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Subject/Bibliography Guide: Literature in English Overview Berkowitz (2010) asks, How can one think independently about what kind of life to live without acquiring familiarity with the ideas about happiness and misery, exaltation and despair, nobility, and baseness that study of literaturebrings to life?

Literature is the core of all humanities; its study offers the student the opportunity to express his or her interpretation of original and secondary sources in the context of that individuals total experience and understanding. (Stone, 1982) Literature in English dates from the 6th century and is defined as the literary output of the United Kingdom that appears in English. (Blazek & Aversa, 2000). Basic genres are fiction, poetry, drama, literary criticism, and oratory, and have been written in Old, Middle, and Modern English as the language has adapted over the centuries. Whether its Shakespeare or Shaw, literature study enriches the readers experience and leads to understanding texts in relation to the history and culture of the authors era. Barrett (2005) observes humanists pleasure in browsing library stacks, without assistance, leafing through the pages of original and secondary sources. Carr (2005) explains that journals are also important sources to stimulate critical thinking. The humanist must weigh the benefits of using new technologies against the time required to learn them, but Bates (1996) notes that user-friendly, indexed, faceted, online databases that contain resources with historical and geographical depth will better accommodate the humanists information-seeking behavior. Human interpretation is the heart of the humanities. (Welshons, 2006) Use this research guide to make your interpretation remarkable.

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Library of Congress Call Numbers

PE: English PN: Literature (General) PR: English Literature Z: Bibliography, Directory, or Annual

General Reference Works Bibliography: Bracken, J. K. (1998). Reference works in British and American literature (2nd ed.). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. Bibliographic information on over 1500 authors born between the 6th and 20th centuries is easily located in this volume, providing useful evaluations, critical interpretations, and description of content. Resource types include bibliographies, indexes and concordances, collections of quotations, journals, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and periodicals. The author includes Internet supplements but notes that, only a few electronic resources can guarantee that they will be locatable tomorrow. Includes chronological and nationality indexes. Bateson, F. W., & Meserole, H. T. (1976). A guide to English and American literature (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Longman, Inc. The fundamental principle of this extensive bibliography is to understand that literature is, thematically and stylistically affected by the historical period in which it is written. Introductory chapters addressing Approaches to Medieval, Renaissance, Augustan, Romantic, and Modern literature preface each eras reading list. Resources include commentary on literary criticism, literary

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histories, anthologies, journals, and surveys. Browse the principal writers (arranged in birth order), or use the index to locate specific subjects and authors.

Encyclopedia: Birch, D. (Ed.). (2009). The Oxford companion to English literature (7th ed.). Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press. The self-contained, clearly written entries in this encyclopedia attest to the claim that the work remains a true standard in the field, with a reputation for brevity, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. Added features include plot summaries, cross references, Chronology of Principal Literary Works, and lists of literary award winners. Four thought-provoking essays on Literary Culture and the Novel, Cultures of Reading, Black British Literature, and Childrens Literature are included. Use this source to start research projects. Murphy, B. F. (Ed.). (2008) Benets readers encyclopedia (5th ed.). New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. This straightforward encyclopedic handbook has been a standard in the field, emphasizing world literature. The latest edition expands its focus to include more African-American writers, women, and multi-cultural influences. The information is organized without the need for an additional index; cross-references are numerous and easily followed. Literature topics include plot summaries, character descriptions, literary terms, allusions, and movements. Poets, critics, dramatists, and writers of prose are mixed with scientists, artists, saints, philosophers, and composers.

Dictionary: Grote, D. (1992). British English for American readers: A dictionary of the language, customs, and places of British life and literature. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

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Grotes dictionary serves as a quick reference for words which require more than an approximate understanding when reading British literature. Part guidebook, part literary chitchat, part history, part almanac, all combined in one single volume, a student will enjoy reading it from A to Z. Definitions and etymology, geographic context, social class structure, titles, customs and more make this an essential reference.

Soanes, C. & Stevenson, A. (2008). Concise Oxford English dictionary (11th ed.). Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press. This dictionary uses modern, standard English to define the core meaning of each word. Alternate definitions are organized to show direct, logical relationships between the uses of a word. Words which may be disputed have phonetic pronunciations, and scientific and technical words have been updated (e.g., metadata, carbon footprint). Wordsmiths who detest blatherskites will revel in the Fascinating Words section.

Guide or Handbook: Holman, C. H., & Harmon, W. (2008). A Handbook to literature (11th ed.). New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Co. Whatever the genre (fiction, poetry, or drama), everyone can gain a better understanding of English literature with this engaging encyclopedia of literary terms and criticism. Definitions are easily understood and include cross references and examples. Browsing the text can lead to the discovery of new authors and titles. The Index of Proper Names and Outline of Literary History make this a must have.

Baker, N. L., & Huling, N. (2006). A research guide for undergraduate students: English and American literature (6th ed.). New York, NY: Modern Language Association of America.

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In an era when research on every subject begins on the Web, this informative paperback is to be purchased and absorbed. Written and oral communication in English is the foundation of all undergraduate studies; students should use this primer source, packed with examples and illustrations, as a springboard to collegiate studies. Bibliophiles can rely on the authors recommendations to begin building personal libraries.

Biographical: Scott-Kilvert, I. (Ed.). (1979). British Writers (Vols. 1-8). New York, NY: Charles Scribner. When time constraints curtail the ability to read entire biographies, start with this source. It is an extensive eight-volume compilation of essays from distinguished scholars and critics, about British authors who have made a significant contribution to English literature. Excerpts and illustrations of poetry and prose are included and bibliographies offer suggestions for additional study. Hawkins-Dady, M. (1996). Readers guide to literature in English. Chicago, IL: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. This guide is especially appropriate for college level studentsseeking to review an author or a literary topic. Alphabetical entries include authors, genres, historical periods, and types of literary criticism, each one beginning with a suggested bibliography, and discussion of the merits of each source. Researchers can learn which authors and genres were popular in the Thematic List, and a Booklist Index refers readers to books and articles which are discussed in the text.

Directory or Annual: Lowe, G. (Ed.). (2008). Annual bibliography of English language and literature. (Vols. 1-83). Leeds, U.K.: Maney Publishing. Since 1921, this ambitious annual publication has been indexing monographs, journals, and periodicals, by author, subject, and the scholars who write about them. Headings include all topics

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associated with the making of a book: from the linguistics of the English language, to publishing and bookselling; literature is divided by century, each section with resources for general literary studies, literary theory, drama, fiction, poetry, prose, and biography. Volume 83, published in 2009, covers 2008 publications.

Modern Language Association of America. (1979- ). MLA directory of periodicals: A guide to journals and series in languages and literatures. New York, NY: Modern Language Association of America. This directory (also available online) is a master reference list and includes abstracts and definition of scope to cover 7100 regularly published print or electronic journals about language, literature, linguistics, folklore, pedagogy, or film. Print and electronic formats are identified, descriptors offer cross-reference subject terms, and peer reviewed entries are noted. Includes editorial contact information, publication frequency and submission guidelines. Other Resources: Sanders, A. (2004). The short Oxford history of English literature (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. This paperback emulates the fifteen-volume Oxford History of English Literature and examines Old English through Post-Modern literature. A distinguished reading list may be culled from each historical period; the Guide to Further Reading includes notable works on Ways of Reading in each era (e.g., Reid Barbours Deciphering Elizabethan Fiction). A Chronology of Events and Literary Works covers 450 to 2001, underscoring the need to understand historical influences during an authors lifetime.

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Kaplan, J. (Ed.). (2002). Bartletts familiar quotations (17th ed.). Boston, MA: Little, Brown. Known as the standard work of its kind, readers can search using a concordance index for key words, or by author name or date of birth. Familiar Biblical and Shakespearean quotes stand beside more contemporary adages, reflecting the editors desire to provide a better cross-section of material. Each quote supplies the title, date and other helpful information.

Periodical: Richardson, B. (Ed.). (1905- ). Modern Language Review. Cambridge, U.K.: Modern Humanities Research Association One of the most respected review journals in the humanities, this peer-reviewed quarterly publication of the Modern Humanities Research Association has been in print since 1905; simultaneously in electronic form since 2001. Searchable archives contain over 3000 articles and 20,000 detailed book reviews by noted scholars. Each issue is divided between articles, reviews, article abstracts, and indexes.

Burstein, J., & Watts, R. (Eds.). (1940- ) Modern Language Quarterly. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Rather than focus on a specific genre or period in its scholarly essays and book reviews of literary history, the mission of this periodical is to illuminate texts of the recent and distant past. Articles demonstrate how literature affected history, both at the time it was written, and in the years since publication.

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Full-text Database: Literature Online Reference Edition Accessed via GALILEO, this database offers users an interactive tutorial and access to fully searchable, full-text journals, reference works, bibliographies, student guides, critical essays, biographies, and websites. Resources are updated monthly and cover traditional literary scholarship and interdisciplinary studies. My Archive stores user-selected resources for retrieval between sessions. Recommended websites are continually evaluated and offer background information, biographical details, reviews, and interviews.

Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature This GALILEO database offers basic, Boolean, and precision search options to locate monographs, periodical articles, critical editions of literary works, book reviews and collections of essays published anywhere in the world. Searches may be limited by author, title, or subject, primary or review sources, and publication date. Results are listed by year in descending chronological order from 1996 to 1892.

Web/Digital Resources: Voice of the Shuttle (http://vos.ucsb.edu/index.asp) Structured to model the way humanities are organized for research, this ambitious but easily navigable database offers a plethora of information for academic research, featuring annotated guides to online resources. Content pages alphabetized lists include links to sources such as blogs, handbooks, histories, professional organizations, reading lists, and journals. Additional links are provided to further refine searches by subject, era, or genre.

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In the First Person (http://www.inthefirstperson.com/firp/index.shtml) To truly experience an era, search for letters, diaries, oral histories and personal narratives by date, subject, location (continent or sea), chronologically listed historical event, repository, or collection. First-person accounts from people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds describe the gamut of human experience from the mundane to the memorable.

Bibliography/Citation Style

English literature researchers use the Modern Language Association (MLA) bibliography and citation style. Examples are: 1. Article by one author in journal with pagination by issue:

Fragoso, Margaux. Gethsemane. Literary Review 53.2 (Winter 2010): 82-90. Print.

2. Book by two authors: Blazek, Ron, and Elizabeth Aversa. The Humanities: A Selective Guide to Information Sources. 5th ed. Greenwood Village, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000. Print.

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References Barrett, A. (2005). The information-seeking habits of graduate student researchers in the humanities. Journal of Academic Librarianship , 31 (4), 324-331. Bates, M. J. (1996). The Getty end-user online searching project in the humanities: Report No. 6: Overview and conclusions. College & Research Libraries , 57 (11), 514-523. Berkowitz, P. (2010, May 15). Why liberal education matters: The true aim of the humanities is to prepare citizens for exercising their freedom responsibly. Wall Street Journal (Online), p. A15.

Blazek, R., & Aversa, E. (2000). The Humanities: A Selective Guide to Information Services (5th ed.). Greenwood Village, CO: Libraries Unlimited. Carr, P. (2005). Beyond the monograph: The uses of journal literature by humanities scholars at Mississippi State University. Collection Management , 30 (2), 3-17. Stone, S. (1982, December). Humanities scholars: Information needs and uses. Journal of Documentation , 38 (4), pp. 282-312. Welshons, M. (Ed.). (2006). Our cultural commonwealth: The report of the American council of Learned Societies commission on Cyberinfrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences. New York: American Council of Learned Societies.