Definition | Online Resources | Print Resources
What is literary criticism and where can I find it?
Literary criticism is the description, interpretation, and analysis of a novel, poem, story, or other written work, or of a group of works as a whole. The library has many books on individual authors that you can check out to help you to understand and interpret a novel, short story, poem, or play. In the subject section of the catalog look up your author's name. Criticism can be found mainly in books and articles, so after checking the catalog, use the literature databases. Faulk Central Library has a large collection of literary criticism reference books if you need print sources.
How do I find online literary criticism?
Austin Public Library has many databases offering literary criticism (available either in the library or using your library card number from any remote Internet computer). Select Literature Resource Center as your starting point. Academic Search Complete or MasterFILE Premier may also provide criticism that you can use, particularly if the work you're researching has been published fairly recently. JSTOR has criticism going back 100 years. Access any of these databases via the Library's database page either in the library or at home.
Either at the library or from home, visit the Internet Public Library's Literary Criticism . Using the search box, find critical and biographical information on a specific author or criticism about a specific work. Library Resources on the Net contains a fairly extensive and searchable guide to literary criticism, largely British and American.
