LibGuides: Literature: Reference

Reference Sources for Literature

Reference sources are often useful as a first step for gathering background information or overviews of unfamiliar topics. They include dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, almanacs, directories, etc and are available in print and online formats. Reference sources are designed to be consulted rather than read through. The following are collections of reference materials related to literature. Individual types are listed in the various tabs.

Gale eBooks
Search by concept, writer, etc and you will find information from a variety of encyclopedias and other reference works.

Contains encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. For some titles, there may be a more recent edition in print format.
Cambridge Core Histories
1957-2013 (Restricted to ODU)

A globally respected series spanning subject areas across the humanities and social sciences, with a concentration on political and cultural history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, music and the arts. ODU has access to 333 books out of the full collection of nearly 400.
Oxford Reference
Oxford Reference Premium is the premier online reference product, spanning 25 different subject areas, bringing together digitized entries across Oxford University Press’s Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias. Includes the foundational Quick Reference plus a selection of in-depth, single-volume works from the Reference Library.

Oxford Reference Premium is the premier online reference product, spanning 25 different subject areas, bringing together digitized entries across Oxford University Press’s Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias. Includes the foundational Quick Reference plus a selection of in-depth, single-volume works from the Reference Library.

Bartleby Great Books Online

Dictionaries can be general or specialized and provide definitions of words in a particular field, word meanings, etymology (origin). Glossaries provide brief explanations of words relating to a specific subject, and are often included the back of a book.

Oxford English Dictionary
Includes the Oxford English Dictionary, and the Historical Thesaurus of the OED, which contains almost the entire vocabulary of English, from Old English to the present day. Also offers publicly available editorial features, providing guides to the OED content and regular commentaries on topical issues in the story of the English language.

Includes the Oxford English Dictionary, and the Historical Thesaurus of the OED, which contains almost the entire vocabulary of English, from Old English to the present day. Also offers publicly available editorial features, providing guides to the OED content and regular commentaries on topical issues in the story of the English language.

The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (4 ed.)
Part of the Oxford Reference collection,
this bestselling dictionary provides clear and concise definitions of the most troublesome literary terms, from abjection to zeugma. Now expanded and in its fourth edition, it includes increased coverage of new terms from modern critical and theoretical movements, such as feminism, schools of American poetry, Spanish verse forms, life writing, and crime fiction.
Dictionary Plus Literature
Part of the Oxford Reference Collection, this dictionary comprises authoritative, highly accessible entries on writers, works, and literary movements. These entries are ... are written by specialist authors.
Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms
Glossary of terms from the book Literature and the Writing Process, 9th Edition, by McMahan, Day, Funk, and Coleman, 2011
Glossary of Poetic Terms
Includes cross-references, hyperlinks, and phonetic pronunciations.
Literary and Rhetorical Terms
Provides definitions and explanations of words and concepts used in discussing literature and the techniques of good speaking and writing. From the University of Victoria's "The UVic Writer's Guide" 1995.
A Shakespeare Glossary
From the "Literature Online" database.

Encyclopedias (general or subject-specific) provide more extensive background information on a topic, and are usually written by a subject specialist.

Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
In "Literature Resource Center," click "Encyclopedia of Literature®" for this comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the authors, works, genres, and terms of world literature that combines the best features of a dictionary with those of an encyclopedia. 2003 edition
Cambridge History of English and American Literature
Includes all eighteen volumes of the classic literary encyclopedia.

Handbooks provide facts, formulas, and technical information. They are a quick reference usually about a broad subject area.

The following excellent sources are available in print for checkout.

Literary Research Guide by James L. Harner
Call Number: PR83 .H34 2008
ISBN: 9780873528085
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
Research Methods for English Studies by Gabriele Griffin (Editor)
Call Number: PR56 .R43 2013
ISBN: 9780748683437
Publication Date: 2013-10-30

Biographical dictionaries and directories provide background information about a person.

Literature Resource Center
Includes full-text journal articles, literary criticism, reviews, biographical information, and overviews on over 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world. Includes fulltext information``from many standard reference sources (e.g., Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Literary Criticism) and from books in Twayne's Author Series.

Includes full-text journal articles, literary criticism, reviews, biographical information, and overviews on over 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world. Includes fulltext information from many standard reference sources (e.g., Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Literary Criticism) and from books in Twayne's Author Series.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Includes a collection of more than 57,000 specially written biographies, which describe the lives of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond from the 4th century BC to the 21st century. Allows one user at a time.

Includes a collection of more than 57,000 specially written biographies, which describe the lives of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond from the 4th century BC to the 21st century. Allows one user at a time.
Something About the Author
Provides access to all volumes ever printed in Gale's acclaimed and long-standing Something About the Author series, which examines the lives and works of authors and illustrators for children and young adults and is the preeminent source on authors and literature for young people.

Provides access to all volumes ever printed in Gale's acclaimed and long-standing Something About the Author series, which examines the lives and works of authors and illustrators for children and young adults and is the preeminent source on authors and literature for young people.

Dictionary of Literary Biography - in print
4th floor: PN451.D44 -- use the cumulative index in the most recent volume to look up your author. Text from this resource is included in the online Literature Resource Center -- search by author.

Quotation dictionaries will identify who said what, where. Many will focus on a particular topic.

Oxford Guides to Quotations
Link here to various Quotations sources in the Oxford Reference Online collection. Full text quotation sources include: Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations; Oxford Dictionary of Quotations; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations; The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations; The Oxford Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
Quotations at Bartleby
The 120,000 most authoratative quotations on the web, with 50,000 other short selections. Search several sources at one time.
The Quotations Page
We have over 28,000 quotations online from over 3,400 authors, and more are added daily.

Yearbooks: For a summary of the current status of a year's work in a particular field

Year's Work in English Studies
Provides a qualitative narrative bibliographical review of scholarly work on English language and literatures written in English.
The Yearbook of Comparative Literature
The Yearbook of Comparative and General Literature is dedicated to the publication of theoretically informed research in literary studies with a comparative, intercultural, or interdisciplinary emphasis.
Year's Work in Critical & Cultural Theory
Provides a narrative bibliography of work in the field of critical and cultural theory, recording significant debates and issues of interest in a broad field of research in the humanities and social sciences.

General Reference Resources

More Reference sources are listed in our guide to general reference resources.