journals, it does not contain articles from the most recent 3-5 years.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Academic journals and books in the humanities and social sciences.

Key Databases for Historical Research

America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window
U.S. and Canadian history and culture articles, prehistory to present, written from 1955 to present.
Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Articles on world history from 1450, excluding US & Canada, written since 1955. Can be co-searched with America: History & Life

Find Books in the Catalog

Key Databases With Primary Source Materials

Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
EEBO contains searchable and browsable page images of virtually every work printed in the English-speaking world from 1473 to 1700, as well as some items printed after 1700.
America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Searchable full-text of more than 1,000 historical U.S. newspapers. The core of this database is Early American Newspapers, 1690-1922, searchable along with African American Newspapers, 1827-1998, and Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection, 1799-1971.
British Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Searchable full-text page images of more than 460 British periodicals from 1681 to 1939, covering literature, philosophy, history, science, fine arts, and social sciences (British Periodicals Collections I-II)

For more about primary source materials and databases with primary source materials, visit these research guides:

Search Tips

Use synonyms and truncation to find the different ways your topic might be expressed—computers are very literal
Combine multiple concepts using AND / OR for best results

sample topic: Cultural identity in the poetry of Li-Young Lee

(identity OR self) - synonyms

AND (cultur* OR ethnic* OR immigra* OR Asian American) - truncation

AND Li-Young Lee

AND poetry

Not finding enough, or found an item that's checked out?
Search WorldCat and request a copy.

WRIT 120: Critical Interpretation

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