LibGuides: English Literature and Language: Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online!

An academically safer alternative to Wikipedia.

Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Britannica and more.

Dictionaries

Oxford English Dictionary
Regarded as the most authoritative & comprehensive English language dictionary in the world. Includes information on the English language, its history, & the social, cultural, and political influences that have shaped the language through the centuries.

Glossary of Literary Terms

New Handbook of Literary Terms, 2008
Online.

Encyclopedias

The print reference collection on the first floor of the Fletcher Library has additional encyclopedias for literature throughout the P call numbers. Ask at the Information and Research Assistance Desk.

Literature Online (LION)
Includes fully-searchable texts, reference works, bibliographies, catalogues, & links to relevant websites. Includes American Poetry; English Bible; Shakespeare; English Drama & Poetry; Biographical Encyclopedia; Encyclopedia; Dictionary, etc.
Literature Resource Center
Includes biographies, bibliographies & critical analysis of authors from every age & literary discipline. Covers novelists, poets, essayists, journalists & other writers. Includes full text of journals on literature and literary criticism.
Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature
Offers historical perspective and social context of American literature in essays encompassing the range and depth of American literary history from the 1600s to the present day.

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The Encyclopedia includes essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists, as well as major works and essays on literary movements, periods, and themes.
Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature
Provides comprehensive coverage of the entire history of literature in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland in the major literary languages.

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It includes substantial accounts of individual authors and detailed histories of particular themes, movements, genres, and institutions, whose impact upon the writing or the reading of literature was significant.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Contains dozens of encyclopedias and other sources, including literature sources. It is a very good source for humanities research.
Credo Reference Online
A huge collection of encyclopedias and dictionaries in all subject areas. Includes 64 literature titles alone.
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism
Alphabetically arranged entries on individual critics and theorists, critical and theoretical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods.
Oxford Classical Dictionary
2005 edition online. A 2012 edition available in Hayden Stacks.

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A comprehensive source of reference which aims to answer all questions about the classical world. Includes coverage of Greek and Roman history, literature, myth, religion, linguistics, philosophy, law, science, art and archaeology, and topics in near eastern studies and late antiquity.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature
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Comprehensively documents and interprets the books read by children throughout the world. It includes brief biographies of every major author and illustrator as well as feature essays on all genres of children's literature, individual works, and prominent trends and themes, as well as general essays on the traditions of children's literature in many countries throughout the world.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Rhetoric
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A comprehensive survey written by leading scholars, bringing together expertise in classical studies, philosophy, literature, literary theory, cultural studies, speech, and communications in a comprehensive treatment of the art of persuasion, with a special emphasis on public speaking, performance, and communication.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
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Authoritative and up-to-date information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe; covers dance, opera, radio, film, television, and popular performance, including carnivals, circus, and public executions.
Encyclopedia of Semiotics
The Encyclopedia of Semiotics is a comprehensive reference guide to concepts in semiotics, sign theory, and cultural studies.

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Three hundred entries by leading scholars in a variety of fields--from anthropology and literary theory to linguistics and philosophy--survey the study of signs and symbols in human culture. These articles cover key concepts, theories, theorists, schools of thought, and issues in communications, cognition, and cultural theory.

Videos Online

FMG On Demand
Films Media Group (FMG) is a comprehensive collection of nearly 5000 high-quality educational videos available for video streaming to the computer desktop. Titles cover a wide range of topics organized into 20 subject folders, including literature.
Theater in Video
Contains more than 250 definitive performances of the world's leading plays, together with more than 100 film documentaries, online in streaming video.
Kanopy
An incredible collection of over 26,000 films in a Netflix style format. Documentaries, classic films, feature and independent movies, the list goes on.

Cambridge Histories of Literature

Part of the Cambridge Histories online. Go to "Browse" and look for "Literary Studies" to find 16 titles. Literary histories of:

African and Caribbean Literature

American Literature

Arabic Literature

Classical Literature

Early Christian Literature

Early Modern English Literature

English Literature

English Romantic Literature

German Literature

Irish Literature

Italian Literature

Latin American Literature

Literary Criticism

Medieval English Literature

Russian Literature

Spanish Literature

Cambridge Histories of Literature Online

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English Literature and Language

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online!

Dictionaries

Glossary of Literary Terms

Encyclopedias

Videos Online

Cambridge Histories of Literature

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