Recommended Databases for Literary Criticism
Gale Literature
BEST BET. This literary database of full-text journal articles, essays, and critical texts provides access to information on authors and their works as well as information on literary movements and genres. This database includes Gale eBooks, Literature Resource Center and Gale Literature Criticism. Click on one of the following databases link if you want to search in just that content.
- Gale Literature Criticism: Biographical information, excerpts from critical essays, and bibliographies on major dramatists from all eras. Access includes Contemporary Literary Criticism, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Short Story Criticism, and Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism.
- Gale Literature Resource Center: This database provides access to biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of authors from every age and literary discipline.
- Gale eBooks: Good for background information. A collection of encyclopedias and specialized reference volumes, in eBook format, for multidisciplinary research.
Gale eBooks: A collection of encyclopedias and specialized reference volumes, in eBook format, for multidisciplinary research. The diverse subject areas from which the volumes have been chosen include: Arts, Literature, Biography, Sciences, and Social Sciences.
JSTOR
This archive provides access to back issues of more than 500 scholarly journals spanning many disciplines. This is not a current issues database; typically there is a gap from 1 to 5 years between the most recently published journal issue and the back issues available in JSTOR.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search.
Bloom's Literature
This database includes reference essays, topics in fine art and dance, and scholarly criticism examining great authors and their works. The database has full-length videos of classic plays and films, hundreds of full-texts, classic works, full-text poems, stories, and more. The Shakespeare Center holds plays and poems, including a comprehensive overview of every play, performance videos, an extensive library of criticism from the sixteenth century to the present, research, and writing advice. Additionally, there is material covering Shakespeare's life and times, his contemporaries, his stage, his language, and many other related topics.
Project Muse
This database provides access to an interdisciplinary collection of material, including scholarly journals and open source books, in the area of humanities and social sciences. Sponsored by Johns Hopkins University Press.
TIP: Type your search terms in the search box. Under Filter Results, limit to "Only content I have access to." Under Content Type, limit to "Articles." To further refine your search, add another keyword to the Content box.
Salem Press eBooks
This database provides eBooks in numerous areas of study and research including science, history and historical primary sources, literature and literary criticism, psychology and behavioral sciences, and careers.
EBSCO Academic Search Complete (General Topics - Multiple Subjects)
A scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals.
SEARCHING TIP: Check the box for full-text and the box for peer-reviewed publications under "Limit to" if you are looking for peer-reviewed journals.
Gale Academic OneFile (General Topics-Multiple Subjects)
A database of peer-reviewed articles from nearly 13,000 academic journals in the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects.
Start with Gale Literature. This literary database of full-text journal articles, essays, and critical texts provides access to information on authors and their works as well as information on literary movements and genres. Begin by typing the title of the literary work in the search box.
A search for novel yields the following results
Click any of the links to get the full list of results for each type of resource.
You may also filter your results using the menu on the right-hand side to "Document Type" or the Search Within box. Be sure to check the box for peer-reviewed publications if you're looking for scholarly journals.
JSTOR: This archive provides access to back issues of more than 500 scholarly journals spanning many disciplines. This is not a current issues database; typically there is a gap from 1 to 5 years between the most recently published journal issue and the back issues available in JSTORs an archive. It provides access to back issues of more than 500 scholarly journals spanning many disciplines.
From the JSTOR home page, click the Advanced Search link.
- Type the title of the work in the 1st box. Use quotes if your title is more than one word. Example: "Great Gatsby."
- Type the author’s name in quotes in the 2nd box.
- Narrow by Item Type by checking the Articles box and click Search.
- From the results page, you may refine your results by using the search within box.
You can access these databases from the One Search page. Select the Databases link. Click the All Subjects drop-down menu to find the appropriate database for your research topic. Need help? Call us at (805) 378-1472 or email us at mcreference@vcccd.edu.
When you are off campus, login to the MyVCCCD portal and click on the One Search button. That will take you to the Search page.