Literature
Classic & Contemporary
Literary Resources
at Middletown Thrall Library
and on the Web
Literature Resource Guide
Copyright © 1996 - Present, Middletown Thrall Library
Copyright © 1996 - Present, Middletown Thrall Library
Literature in the Library
Rediscovering Literature
Art, beauty, truth, the love of language, to hear unforgettable eloquence, witness awe-inspiring visions, to feel passion, experience purpose, to be inspired and awakened to new realities, to be delighted, surprised, to embark on incredible odysseys, to accompany heroes on epic quests, to dare to imagine and wonder "what if..."
These are a few of the many reasons we read and celebrate the exceptional quality of writing known as literature.
Literature represents much of the very best of humanity's writings, and it is not by any accident that, after bestsellers and sensationalized books have faded from memory, literature continues to thrive and remain intensely relevant to contemporary human conditions.
Literature's stories and texts survive the fires of time.
This is why for decades and centuries - long after their authors have gone silent - the writings of Dante, Shakespeare, and Austen, among so many other vital voices, will continue to captivate readers and comment upon life.
Literature has innumerable qualities and purposes and can open doors to unique situations and worlds which are never wholly removed from our own.
Literature introduces us to memorable characters who often have something in common with us or people we know, and those portraits and portrayals can speak directly to the many questions and challenges we individually or collectively face today.
Through literature we can discover new meanings, locate and begin to cross bridges between seemingly distant or dissimilar persons, places, things, and thoughts.
Literature remains relevant and essential because it relates as it conveys and carries us beyond ourselves and our world - metaphorically and literally - so that we might experience fresh perspectives, receive challenges to our knowledge and sensibilities, reach new understandings, perhaps even attain wisdom, through such things as poetry, plays, novels, short stories, memoirs, and all the other literary forms.
Through literature we have such amazing opportunities to rediscover ourselves, our world, a universe of thought, feeling, and insights waiting to be revealed anew to - and through each of us - and all because of a few well-chosen words which can speak volumes and clearly across languages, cultures, entire generations, and well beyond most boundaries.
In reading and interpreting literature we help to keep it alive, thriving, pertinent, personally interpretive and interesting. In doing this, we renew its promise, participating in it, influencing it in small or major ways, and ultimately help to preserve it for those readers yet to follow and recommence this most incredible journey of endless perceptions and revelations.
To be continued - by you...
To continue reading about the wonders and benefits of literature, consider one or more of these titles in the library system catalog:
General Literature
- Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason by Nancy Pearl
- Classics for Pleasure by Michael Dirda
- How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster
- On Literature by Umberto Eco
- The Uses of Literature by Italo Calvino
- Why Read the Classics? by Italo Calvino
Poetry
- The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Robert Frost by Harold Bloom
- How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry by Edward Hirsch
Also check out our...
- Introductory "Getting into Poetry" guide
- "Looking for: Poetry" finding aid
- Poetry Catalog
How Literature is Classified
Literary authors, collections of writings, literary criticism, and other related information
can be found in both our circulating and reference collections at Middetown Thrall Library.
At Thrall, literature is classified according to the numerical "Dewey Decimal System" and can be found in the "800s" section of our nonfiction collections. To find them, just browse the nonfiction aisles until you reach the number 800.
The 800 section contains the following major subdivisions:
In addition to this, many literary fiction titles can be located in the Fiction sections of the library as well as the Large Print section.
Please feel free to ask a librarian for assistance or for recommendations based on your personal reading preferences.
There will always something at the library for you to read and enjoy!
At Thrall, literature is classified according to the numerical "Dewey Decimal System" and can be found in the "800s" section of our nonfiction collections. To find them, just browse the nonfiction aisles until you reach the number 800.
The 800 section contains the following major subdivisions:
- 800 Literature
- 810 American literature in English
- 820 English & Old English literature
- 830 Germanic literature
- 840 French literature
- 850 Italian literature
- 860 Spanish & Portuguese literatures
- 870 Latin literature
- 880 Classical Greek literature
- 890 Literatures of other languages
In addition to this, many literary fiction titles can be located in the Fiction sections of the library as well as the Large Print section.
Please feel free to ask a librarian for assistance or for recommendations based on your personal reading preferences.
There will always something at the library for you to read and enjoy!
Classics in the Library Catalog
Middletown Thrall Library
Literature Explorer
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Browse Topics: [ Literature ] [ Poetry ]
(Looking for poetry? Please click here.)
A Select List of Authors
Jump to a letter: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | KL | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Literary Titles
What would you like to browse?Fiction Drama Poetry Nonfiction
A Select List of Fictional Works
1984 - George Orwell
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
The Adventures of Don Quixote - Cervantes
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
An American Tragedy - Theodore Dreiser
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne
Arrowsmith - Sinclair Lewis
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
The Awakening - Kate Chopin
Babbit - Sinclair Lewis
Beloved - Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Call of the Wild - Jack London
Candide - Voltaire
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
The Deerslayer - James Fenimore Cooper
Deliverance - James Dickey
The Divine Comedy - Dante
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Lewis Stevenson
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Dubliners - James Joyce
Emma - Jane Austen
Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton
Fathers and Sons - Ivan Turgenev
Finnegans Wake - James Joyce
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Germinal - Emile Zola
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
The Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle
The House of the Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo
The Iliad - Homer
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
I, Claudius - Robert Graves
The Invisible Man - H. G. Wells
Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison
Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
A Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne
The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
Labyrinths - Jorge Luis Borges
Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Light in August - William Faulkner
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
Maggie, A Girl of the Streets - Stephen Crane
The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann
The Man in the Iron Mask - Alexandre Dumas
The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
Middlemarch - George Eliot
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Native Son - Richard Wright
Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Odyssey - Homer
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
On the Road - Jack Kerouac
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Our Town - Thornton Wilder
A Passage to India - E.M. Forster
The Pearl - John Steinbeck
The Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Prince and the Pauper - Mark Twain
The Red and the Black - Stendhal
The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane
Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
Roots - Alex Haley
The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Sherlock Holmes Stories - Arthur Conan Doyle
Silas Marner - George Eliot
Sister Carrie - Theodore Dreiser
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison
The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
The Stranger - Albert Camus
The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
Tales and Poems - Edgar Allan Poe
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
The Time Machine - H. G. Wells
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
Ulysses - James Joyce
Utopia - Sir Thomas More
Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells
White Fang - Jack London
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
The Adventures of Don Quixote - Cervantes
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
An American Tragedy - Theodore Dreiser
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne
Arrowsmith - Sinclair Lewis
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
The Awakening - Kate Chopin
Babbit - Sinclair Lewis
Beloved - Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Call of the Wild - Jack London
Candide - Voltaire
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
The Deerslayer - James Fenimore Cooper
Deliverance - James Dickey
The Divine Comedy - Dante
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Lewis Stevenson
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Dubliners - James Joyce
Emma - Jane Austen
Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton
Fathers and Sons - Ivan Turgenev
Finnegans Wake - James Joyce
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Germinal - Emile Zola
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
The Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle
The House of the Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo
The Iliad - Homer
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
I, Claudius - Robert Graves
The Invisible Man - H. G. Wells
Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison
Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
A Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne
The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
Labyrinths - Jorge Luis Borges
Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Light in August - William Faulkner
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
Maggie, A Girl of the Streets - Stephen Crane
The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann
The Man in the Iron Mask - Alexandre Dumas
The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
Middlemarch - George Eliot
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Native Son - Richard Wright
Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Odyssey - Homer
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
On the Road - Jack Kerouac
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Our Town - Thornton Wilder
A Passage to India - E.M. Forster
The Pearl - John Steinbeck
The Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Prince and the Pauper - Mark Twain
The Red and the Black - Stendhal
The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane
Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
Roots - Alex Haley
The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Sherlock Holmes Stories - Arthur Conan Doyle
Silas Marner - George Eliot
Sister Carrie - Theodore Dreiser
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison
The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
The Stranger - Albert Camus
The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
Tales and Poems - Edgar Allan Poe
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
The Time Machine - H. G. Wells
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
Ulysses - James Joyce
Utopia - Sir Thomas More
Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells
White Fang - Jack London
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Drama
A Select List of Dramatic Works
A Comedy of Errors - William Shakespeare
A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen
A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare
A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams
The Alchemist - Ben Jonson
As You Like It - William Shakespeare
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Tennessee Williams
The Cherry Orchard - Anton Chekhov
Complete Plays - William Shakespeare
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
Cyrano de Bergerac - Edmond Rostand
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
Faust - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Hedda Gabler - Henrik Ibsen
Henry V - William Shakespeare
The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde
Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare
Long Day's Journey into Night - Eugene O'Neill
Love's Labor Lost - William Shakespeare
Man and Superman - Bernard Shaw
The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare
The Merry Wives of Windsor - William Shakespeare
The Misanthrope - Moliere
Much Ado about Nothing - William Shakespeare
Oedipus Rex - Sophocles
The Orestian Trilogy - Aeschylus
Othello - William Shakespeare
Peer Gynt - Henrik Ibsen
Plays - Aristophanes
Plays - Bertolt Brecht
Plays - Euripides
Plays - Sean O'Casey
Richard III - William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - Tom Stoppard
Saint Joan - Bernard Shaw
Six Characters in Search of an Author - Luigi Pirandello
The Spanish Tragedy - Sir Thomas Kyd
Tamburlaine - Christopher Marlowe
The Tempest - William Shakespeare
Titus Andronicus - William Shakespeare
Tragical History of Doctor Faust - Christopher Marlowe
Two Gentlemen of Verona - William Shakespeare
Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett
A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen
A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare
A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams
The Alchemist - Ben Jonson
As You Like It - William Shakespeare
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Tennessee Williams
The Cherry Orchard - Anton Chekhov
Complete Plays - William Shakespeare
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
Cyrano de Bergerac - Edmond Rostand
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
Faust - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Hedda Gabler - Henrik Ibsen
Henry V - William Shakespeare
The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde
Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare
Long Day's Journey into Night - Eugene O'Neill
Love's Labor Lost - William Shakespeare
Man and Superman - Bernard Shaw
The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare
The Merry Wives of Windsor - William Shakespeare
The Misanthrope - Moliere
Much Ado about Nothing - William Shakespeare
Oedipus Rex - Sophocles
The Orestian Trilogy - Aeschylus
Othello - William Shakespeare
Peer Gynt - Henrik Ibsen
Plays - Aristophanes
Plays - Bertolt Brecht
Plays - Euripides
Plays - Sean O'Casey
Richard III - William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - Tom Stoppard
Saint Joan - Bernard Shaw
Six Characters in Search of an Author - Luigi Pirandello
The Spanish Tragedy - Sir Thomas Kyd
Tamburlaine - Christopher Marlowe
The Tempest - William Shakespeare
Titus Andronicus - William Shakespeare
Tragical History of Doctor Faust - Christopher Marlowe
Two Gentlemen of Verona - William Shakespeare
Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett
Nonfiction
A Select List of Nonfictional Works
The Age of Chivalry - Thomas Bulfinch
The Age of Fable - Thomas Bulfinch
The Anatomy of Criticism - Northrop Frye
The Art of War - Sun Tzu
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Benjamin Franklin
Being and Nothingness - Jean Paul Sartre
Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
Concerning the Wealth of Nations - Adam Smith
Discourse on Method - Descartes
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding - John Locke
Essays - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays - Sir Francis Bacon
Essays - T. S. Eliot
Ethics - Aristotle
The Federalist Papers
Hero with a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
The Histories - Herodotus
The Imitation of Christ - Thomas a Kempis
Leviathan - Hobbes
Man and His Symbols - Carl Jung
The Masks of God - Joseph Campbell
Metaphysics - Aristotle
Mythology - Thomas Bulfinch
New Atlantis - Sir Francis Bacon
On Liberty - John Stuart Mill
On the Interpretation of Dreams - Sigmund Freud
On the Nature of Things - Lucretius
The Origin of Species - Charles Darwin
Pensees - Blaise Pascal
Poetics - Aristotle
The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell
The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
Principia Mathamatica - Isaac Newton
Relativity: The Special and General Theory - Albert Einstein
The Republic - Plato
The Rights of Man - Thomas Paine
A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf
The Seven Storey Mountain - Thomas Merton
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human - Harold Bloom
The Social Contract - Jean Jacques Rousseau
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
A Treatise on Human Nature - David Hume
Varieties of Religious Experience - William James
Vindication of the Rights of Woman - Mary Wollstonecraft
Walden - Henry David Thoreau
The Western Canon - Harold Bloom
The Age of Fable - Thomas Bulfinch
The Anatomy of Criticism - Northrop Frye
The Art of War - Sun Tzu
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Benjamin Franklin
Being and Nothingness - Jean Paul Sartre
Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
Concerning the Wealth of Nations - Adam Smith
Discourse on Method - Descartes
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding - John Locke
Essays - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays - Sir Francis Bacon
Essays - T. S. Eliot
Ethics - Aristotle
The Federalist Papers
Hero with a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
The Histories - Herodotus
The Imitation of Christ - Thomas a Kempis
Leviathan - Hobbes
Man and His Symbols - Carl Jung
The Masks of God - Joseph Campbell
Metaphysics - Aristotle
Mythology - Thomas Bulfinch
New Atlantis - Sir Francis Bacon
On Liberty - John Stuart Mill
On the Interpretation of Dreams - Sigmund Freud
On the Nature of Things - Lucretius
The Origin of Species - Charles Darwin
Pensees - Blaise Pascal
Poetics - Aristotle
The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell
The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
Principia Mathamatica - Isaac Newton
Relativity: The Special and General Theory - Albert Einstein
The Republic - Plato
The Rights of Man - Thomas Paine
A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf
The Seven Storey Mountain - Thomas Merton
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human - Harold Bloom
The Social Contract - Jean Jacques Rousseau
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
A Treatise on Human Nature - David Hume
Varieties of Religious Experience - William James
Vindication of the Rights of Woman - Mary Wollstonecraft
Walden - Henry David Thoreau
The Western Canon - Harold Bloom
Poetry
Select Poets, Works, and Themes
Jump to: Poems | Poets | Collections
Learn about Poetry | Topics & Themes
Select Poems
The Aeneid - Vergil
Beowulf
The Bridge - Crane, Hart
The Canterbury Tales - Chaucer, Geoffrey
The Cantos - Pound, Ezra
Les Fleurs du Mal - Baudelaire, Charles
Four Quartets - Eliot, T. S.
Hero and Leander - Marlowe, Christopher
Howl - Ginsberg, Allen
Kubla Khan - Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Leaves of Grass - Whitman, Walt
The Metamorphoses - Ovid
Paradise Lost - Milton, John
Paradise Regained - Milton, John
Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Song of Myself - Whitman, Walt
Sonnets - Shakespeare, William
Sonnets from the Portuguese - Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Songs of Experience - Blake, William
Songs of Innocence - Blake, William
The Wasteland - Eliot, T. S.
Beowulf
The Bridge - Crane, Hart
The Canterbury Tales - Chaucer, Geoffrey
The Cantos - Pound, Ezra
Les Fleurs du Mal - Baudelaire, Charles
Four Quartets - Eliot, T. S.
Hero and Leander - Marlowe, Christopher
Howl - Ginsberg, Allen
Kubla Khan - Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Leaves of Grass - Whitman, Walt
The Metamorphoses - Ovid
Paradise Lost - Milton, John
Paradise Regained - Milton, John
Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Song of Myself - Whitman, Walt
Sonnets - Shakespeare, William
Sonnets from the Portuguese - Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Songs of Experience - Blake, William
Songs of Innocence - Blake, William
The Wasteland - Eliot, T. S.
Select Poets
Alexander, Elizabeth
Angelou, Maya
Ashbery, John
Atwood, Margaret
Auden, W. H.
Basho
Baudelaire, Charles
Benet, Stephen Vincent
Berryman, John
Bishop, Elizabeth
Bly, Robert
Bradstreet, Anne
Brooks, Gwendolyn
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Brodsky, Joseph
Browning, Robert
Bukowski, Charles
Burns, Robert
Byron, George Gordon
Carson, Anne
Chaucer, Geoffrey
Collins, Billy
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Crane, Hart
Creeley, Robert
Doolittle, Hilda (H.D.)
Dunn, Stephen
cummings, e. e.
Dickinson, Emily
Donne, John
Doty, Mark
Dove, Rita
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence
Frost, Robert
Ginsberg, Allen
Giovanni, Nikki
Gluck, Louise
Graham, Jorie
Hall, Donald
Hass, Robert
Angelou, Maya
Ashbery, John
Atwood, Margaret
Auden, W. H.
Basho
Baudelaire, Charles
Benet, Stephen Vincent
Berryman, John
Bishop, Elizabeth
Bly, Robert
Bradstreet, Anne
Brooks, Gwendolyn
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Brodsky, Joseph
Browning, Robert
Bukowski, Charles
Burns, Robert
Byron, George Gordon
Carson, Anne
Chaucer, Geoffrey
Collins, Billy
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Crane, Hart
Creeley, Robert
Doolittle, Hilda (H.D.)
Dunn, Stephen
cummings, e. e.
Dickinson, Emily
Donne, John
Doty, Mark
Dove, Rita
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence
Frost, Robert
Ginsberg, Allen
Giovanni, Nikki
Gluck, Louise
Graham, Jorie
Hall, Donald
Hass, Robert
Heaney, Seamus
Hirsch, Edward
Hughes, Langston
Hughes, Ted
Jarrell, Randall
Keats, John
Kerouac, Jack
Kinnell, Galway
Koch, Kenneth
Kooser, Ted
Kumin, Maxine
Larkin, Philip
Levertov, Denise
Levine, Philip
Lorca, Federico Garcia
Lowell, Amy
Lowell, Robert
Lorca, Federico Garcia
Mallarme, Stephane
Marlowe, Christopher
Marvell, Andrew
Masters, Edgar Lee
Merrill, James
Merwin, W. S.
Milosz, Czeslaw
Milton, John
Moore, Marianne
Nye, Naomi Shihab
Ogden, Nash
Olds, Sharon
Nemerov, Howard
Neruda, Pablo
O'Hara, Frank
Oliver, Mary
Ovid
Pastan, Linda
Paz, Octavio
Pinsky, Robert
Plath, Sylvia
Poe, Edgar Allan
Hirsch, Edward
Hughes, Langston
Hughes, Ted
Jarrell, Randall
Keats, John
Kerouac, Jack
Kinnell, Galway
Koch, Kenneth
Kooser, Ted
Kumin, Maxine
Larkin, Philip
Levertov, Denise
Levine, Philip
Lorca, Federico Garcia
Lowell, Amy
Lowell, Robert
Lorca, Federico Garcia
Mallarme, Stephane
Marlowe, Christopher
Marvell, Andrew
Masters, Edgar Lee
Merrill, James
Merwin, W. S.
Milosz, Czeslaw
Milton, John
Moore, Marianne
Nye, Naomi Shihab
Ogden, Nash
Olds, Sharon
Nemerov, Howard
Neruda, Pablo
O'Hara, Frank
Oliver, Mary
Ovid
Pastan, Linda
Paz, Octavio
Pinsky, Robert
Plath, Sylvia
Poe, Edgar Allan
Pound, Ezra
Pushkin, Aleksandr
Rexroth, Kenneth
Rich, Adrienne
Rilke, Rainer Maria
Rimbaud, Arthur
Roethke, Theodore
Rumi
Ryan, Kay
Sandburg, Carl
Sappho
Schuyler, James
Sexton, Anne
Shakespeare, William
Simic, Charles
Soto, Gary
Spenser, Edmund
Stein, Gertrude
Stevens, Wallace
Strand, Mark
Teasdale, Sara
Tennyson, Alfred
Thomas, Dylan
Walker, Alice
Walcott, Derek
Wilbur, Richard
Williams, C. K.
Williams, William Carlos
Whitman, Walt
Wordsworth, William
Yeats, W. B.
Zukofsky, Louis
Pushkin, Aleksandr
Rexroth, Kenneth
Rich, Adrienne
Rilke, Rainer Maria
Rimbaud, Arthur
Roethke, Theodore
Rumi
Ryan, Kay
Sandburg, Carl
Sappho
Schuyler, James
Sexton, Anne
Shakespeare, William
Simic, Charles
Soto, Gary
Spenser, Edmund
Stein, Gertrude
Stevens, Wallace
Strand, Mark
Teasdale, Sara
Tennyson, Alfred
Thomas, Dylan
Walker, Alice
Walcott, Derek
Wilbur, Richard
Williams, C. K.
Williams, William Carlos
Whitman, Walt
Wordsworth, William
Yeats, W. B.
Zukofsky, Louis
Poetry Collections
The 100 Best African American Poems - edited by Nikki Giovanni
American Hybrid: A Norton Anthology of New Poetry - edited by David St. John
Americans' Favorite Poems - edited by Robert Pinsky, Maggie Dietz
Basho: The Complete Haiku - Matsuo Basho
Best American Poetry [by year] - various editors
The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer through Robert Frost - edited by Harold Bloom
A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry - Czeslaw Milosz
The Collected Poems - Sylvia Plath
The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou - Maya Angelou
The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry - edited by Ilya Kaminsky
Essential Pleasures: A New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud - edited by Robert Pinsky
The FSG Book of Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry: An Anthology - edited by Ilan Stavans
Good Poems - edited by Garrison Keillor
New and Selected Poems (Volume One and Two) - Mary Oliver
The Norton Anthology of Poetry - edited by Margaret Ferguson, Jon Stallworthy and Mary Jo Salter
The Oxford Book of American Poetry - edited by David Lehman and John Brehm
The Oxford Book of English Verse - edited by Christopher Ricks
Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry - Billy Collins
The Poetry of Pablo Neruda - Pablo Neruda
The Poets Laureate Anthology - edited by Billy Collins
The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry - edited by Stephen Mitchell.
Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems - Billy Collins
She Walks in Beauty: A Woman's Journey Through Poems - Caroline Kennedy
Till I End My Song: A Gathering of Last Poems - edited by Harold Bloom
The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry - edited by J.D. McClatchy
American Hybrid: A Norton Anthology of New Poetry - edited by David St. John
Americans' Favorite Poems - edited by Robert Pinsky, Maggie Dietz
Basho: The Complete Haiku - Matsuo Basho
Best American Poetry [by year] - various editors
The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer through Robert Frost - edited by Harold Bloom
A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry - Czeslaw Milosz
The Collected Poems - Sylvia Plath
The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou - Maya Angelou
The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry - edited by Ilya Kaminsky
Essential Pleasures: A New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud - edited by Robert Pinsky
The FSG Book of Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry: An Anthology - edited by Ilan Stavans
Good Poems - edited by Garrison Keillor
New and Selected Poems (Volume One and Two) - Mary Oliver
The Norton Anthology of Poetry - edited by Margaret Ferguson, Jon Stallworthy and Mary Jo Salter
The Oxford Book of American Poetry - edited by David Lehman and John Brehm
The Oxford Book of English Verse - edited by Christopher Ricks
Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry - Billy Collins
The Poetry of Pablo Neruda - Pablo Neruda
The Poets Laureate Anthology - edited by Billy Collins
The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry - edited by Stephen Mitchell.
Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems - Billy Collins
She Walks in Beauty: A Woman's Journey Through Poems - Caroline Kennedy
Till I End My Song: A Gathering of Last Poems - edited by Harold Bloom
The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry - edited by J.D. McClatchy
Learn about Poetry
Fooling with Words: A Celebration of Poets and Their Craft - Bill Moyers
How to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love with Poetry - Robert Hirsch
The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms - Mark Strand, Eavan Boland
The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within - Stephen Fry
A Poetry Handbook - Mary Oliver
The Sounds of Poetry: A Brief Guide - Robert Pinsky
How to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love with Poetry - Robert Hirsch
The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms - Mark Strand, Eavan Boland
The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within - Stephen Fry
A Poetry Handbook - Mary Oliver
The Sounds of Poetry: A Brief Guide - Robert Pinsky
Poetry by Topic or Theme
(See also: Literature Topics)
16th Century Poetry
17th Century Poetry
18th Century Poetry
19th Century Poetry
20th Century Poetry
21st Century Poetry
African American Poetry
American Poets
Animals (poems about)
Australian Poetry
Ballads
Beat Poetry
"Best-Loved" Poems
Biblical Poetry
Caribbean Poetry
Cats (poems about)
Children's Poetry
Chinese Poetry
Dogs (poems about)
English Poets
Fathers (poems about)
French Poetry
17th Century Poetry
18th Century Poetry
19th Century Poetry
20th Century Poetry
21st Century Poetry
African American Poetry
American Poets
Animals (poems about)
Australian Poetry
Ballads
Beat Poetry
"Best-Loved" Poems
Biblical Poetry
Caribbean Poetry
Cats (poems about)
Children's Poetry
Chinese Poetry
Dogs (poems about)
English Poets
Fathers (poems about)
French Poetry
Gardening (poems about)
German Poetry
Greek Poetry
Haiku
Hebrew Poetry
Humorous Poetry
Irish Poetry
Italian Poetry
Japanese Poetry
Korean Poetry
Latin American Poetry
Limericks
Love Poetry
Lyric Poetry
Marriage (poems about)
Mexican Poetry
Modern Poetry
Mothers (poems about)
Native American Poetry
Nature (poems about)
New York (poems about)
Poetry - Anthologies / Collections
German Poetry
Greek Poetry
Haiku
Hebrew Poetry
Humorous Poetry
Irish Poetry
Italian Poetry
Japanese Poetry
Korean Poetry
Latin American Poetry
Limericks
Love Poetry
Lyric Poetry
Marriage (poems about)
Mexican Poetry
Modern Poetry
Mothers (poems about)
Native American Poetry
Nature (poems about)
New York (poems about)
Poetry - Anthologies / Collections
Poetry - Audiobooks
Poetry - Authorship
Poetry - eBooks
Poetry - History and Criticism
Poetry - Publishing
Poetry - Quotations
Poetry Slam
Poets - Biographies
Poets Laureate
Religious Poetry
Russian Poetry
Sea Poetry
Spanish Poetry
War Poetry
Nursery Rhymes
Poetics
Poetry Collections
Sonnets
Versification
Women (poems by or about)
Young Adult Poetry
Zen Poetry
Poetry - Authorship
Poetry - eBooks
Poetry - History and Criticism
Poetry - Publishing
Poetry - Quotations
Poetry Slam
Poets - Biographies
Poets Laureate
Religious Poetry
Russian Poetry
Sea Poetry
Spanish Poetry
War Poetry
Nursery Rhymes
Poetics
Poetry Collections
Sonnets
Versification
Women (poems by or about)
Young Adult Poetry
Zen Poetry
- African Literature
- Alphabet Books - Juvenile Literature
- American Adventure Stories
- American Children's Literature
- American Children's Stories
- American Detective And Mystery Stories
- American Didactic Fiction
- American Domestic Fiction
- American Drama
- American Drama - 20th Century
- American Drama - African American Authors
- American Fantasy Fiction
- American Fantasy Literature
- American Fiction
- American Fiction - 19th Century
- American Fiction - 20th Century
- American Fiction - African American Authors
- American Fiction - Women Authors
- American Historical Drama
- American Historical Fiction
- American Horror Tales
- American Humorous Stories
- American Literature
- American Literature - 1783-1850
- American Literature - 19th Century
- American Literature - 20th Century
- American Literature - 20th Century - History and Criticism
- American Literature - 21st Century
- American Literature - 21st Century - Periodicals
- American Literature - African American Authors
- American Literature - Asian American Authors
- American Literature - Colonial Period
- American Literature - Colonial Period, Ca. 1600-1775
- American Literature - Dictionaries
- American Literature - Encyclopedias
- American Literature - Examinations - Study Guides
- American Literature - Film and Video Adaptations
- American Literature - French Influences
- American Literature - Hispanic American Authors
- American Literature - History and Criticism
- American Literature - Indian Authors
- American Literature - Italian American Authors
- American Literature - Jewish Authors
- American Literature - Mexican American Authors
- American Literature - Minority Authors
- American Literature - New England
- American Literature - New York
- American Literature - New York State
- American Literature - Puerto Rican Authors
- American Literature - Revolutionary Period, 1775-1783
- American Literature - Southern States
- American Literature - Theory
- American Literature - Translations
- American Literature - Women Authors
- American Poetry
- American Poetry - 19th Century
- American Poetry - 20th Century
- American Poetry - African American Authors
- American Poetry - Women Authors
- American Prose Literature
- American Prose Literature - 19th Century
- American Prose Literature - 20th Century
- American Satire
- American Science Fiction
- American Sea Stories
- American Short Stories
- American Speeches, Addresses
- American Young Adult Fiction
- Art and Literature
- Arthurian Romances
- Asian Literature
- Bible and Literature
- Canadian Literature
- Caribbean Literature
- Children's Literature
- Children's Literature - History and Criticism
- Children's Literature in Series
- Children's Literature, American
- Children's Literature, English
- Chinese Literature
- Chinese Literature - History and Criticism
- Christian Literature
- Christianity and Literature
- Classical Literature
- Classical Literature - Dictionaries
- Classical Literature - History and Criticism
- Classical Literature - Translations into English
- Criticism - History
- Criticism - History - 20th Century
- Detective And Mystery Stories
- Drama
- Drama - 19th Century
- Drama - 20th Century
- Encyclopedias And Dictionaries
- English (Old) Epic Poetry
- English Children's Literature
- English Children's Stories
- English Christian Fiction
- English Christian Literature
- English Detective And Mystery Stories
- English Drama
- English Drama - 17th Century
- English Drama - 18th Century
- English Drama - 20th Century
- English Drama - Irish Authors
- English Drama (1500-1600) - Early Modern And Elizabethan
- English Drama (1660-1700) - Restoration
- English Drama (Comedy)
- English Drama (Tragedy)
- English Fantasy Fiction
- English Fantasy Literature
- English Fiction
- English Fiction - 18th Century
- English Fiction - 19th Century
- English Fiction - 20th Century
- English Fiction - Irish Authors
- English Fiction - Women Authors
- English Historical Drama
- English Historical Fiction
- English Horror Tales
- English Hymns
- English Literature
- English Literature - 18th Century
- English Literature - 19th Century
- English Literature - 20th Century
- English Literature - Early Modern, 1500-1700
- English Literature - Encyclopedias
- English Literature - Examinations
- English Literature - History and Criticism
- English Literature - Irish Authors
- English Literature - Middle English, 1100-1500
- English Literature - Old English
- English Literature - Old English, Ca. 450-1100
- English Literature - Scottish Authors - History and Criticism
- English Literature - Theory
- English Literature - Women Authors
- English Literature (1100-1500) - Middle English
- English Literature (1500-1700) - Early Modern
- English Love Stories
- English Poetry
- English Poetry - 18th Century
- English Poetry - 19th Century
- English Poetry - 20th Century
- English Poetry - Irish Authors
- English Poetry (1100-1500) - Middle English
- English Poetry (1500-1700) - Early Modern
- English Political Fiction
- English Prose Literature
- English Psychological Fiction
- English Satire
- English Science Fiction
- English Sonnets
- English Young Adult Fiction
- Epic Literature
- Epic Poetry
- European Literature
- Fairy Tales
- Fantasy Fiction
- Fantasy Literature
- Feminism and Literature
- Fiction
- Fiction - 19th Century
- Fiction - 20th Century
- Folk Literature
- Folklore
- French Drama - 20th Century
- French Fiction
- French Fiction - 19th Century
- French Fiction - 20th Century
- French Literature
- French Literature - 18th Century
- French Literature - 19th Century
- French Literature - 20th Century
- French Poetry - 20th Century
- German Literature
- German Literature - 19th Century
- German Literature - 20th Century
- Graphic Novels
- Greek Drama
- Greek Drama (Tragedy)
- Greek Epic Poetry
- Greek Literature
- Greek Poetry
- Haiku
- Hebrew Literature
- Hispanic American Literature
- Horror Tales
- Indian Literature
- Indic Literature
- Irish Literature
- Italian Literature
- Japanese Literature
- Jewish Literature
- Latin American Literature
- Latin Epic Poetry
- Latin Literature
- Latin Poetry
- Legends
- Literature
- Literature - 19th Century
- Literature - 20th Century
- Literature - Adaptations
- Literature - Appreciation
- Literature - Bio-Bibliography
- Literature - Collections
- Literature - Dictionaries
- Literature - Examinations
- Literature - History and Criticism
- Literature - Indexes
- Literature - Study and Teaching
- Literature - Terminology
- Literature - Theory
- Literature - Women Authors
- Literature and Folklore
- Literature and History
- Literature and Morals
- Literature and Science
- Literature and Society
- Literature and Technology
- Literature, Comparative
- Literature, Medieval
- Literature, Modern
- Lyric Poetry
- Medieval Literature
- Medieval Tales
- Modern Literature
- Modernism - Literature
- Mythology - Literature
- Oriental Literature
- Poetry
- Poetry - 20th Century
- Politics and Literature
- Popular Literature
- Popular Literature - Great Britain
- Postmodernism - Literature
- Psychoanalysis and Literature
- Psychological Literature
- Psychology and Literature
- Religion and Literature
- Russian Fiction - 19th Century
- Russian Fiction - 20th Century
- Russian Literature
- Russian Literature - 19th Century
- Russian Literature - 20th Century
- Satire
- Science Fiction
- Shakespeare, William
- Spanish American Literature
- Spanish Literature
- Women and Literature
- Yiddish Literature
- Young Adult Literature
Databases
& Virtual Reference Titles
& Virtual Reference Titles
These are some of the many databases available to you
as a member of Middletown Thrall Library:
Also worth mentioning is Gale Literary Index: You can use this cumulative index to search all Gale literature reference works, such as Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and Something about the Author. You can search by author's name or the title of a literary work. The "Custom Search" allows you to search using other criteria, such as birth date or nationality. After you find an author or literary work, you will see where references to either occur in any of the Gale literature reference works, many of which we own at Middletown Thrall Library. Each of those sets have printed cumulative indexes of their own, but this could be a convenient tool for you when you need to research literary criticism or find information on a writer.
Also be sure to explore our general research databases and complete encyclopedias for more information on authors or literary works.
If at any point you would like some assistance, please call our librarians at 341-5461 or use our Ask a Librarian service
- Artemis (now Gale Literary Sources)
- Searches the following databases (described below): Literature Criticism Online, Literature for Students, Literature Resource Center, and Something about the Author.
- Biography Databases
- Research the lives of authors and many other notable indivduals throughout history. Available to members of Thrall.
- Elizabethan World Reference Library
- This "virtual reference" library item is a complete text on Elizabethan times. If you are doing research on writers of this period, including William Shakespeare or Christopher Marlowe, you might want to explore this text.
- Fiction Connection
- Books, audios and videos in print or forthcoming, including publisher information and availability.
- Gale Literary Sources (formerly Artemis)
- Searches the following databases (described below): Literature Criticism Online, Literature for Students, Literature Resource Center, and Something about the Author.
- Literature Criticism Online
- Includes: Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism (CMLC), Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC), Drama Criticism (DC), Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism (NCLC), Poetry Criticism (PC), Shakespearean Criticism (SC), Short Story Criticism (SSC), Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism.
- Literature for Students
- Drama for Students, Novels for Students, Poetry for Students, Shakespeare for Students, Short Stories for Students.
- Literature Resource Center
- Critical essays on contemporary authors, lives and careers of authors in all eras and genres, biographies and bibliographies for more than 90,000 contemporary authors.
- Novelist Plus
- With information on over 150,000 fiction and juvenile titles, this database was designed to help you find a great book to read. Includes read-alike lists and some book discussion guides.
- Salem Literature
- Criticism, biographical, and scholarly information on select classic and contemporary authors and their works. Includes Salem Literature (Critical Insights: Works & Authors; Critical Survey of Long Fiction), Critical Survey of Long Fiction, Masterplots.
- Something about the Author
- Biographical and bibliographical information on authors and illustrators of children's and young adult books.
Also worth mentioning is Gale Literary Index: You can use this cumulative index to search all Gale literature reference works, such as Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and Something about the Author. You can search by author's name or the title of a literary work. The "Custom Search" allows you to search using other criteria, such as birth date or nationality. After you find an author or literary work, you will see where references to either occur in any of the Gale literature reference works, many of which we own at Middletown Thrall Library. Each of those sets have printed cumulative indexes of their own, but this could be a convenient tool for you when you need to research literary criticism or find information on a writer.
Also be sure to explore our general research databases and complete encyclopedias for more information on authors or literary works.
If at any point you would like some assistance, please call our librarians at 341-5461 or use our Ask a Librarian service
Literary Reference Materials
Available in Print at Thrall
Available in Print at Thrall
Below you will find a select list of literary reference titles
available to you at Middletown Thrall Library. Since these
books cannot be borrowed, they are always available to
researchers at the library.
Call numbers follow each title to indicate where you can find these items on our shelves. Titles marked with a "*" indicate those items can be found in a separate area located near the microfilm machines, just several shelves away from the main Reference Department collections.
Please scroll down this page to browse titles or click on a subtopic:
Call numbers follow each title to indicate where you can find these items on our shelves. Titles marked with a "*" indicate those items can be found in a separate area located near the microfilm machines, just several shelves away from the main Reference Department collections.
Please scroll down this page to browse titles or click on a subtopic:
- Classical Literature
- Medieval Literature
- Shakespearean Literature
- Nineteenth Century Literature
- Twentieth Century Literature
- Contemporary Literature
- Drama
- Poetry
- Novels
- Short Stories
- Other Literature Reference Works
Classical Literature
Medieval Literature
Shakespearean Literature
Nineteenth Century Literature
Twentieth Century Literature
Contemporary Literature
Drama
Poetry
Novels
Short Stories
Other Literature Reference Works
- * Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of World Authors from Classical Antiquity through the Fourteenth Century
- (REF 809.09 CLA)
Medieval Literature
- * Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of World Authors from Classical Antiquity through the Fourteenth Century
- (REF 809.09 CLA)
Shakespearean Literature
- Concordance to Shakespeare
- (REF 822 B)
- The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare
- (REF 822.33 OXF)
- * Shakespeare Criticism
- (REF 822.33 SHA)
- * Shakespeare for Students
- (REF 822.33 SHA)
Nineteenth Century Literature
- * Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
- (REF 809 NIN)
Twentieth Century Literature
- * Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism
- (REF 809.04 TWE)
Contemporary Literature
- * Contemporary Authors
- (REF 928 CON)
Drama
- * Critical Survey of Drama
- (REF 809.2 CRI)
- * Drama Criticism
- (REF 809.2 DRA)
Poetry
- The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry
- (REF 808.81 COL)
- * Critical Survey of Poetry
- (REF 809.1 CRI)
- * Poetry Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of the Most Significant and Widely Studied Poets of World Literature
- (REF 809.1 POE)
- * Poetry for Students
- (REF 809.1 POE)
Novels
- * Novels for Students
- (REF 809.3 NOV)
- Encyclopedia of the Novel (Vols. 1 & 2)
- (REF 809.3 ENC)
Short Stories
- * Short Story Criticism
- (REF 809.3 SHO)
- * Short Stories for Students
- (REF 809.3 SHO)
Other Literature Reference Works
- A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms by Edward Quinn
- (REF YA803 QUI)
- * Epics for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Epics
- (REF 809.132 EPI)
- Literary Terms: A Dictionary
- (REF 803 BEC)
- The Oxford Companion to English Literature
- (REF 820.3 HAR)
- Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia
- (REF 803 BEN)
- Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
- (REF 803 BRE)
- Cassell's Encyclopedia of World Literature (Vols. 1 & 2)
- (REF 803 C)
- The New York Public Library Literature Companion
- (REF 803 NEW)
- The Facts on File Dictionary of Classical, Biblical, & Literary Allusions
- (REF 803 LAS)
- Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
- (REF 803 MER)
- The Longman Dictionary of Literary Terms
- (REF 803 KEN)
- Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
- (REF 808.882 BAR)
- * Literature and Its Times
- (REF YA809.9 LIT)
- * Something about the Author
- (REF 028.52 SOM)
- * Nonfiction Classics for Students
- (REF YA809.93 Non)
Literature on the Web
American Literature
- American Novel by Carl Van Doren
- Browse or search the full text of this literary reference work at Bartleby.com.
- American Verse Project
- Search or browse a large collection of American poets and poems. After finding a poem and clicking on the title of that poem, scroll down the page to see the table of contents or actual poem. Provided by University of Michigan Humanities Text Initiative (HTI) and the University of Michigan Press.
- Brief Timeline of American Literature and Events: Pre-1620 to 1920
- A timeline covering events in the history of American literature.
- Cambridge History of English and American Literature: An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes
- Search or browse the full text of this exhaustive reference work at Bartleby.com.
- Outline of American Literature: Early American and Colonial Period to 1776
- Contents include: Early American and Colonial Period to 1776, Democratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers (1776-1820), The Romantic Period (1820-1860) - Essayists/Poets/Fiction, The Rise of Realism (1860-1914), Modernism and Experimentation (1914-1945), American Poetry (1945-1990) "The Anti-Tradition," American Prose (1945-1990) Realism and Experimentation, Contemporary American Poetry, Contemporary American Literature, Bibliography. Provided by the U.S. Department of State.
- USA Literature in Brief
- "USA Literature in Brief pinpoints and describes the contributions to American literature of some of the best-recognized American poets, novelists, philosophers and dramatists from pre-Colonial days through the present. Major literary figures are discussed in detail, as are their major works. Brief discussions of cultural periods and movements such as romanticism, modernism, and transcendentalism put individuals in context and lend perspective." From the U.S. Department of State.
Authors
- Critical Insights: Authors
- "Critical Insights Authors focus on an author's entire oeuvre. These include novelists, dramatists, short-story writers and essayists. The list below links to extensive descriptions of each work." Available at Middletown Thrall Library and remotely to Thrall patrons logging in with their library cards.
- Index of Authors
- Extensive index of authors arranged alphabetically by last names. Includes: concise biographical entries, stories about the author, and list of selected works by and about the author, and recommended web links. Each author information page also contains links to related authors from the same period or style of writing. Provided by TodayInLiterature.com.
- KidsReads.com: Authors List
- Biographical information about classic and contemporary authors of children's literature.
- New York State Literary Tree
- Provides biographical and historical information along with lists of literary works under two areas: New York State Authors and New York City Authors. Browse alphabetically by last name. At the top of the website are two Map buttons you can click to view NYS/NYC Literary Maps, which contain links to authors. From Bright Hill Press, New York State Council on the Arts, and SUNY Buffalo's Electronic Poetry Center director.
See also: Contemporary Authors Online
Awarded Books
- Bestsellers & "Best" Books
- Contemporary fiction, nonfiction, along with Nobel / Pulitzer winners and more in the library system catalog.
- Nobel Laureates in Literature
- A list of all Nobel Prize winners for Literature. Provided by the Nobel Foundation.
- The Pulitzer Prizes
- Current and past Pultzer Prize winners for fiction, drama, nonfiction, and other categories.
- Booklover's Guide: Awarded Books Lists
- Links to major awards websites and winners. Includes "Award Winners in the Library Catalog," where you can instantly locate and request items to be reserved for you in the online catalog. From Middletown Thrall Library.
Blogs & Discussions
- Booklover's Blog
- Middletown Thrall Library's own blog about new and notable authors and titles. Includes monthly title selections and other news of interest to readers.
- Classic Literature
- From About.com.
- Contemporary Literature
- From About.com
- Literature Blogs
- Alphabetical list of literature blogs. Includes direct links to RSS feeds for blogs offering them.
Children's Literature
General Literature
- Children's Book Selections
- "This special collection presents children's books selected from the General and Rare Book Collections at the Library of Congress. The collection includes classic works that are still read by children today, and lesser-known treasures drawn from the Library's extensive collection of historically significant children's books. The books in this collection were published in the United States and England before 1924, are no longer under copyright, and free to read, share, and reuse however you'd like. Highlights of the collection include examples of the work of American illustrators such as W.W. Denslow, Peter Newell, and Howard Pyle, as well as works by renowned English illustrators Randolph Caldecott, Walter Crane, and Kate Greenaway. The selections span many generations and topics, and reflect three general themes: Learning to Read: Materials produced to teach American children to read: ABC books, primers, and a wooden hornbook. Reading to Learn: Materials supporting classroom instruction in subjects such as mathematics, classical mythology, natural science, and the structure and function of the Unites States government. Reading for Fun: Materials to nourish the imagination: fiction, poetry, fairy tales and toy books." From the Library of Congress.
- Children's Literature Bookshelf
- Electronic editions of classic children's literature titles. From Project Gutenberg. See also their Children's Verse Bookshelf for classic Children's Poetry.
- Children's Poetry
- Poems and articles about verse for children. From the Poetry Foundation.
- Poems for Kids
- "The following selections of poems are curated around specific themes and are appropriate for young readers." From the Academy of American Poets.
See also: Booklovers: Children's books
Classical & Medieval Literature
- Anthology of Middle English Literature
- Topics include: Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, William Langland and Piers Plowman, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, Thomas Malory, John Lydgate, Thomas Hoccleve, Paston Letters, Everyman, Medieval Plays, Middle English Lyrics, Essays and Articles, as well as Additional Medieval Sources.
- Digital Dante
- Extensive resources on Dante Alighieri, author of The Divine Comedy (La Commedia). Includes full text (original and translated) of the Infero, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, and other writings. Also has recommended Medieval Study web resources, image collections. Provided by Institute for Learning Technologies (ILT), Columbia University.
- The France and England Project: Medieval Manuscripts between 700 and 1200
- "The manuscripts have been selected for their historical significance in terms of relations between France and England during the Middle Ages. They are also of unique artistic, historical or literary interest. Produced between the eighth and the end of the twelfth century, they cover a wide range of subjects, illustrating intellectual production during the early middle ages and the Roman period. Among these manuscripts are a few precious, sumptuously illuminated examples such as the Benedictional of Winchester around the year 1000, the Bible de Chartres around 1140 or the Great Canterbury Anglo-Catalan Psalter produced circa 1200." Explore by Theme, Author, Place, or Century. From The British Library and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.
- Internet Classics Archive
- Contains texts and information for over 400 Classic Literature titles. Authors included, among others, are: Cicero, Epicurus, Homer, Ovid, Sophocles, and Virgil.
- Introduction to Medieval Literature
- From ThoughtCo.com.
- The Online Medieval and Classical Library
- Search or browse by author, title, genre, or language.
- The Perseus Digital Library
- Features Greek and Roman classical texts and authors as well as other archaeological information, such as maps and artifacts.
- Wikipedia: Classical Literature
- Definition and related web links. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
- Wikipedia: Medieval Literature
- Definition and related web links. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
Comparative Literature
- CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
- Electronic journal articles Published by Purdue University. View articles (in PDF format) with the Adobe Reader.
- What Was Comparative Literature?
- Definition provided by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Comparative Literature Department.
- Wikipedia: Comparative Literature
- Definition and related web links. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
Criticism and Literary Theory
- Databases for Literary Criticism
- Middletown Thrall Library members can enjoy free access to literature articles and literary criticism via...
- Artemis - Includes Literature Criticism Online, Literature for Students, Literature Resource Center, and Something about the Author
- Salem Literature (Critical Insights: Works & Authors and Critical Survey of Long Fiction
- Literature Resource Center, where you will find many full text articles and literary criticism on major authors and literary works
- Enotes: Literature Guides
- Guides to reading, understanding, interpreting, and exploring literary texts, symbols, and more.
- Essays on Poetic Theory
- "Famous historical essays about poetry that have greatly influenced the art. Written by poets and critics from a wide range of historical, cultural, and aesthetic perspectives, the essays address the purpose of poetry, the possibilities of language, and the role of the poet in the world. They are arranged in chronological order." Includes Aristotle's Poetics, Ars Poetica by Horace, The Defence of Poesy by Sir Philip Sidney, An Essay of Dramatic Poesy by John Dryden, An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope, The Four Ages of Poetry by Thomas Love Peacock, The Study of Poetry by Matthew Arnold, Tradition and the Individual Talent by T. S. Eliot (as well as his essay on Hamlet), and more. From The Poetry Foundation.
- IPL Literary Criticism Collection
- Directory of websites provided by the Internet Public Library. Browse by author, title, country, or year.
- Introduction to Theory of Literature
- A free course (OpenCourseWare/OCW) From Yale University. From the course description: "This is a survey of the main trends in twentieth-century literary theory. Lectures will provide background for the readings and explicate them where appropriate, while attempting to develop a coherent overall context that incorporates philosophical and social perspectives on the recurrent questions: what is literature, how is it produced, how can it be understood, and what is its purpose?"
- An Introduction to Modern Literary Theory
- Definitions, key terms, "further reading" suggestions, and links to related websites for each topic. Includes topics such as New Criticism, Postmodernism, Post-Structuralism, Deconstruction, Avant-Garde/Surrealism/Dadaism, and Reader-Response Theory. Provided by Mount Mary College.
- Literary Theory
- Extensive article from The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism
- Topics include: Introduction to Literary Theory, Moral Criticism, Dramatic Construction, Formalism, Psychoanalytic Criticism, Marxist Criticism, Reader-Response Criticism, Structuralism and Semiotics, Postmodern Criticism, New Historicism, Cultural Studies, Post-Colonial Criticism, Feminist Criticism, Gender Studies and Queer Theory, Ecocriticism, and Critical Race Theory. From Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL).
- Literary Resources: Theory
- Provided through Rutgers University.
- What Is a Classic?
- "Defining the term or the concept of classics in literature." From About.com
- Voice of the Shuttle: Literary Theory Websites
- Wikipedia: Literary Criticism
- Definition and related web links. There is also a list of literary critics. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
- Wikipedia: Literary Theory
- Definition and related web links. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
See also: Writing & Thinking about Literature
Drama
- Digital Anthology of Early Modern English Drama
- "A Digital Anthology of Early Modern English Drama is a hub for exploring over four hundred early modern English plays that were performed in London's professional theaters between 1576 and 1642. Browse plays written by Shakespeare’s contemporaries, explore the repertoire of London’s professional companies, read the first printed edition of one of our featured plays, or download the plays and their source code." From Folger Shakespeare Library.
- Drama Criticism (DC)
- Database of play analysis and drama criticism. Available to members of Thrall.
- Drama for Students
- Database of play analysis and drama criticism. Available to members of Thrall.
- Drama Study Guides
- Character lists, analysis. From eNotes.
- Drama Study Guides
- Includes information on plays, their plots, characters, and themes, along with key facts, study questions, topics for essays, quizzes, and suggestions for further reading. From Spark Notes
- Glossary of Drama Terms
- Terminology about plays, dramatic concepts, characters, plots, and more. From McGraw-Hill.
- Middle English Plays
- Topics include: An Introduction to Medieval Drama, Texts of Plays, Images Related to Medieval Plays, Essays and Articles, and more.
- Monologue Archive
- Contains a variety of comedy and dramatic monologues.
- Online Books Page: Drama
- Electronic texts (etexts), eBooks of plays, drama criticism, theater, and more.
- Plays and Drama
- Topics include: Playwrights, Drama Basics & Advice, Plays, Monologues, Drama Activities, Stage Craft, Playwriting Business, History of the Stage, Experiences and Anecdotes, and Reviews. From About.com.
- Playwriting 101
- "This playwriting tutorial was written by playwright and screenwriter Jonathan Dorf, whose plays have been produced in more than 45 states and on five continents."
- Theatre Database
- Articles about playwrights and overviews of dramatic works from antiquity to the present day. Categories include: Ancient Theatre, Medieval Theatre, 16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, and 20th Century Drama.
- Theater History: W.ild W.onderful W.orld of Theatre History
- Topics include: Origins of Theatre, Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece, Roman and Byzantine Theatre and Drama, European Drama, Italian Theatre and Drama, English Theatre, Spanish Theatre, Theatre in France, Theatre of the Orient, U.S. Modern Theatre. From Central Washington University.
- TheatreHistory.com
- Topics include: Origins of Theatre, Ancient Theatre, Medieval Theatre, American Theatre, Asian Theatre, British Theatre, French Theatre, German Theatre, Irish Theatre, Italian Theatre, Russian Theatre, and Spanish Theatre. Also features "Today in Theatre History" as well as a "Script Archive" of Plays (full, one-act, 10-minute) and Monologues.
- Tragedy: The Basics
- Includes information on Aristotle's Poetics. From Grand Valley State University.
See also: William Shakespeare
eBooks & eAudioBooks:
Electronic texts (e-texts),
Digital Editions & Archives of Literary Works
Electronic texts (e-texts),
Digital Editions & Archives of Literary Works
eBooks
eAudioBooks
- Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts
- Described as "a collection of about 14,000 'classic' public domain documents from American and English literature as well as Western philosophy."
- Bartleby.com
- Literature and reference works. Browse or search.
- Bibliomania
- Over 2,000 classic texts in electronic form.
- The Camelot Project
- Arthurian texts, images, and bibliographies. Provided by the University of Rochester in collaboration with several other universities.
- Classic Works of Literature, Philosophy, Science, History and Exploration and Travel
- Provided by the University of Adelaide.
- Eserver Poetry Collection
- A variety of classical and contemporary verse in electronic form.
- Feedbooks
- "On Feedbooks you'll discover thousands of public domain books and original books from new authors that you can read on any mobile device." Downloadable etexts are provided in a number of formats (EPUB, Mobipocket, Kindle, PDF, and more).
- The Online Books Page
- Listing over 30,000 etexts on the web. Hosted with the University of Pennsylvania. Also contains a list of Banned Books Online.
- Project Gutenberg
- Search or browse by author name or title. One of the most popular and oldest sources of electronic texts on the web. New e-texts are added regularly.
- The Pulp Magazines Project - An Archive of All-Fiction Pulpwood Magazines from 1896-1946
- "The Pulp Magazines Project is an open-access digital archive dedicated to the study and preservation of one of the twentieth century's most influential literary & artistic forms: the all-fiction pulpwood magazine. The Project also provides information on the history of this important but long neglected medium, along with biographies of pulp authors, artists, and their publishers."
- RCLS OverDrive eBooks: Literary Classics
- Thrall/RCLS members: explore electronically available classics in the library system and download free ebooks to a computer or ebook reader.
eAudioBooks
- Lit2Go
- "Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified. Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom." From the University of South Florida.
- LibriVox: Literary Fiction
- Classic stories and literary novels narrated by volunteer readers.
- Project Gutenberg: Audiobooks
- "Human-read." Browse by author. See also their "Computer-Generated" audiobooks.
- Works of Great Literature
- Audio recordings of literary works being read by various readers. From GreatestAudioBooks.com (by way of YouTube.com). See also their William Shakespeare and their other playlists.
See also:
English Literature
- English Literature by Period
- Websites arranged chronologically by the following periods: Anglo-Saxon and Medieval, Renaissance and 17th Century, Restoration and 18th Century, Romantics, Victorian, Modern (British and American), Contemporary (British and American). Provided by the Voice of the Shuttle website.
- Harvard Classics
- Search or browse the context of this multi-volume text at Bartleby.com.
- History of English Literature
- Literary movements and more.
- Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature
- Medieval, Renaissance, 17th Century, and Restoration literary periods. Also includes these topics: Religious Writers, English Renaissance Drama, Metaphysical Poets, and Cavalier Poets.
- The Norton Anthology of English Literature Web Companion
- "Prepared by the Norton Anthology editors, this extensive, freely accessible Web resource for The Norton Anthology of English Literature offers twenty-seven topics for study and discussion." Scroll down their page and click on topics (starting with "The Middle Ages") to begin viewing information at this site.
- Shakespearean Literature
- Explore the life and writings of the Bard.
- Wikipedia: English Literature
- Definition and related web links. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
Essays
& Essayists
& Essayists
- Essays of Henry David Thoreau
- Read essays such as "Civil Disobedience" or "Life without Principle." From The Thoreau Reader website hosted at EServer.org.
- Essays of Michel de Montaigne
- From Project Gutenberg.
- Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Includes essays from Emerson's First Series, Second Series, Nature (Addesses and Lectures), Representative Man, The Conduct of Life, and more.
- Essays of Sir Francis Bacon
- 59 essays and a "Glossary of Archaic Words and Phrases."
- Project Gutenberg: Essays
- Downloadable electronic texts (e-texts) of famous literary and historic essays.
- Types of Essays
- A brief guide to various types of essays, including persuasive, descriptive, and narrative essays. Provided by About.com.
- Wikipedia: Essay
- Definition and related web links. See also this list of essayists. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
History of Literature
- Cambridge History of English and American Literature: An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes
- Search or browse the full text of this encyclopedia at Bartleby.com.
- English Literature: History and Criticism
- Electronic texts relating to various times and aspects of literature through history. Directory provided by The Online Books Page.
- List of Years in Literature
- Major events in literary history, including writings, authors' births/deaths, awards, etc. Arranged by year (reverse chronological order). (Note Wikipedia's disclaimer.)
- Literary Movements
- Definitions of a number of literary movements. See also the timeline at this website. Provided by the Department of English at Washington State University.
Jane Austen's
Life, World, Writings
Life, World, Writings
- The Complete Jane Austen
- Companion website to the PBS Masterpiece series. Includes information about movie adaptations of Austen's works as well as features such as The Men of Austen, The Complete Guide to Teaching Jane Austen, Learning Resources, and more.
- Jane Austen Centre: Celebrating Bath's Most Famous Resident
- Located in Bath, England. Sections include: Jane Austen's World, In Praise of Jane, Minor Works and Juvenilia, Jane Austen's Books and Characters, Regency Fashion/Recipies/History, Biographies, and an E-newsletter with online articles.
- Jane Austen Lives On!
- "Novels Inspired by Jane Austen's Life and Works." Archived website. From Skokie Public Library.
- The Jane Austen Society of North America
- Includes a brief biography, bibliographies, Austen on Film (compilation of titles and cast lists for past/current/upcoming Austen-inspired movies and cinematic adaptations of her works), a web guide, and more.
- JaneAusten.org
- Topics include: Biography, Life Timeline, The Novels, Quotations, Movies, Event, a Regency Glossary, Rank and Class in the Regency Period, and a Jane Austen Word Search Game (requires Adobe Flash Player).
- Jane Austen's Fiction Manuscripts
- "The Jane Austen's Fiction Manuscripts Digital Edition gathers together in the virtual space of the web some 1100 pages of fiction written in Jane Austen's own hand. Through digital reunification, it is now possible to access, read, and compare high quality images of original manuscripts whose material forms are scattered around the world in libraries and private collections. Unlike the famous printed novels, all published in a short span between 1811 and 1818, these manuscripts trace Jane Austen's development as a writer from childhood to the year of her death; that is, from 1787 (aged 11 or 12) to 1817 (aged 41). Not only do they provide a unique visual record of her imagination from her teenage experiments to her last unfinished writings, these pages represent one of the earliest collections of creative writings in the author's hand to survive for a British novelist."
- The Republic of Pemberley
- Includes discussion groups, a Jane Austen Information Page, the Pemberley Literary Companion (a "compilation of literature mentioned in Austen"), electronic texts (e-texts) of Austen's writings, and more.
- Wikipedia: Jane Austen
- Biography, writings, and related web links. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
Literary Journals
- Literature Periodicals
- Periodical literary publications in the Ramapo Catskill Library System (RCLS).
- Paris Review
- News and events, interviews, select articles and full text poems, as well as electronic audio feeds from various authors.
- Poetry Magazine
- Includes news, featured, poets, bestseller lists for poetry, the Poetry Tool (an interactive archive of full text poems you can locate by category, occasion, title, first lines, popularity, or poets' names, birth/death dates, or school/period), and more.
Literary Terms
- Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms
- A clickable list of literary terminology. Provided by Jack Lynch of Rutgers University.
- Glossary of Literary Terms
- Provided by University of Cambridge, Faculty of English.
- Literary Terms
- From Purdue Online Writing Lab.
- Poetry Words Worth Learning
- An easy, one-page glossary of poetry terms. PDF format. From Middletown Thrall Library.
News
- Academy of American Poets: Poetry News and Press Releases
- Recent award winners and more.
- Booklovers: Forthcoming Fiction and Nonfiction
- Directory provided by Middletown Thrall Library.
- Booklovers: Literary and Publishing Industry News
- Directory provided by Middletown Thrall Library.
- Booklovers Blog
- Monthly titles, literary news, and more. Blog by Middletown Thrall Library.
- Current Interests Center: Library and Literary News
- Bestsellers, Pulitzer Prizes / Winners, Nobel Prize Winner, Oprah Bookclub Selection, and more.
- The New York Times - See topics below:
See also Literary Journals
Novels
- American Novel by Carl Van Doren
- Browse or search the full text of this literary reference work at Bartleby.com.
- Based on the Book
- A "compilation of over 1,250 books, novels, short stories, and plays that have been made into motion pictures." Browse by movie (title or release year), book title, or book author.
- The Nineteenth Century English Novel
- Educational resource initially developed as part of a college curriculum. Also contains information on Austen and other notable writers from this period.
- One Hundred Best Novels
- Two lists of novels voted respectively "best of the century" by The Modern Library and readers. Also has an alternate "Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels List."
- One Hundred Best First Lines of Novels
- Provides quote, author, title of work quoted, and the year the novel was published. Provided by Infoplease.com.
- Wikipedia: Novels
- Definition and related web links. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
Poetry
Poets, Poems, & Poetics
Poets, Poems, & Poetics
Please select a topic or scroll down...
Audio - Poetry Readings & More
- Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature
- "Listen to audio-recorded readings of former Consultants in Poetry Elizabeth Bishop, Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Frost; Nobel Laureates Mario Vargas Llosa and Czeslaw Milosz, and renowned writers such as Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood, and Kurt Vonnegut read from their work at the Library of Congress." From the Library of Congress.
- Audio Poetry
- "Listen to poems by well known poets read aloud. These free poetry recordings were uploaded by Internet Archive users." From the Internet Archive.
- LibriVox: Poetry
- Downloadable audio of famous poems read aloud. MP3 and OGG audio files format.
- The Listening Booth: Highlights from the Woodberry Poetry Room Audio Archive
- "The online highlights feature selections from our on-going digitization of fragile phonodiscs and magnetic media, as well as born digital recordings from our recent Poetry Room events. Unless otherwise indicated, all recordings were made by or at Harvard University." Featured poets include John Ashbery, W.H. Auden, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Bly, Jorge Luis Borges, E.E. Cummings, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsberg, Louise Gluck, Donald Hall, Phillip Larkin, Denise Levertov, W.S. Merwin, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Czeslaw Milosz, Robert Pinsky, Adrienne Rich, Carl Sandburg, Anne Sexton, Charles Simic, Wallace Stevens, Derek Walcott, Richard Wilbur, C.K. Williams, William Carlos Williams, among many others.
- Naropa Poetics Audio Archives
- "The Naropa University Archive Project is preserving and providing access to over 5000 hours of recordings made at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. The library was developed under the auspices of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics (the university's Department of Writing and Poetics) founded in 1974 by poets Anne Waldman and Allen Ginsberg. It contains readings, lectures, performances, seminars, panels and workshops conducted at Naropa by many of the leading figures of the U.S.literary avant-garde." From Naropa Univeristy (hosted at Archive.org).
- Poets on Poets
- "The Poets on Poets project is an audio archive published by Romantic Circles that testifies to the continued importance of Romanticism in the contemporary poetry world. The premise of the collection is simple: we have asked practicing poets from around the world to read a Romantic-period poem that they particularly admire and that has influenced the way in which they think about their craft. The results are gathered here." From the Romantic Circles project of the University of Maryland. Hosted at Archive.org.
Biographies of Poets
- The Academy of American Poets: Biographies
- Over 500 poets. Includes select poems.
- Biography.com: Famous Poets
- Over 200 poets.
- Infoplease People: Poets
- Biographies of notable poets.
- The Poetry Foundation: Poets
- Browse by school / period, region, birthdate, and other criteria, or search by name / poem.
- Poetry Season
- Biographies of select poets, videos and commentaries from contemporary poets, text of select poems, and more. From the BBC.
Poetry eBooks & Online Archives
- American Verse Project
- Search or browse a large collection of American poets and poems. After finding a poem and clicking on the title of that poem, scroll down the page to see the table of contents or actual poem. Provided by University of Michigan Humanities Text Initiative (HTI) and the University of Michigan Press.
- Bartleby: Verse
- Online editions of poetry anthologies including:
- The American National Song-Book
- Anthology of Irish Verse
- The Book of the Sonnet
- A Book of Women's Verse
- Elizabethan Sonnets
- The Golden Treasury
- The Oxford Book of English Verse
- The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse
- The Oxford Book of Ballads
- The Oxford Book of French Verse
- The Oxford Book of Latin Verse
- The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse
- The Standard Book of Jewish Verse
- A Victorian Anthology
Also included: Major poetic works by famous poets including Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Emily Dickinson. Also see Bartleby.com's alphabetical and chronological indexes of poets as well as an index of first lines of poems. - Book of Poetry
- Chinese classic with English translations. Also known as The Book of Odes, Classic of Poetry, and Shijing. From the Chinese Text Project.
- California Digital Library
- From the University of California. Includes poetry from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, John Clare, Victor Hugo, John Keats, Vachel Lindsay, Edgar Allan Poe, Ovid, Ezra Pound, William Wordsworth, William Butler Yeats, and many others.
- Cornell University Library
- From Cornell University. Includes English poetry collections, other (Chinese, German, Irish, Japanese, Scottish) translated writings / collections, poetry criticism, and more.
- Edda
- Old Norse poetry. Includes the Elder Eddas and Younger Edda. From Project Gutenberg. See also The Poetic Edda and The Prose Edda at the Internet Sacred Text Archive.
- Emily Dickinson Archive
- "Emily Dickinson Archive makes high-resolution images of Dickinson's surviving manuscripts available in open access, and provides readers with a website through which they can view images of manuscripts held in multiple libraries and archives." From Amherst College, Boston Public Library, Houghton Library, and others.
- The Online Books Page: Poetry
- Directory of online editions and eBooks of poems, poetry collections, thematic anthologies, poets, related literary theory and criticism, prosody/versification, and more.
- Poem Hunter
- Search or browse popular poets and poetry. Includes "Top 500 Poems," a thematic "Poems About" section, and more.
- The Poet and the Poem
- Poems and poetry readings (presented as webcasts / podcasts) from the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress.
- Poetry Archive
- "The Poetry Archive exists to help make poetry accessible, relevant and enjoyable to a wide audience. It came into being as a result of a meeting, in a recording studio, between Andrew Motion, soon after he became U.K. Poet Laureate in 1999, and the recording producer, Richard Carrington. They agreed about how enjoyable and illuminating it is to hear poets reading their work and about how regrettable it was that, even in the recent past, many important poets had not been properly recorded." Text and audio. Browse or search.
- Poetry Center Digital Archive
- "Poetry Center Digital Archive makes available significant portions of early audio recordings from the Poetry Center's American Poetry Archives collection, supplemented by select archival texts and images." From The Poetry Center at San Francisco State University.
- Poetry eBooks
- Poetry eBooks within the Ramapo Catskill Library System (RCLS). Members of Thrall may access available titles at home over the Internet.
- The Poetry Foundation: Poems
- Browse popular and famous poems by subject, occasion, literary school / period, poet's region, poet's birthdate, poetic terms, and more.
- Poetry 180
- "Poetry 180 is designed to make it easy for students to hear or read a poem on each of the 180 days of the school year." Provided through the Library of Congress.
- Project Gutenberg: Poetry Bookshelf
- Online anthologies / collections of poems from various poets. Available in a variety of text/eBook formats.
- Sonnets Central
- Numerous electronic texts (e-texts) of sonnets from various poets.
- Walt Whitman Archive
- "The Walt Whitman Archive is an electronic research and teaching tool that sets out to make Whitman's vast work, for the first time, easily and conveniently accessible to scholars, students, and general readers. Whitman, America's most influential poet and one of the four or five most innovative and significant writers in United States history, is the most challenging of all American authors in terms of the textual difficulties his work presents." From the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Introduction to Poetry
- Getting into Poetry
- A friendly invitation into the wonderful world of poetry. PDF format. From Middletown Thrall Library.
- How to Analyze Poetry
- Tips from CliffsNotes.com.
- How to Read a Poem
- Tips from poet and critic Edward Hirsch. Provided by The Poetry Foundation. See also this page at The Poetry Foundation.
- How to Read a Poem
- "Learn how to read a poem and understand it." From The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin.
- How to Read a Poem Out Loud
- Tips from the Library of Congress (Poetry 180 project).
- Looking for: Poetry
- A guide to finding poets, poetry, anthologies of poems, and more. PDF format. From Middletown Thrall Library.
- Meet the Poets
- A selection of poets you can explore. PDF format. From Middletown Thrall Library.
- Poetic Forms & Techniques
- Definitions and examples of major poetic forms and techniques. Click on each term on the page for an expanded definition. Provided by the Academy of American Poets.
- Poetry: Patterns and Parts
- Explore the structure, sound, and inner-workings of three famous poems. PDF format. From Middletown Thrall Library.
- Poetry Study Guides
- Information on classic and modern poets and their poems. Includes analysis, study questions, and suggestions for further reading. From Spark Notes.
- Poetry Words Worth Learning
- An easy, one-page glossary of poetry terms. PDF format. From Middletown Thrall Library.
- Poetry: Writing Basics
- Archived website. Sections include: Forms and Techniques, Poetry Glossary (Poetic Terminology), On Craft (essays on writing poetry from famous writers/poets), Interviews, The Writing Life, and more. From The Academy of American Poets. See also their Poetry Writing and Publishing FAQ.
- Shmoop Learning Guides: Poetry
- Overviews and analyses of popular poems. Poems are listed alphabetically by title. Click tabs on their page for more information (Intro, The Poem, Summary, Analysis, Themes, etc.).
- Why Like Poetry?
- Explore some of the many wonderful reasons to read or write poetry. From Middletown Thrall Library.
See also:
Lesson Plans & Learning Materials
- Resources for Students & Educators
- The Academy of American Poets: Curriculum and Lesson Plans
- "The Academy of American Poets presents lesson plans that align with Common Core Standards, each of which have been prepared by a curriculum specialist concerned with developing skills of perception and imagination." See also their Educators page.
- The Art of the Metaphor
- A five-minute animation. "How do metaphors help us better understand the world? And, what makes a good metaphor? Explore these questions with writers like Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg, who have mastered the art of bringing a scene or emotion to life." Narrated by poet Jane Hirshfield. Video provided by TED-Ed.
- From EDSITEment:
-
- Incredible Bridges: Poets Creating Community
- "The Academy of American Poets and the EDSITEment Project at the National Endowment for the Humanities invite you to bring contemporary poetry resources to your students with our new online initiative, 'Incredible Bridges: Poets Creating Community.'"
- Introducing Metaphors Through Poetry
- Introduction to Modernist Poetry
- Listening to Poetry: Sounds of the Sonnet
- Poems that Tell a Story
- Poetry for the Common Core
- "This year for National Poetry Month, in response to the Common Core State Standards initiative, EDSITEment has strung a garland of multimedia resources for students of all ages."
- Preparing for Poetry: A Reader's First Steps
- A Story of Epic Proportions: What makes a Poem an Epic?
- Essays on Poetic Theory
- "Famous historical essays about poetry that have greatly influenced the art. Written by poets and critics from a wide range of historical, cultural, and aesthetic perspectives, the essays address the purpose of poetry, the possibilities of language, and the role of the poet in the world. They are arranged in chronological order." Includes Aristotle's Poetics, Ars Poetica by Horace, The Defence of Poesy by Sir Philip Sidney, An Essay of Dramatic Poesy by John Dryden, An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope, The Four Ages of Poetry by Thomas Love Peacock, The Study of Poetry by Matthew Arnold, Tradition and the Individual Talent by T. S. Eliot (as well as his essay on Hamlet), and more. From The Poetry Foundation.
- Favorite Poem Project: Lesson Plans
- "The Favorite Poem Project seeks to improve poetry's place in American classrooms by encouraging active, engaging poetry lessons that emphasize a direct, vocal connection to poems."
- Lyrical Legacy: 400 Years of American Song and Poetry
- "Lyrical Legacy helps teachers explore eighteen American songs and poems from the digital collections of the Library of Congress. Each song and poem is represented by an original primary source document, along with historical background information and, in many cases, sound recordings and alternate versions." Provided by the Library of Congress.
- National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE): Poetry Lesson Plans
- Various lesson plans from ReadWriteThink / NCTE. See also their main Poetry page.
- The Poetry Foundation: Learning Lab
- Includes: Core Learning Poems, Articles for Students and Teachers, Poetry Terms, and more. See also their Common Core State Standards Text Exemplars page.
- Poetry Out Loud: Lesson Plans
- Resources focus on memorizing poems, and poetry recitations (readings and public performances).
OpenCourseWare (OCW)
Online Poetry Courses
- The Art of Poetry
- A class by poet Robert Pinsky, U.S. Poet Laureate (1997-2000). "The art of poetry gives pleasure and invites knowledge. This course is based on a conviction that the more you know about an art, the more pleasure you will find in it." Free registration required.
- From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) OpenCourseWare:
-
- Literary Interpretation: Interpreting Poetry
- "This seminar offers a course of readings in lyric poetry. It aims to enhance the student's capacity to understand the nature of poetic language and the enjoyment of poetic texts by treating poems as messages to be deciphered."
- Modern Poetry
- "This course considers some of the substantial early twentieth-century poetic voices in America. Authors vary, but may include Moore, Frost, Eliot, Stevens, and Pound."
- Poetry in Translation
- "This seminar addresses the inherent challenges of translating poetry from different languages, cultures, and eras. Students do some translation of their own, though accommodations are made if a student lacks even a basic knowledge of any foreign language."
- Reading Poetry
- "Reading Poetry has several aims: primarily, to increase the ways you can become more engaged and curious readers of poetry; to increase your confidence as writers thinking about literary texts; and to provide you with the language for literary description. The course is not designed as a historical survey course but rather as an introductory approach to poetry from various directions - as public or private utterances; as arranged imaginative shapes; and as psychological worlds, for example."
- Romantic Poetry
- "This course examines readings of the major British Romantic poets (Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Scott, Shelley, and Keats) and important fiction writers (Mary Shelley and Walter Scott). Attention is also given to literary and historical contexts."
- Studies in Poetry: Does Poetry Matter?
- "The landscape we will explore is the troublesome one of the relevance, impact, and importance of poetry in a troubled modern world. We will read both poetry and prose by several substantial modern writers, each of whom confronted the question that is the subject's title."
- Poetry in America
- From Harvard University. Archived course. "This course, the first installment of the multi-part Poetry in America series, covers American poetry in cultural context through the year 1700. We begin with Puritan poets - some orthodox, some rebel spirits - who wrote and lived in early New England." See also the other classes in this series:
Poetry Awards - Award-Winning Poets,
Poems, Poetry Collections
- Academy of American Poets: American Poets Prizes
- Information and award recipient lists for the Wallace Stevens Award, Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, James Laughlin Award, Walt Whitman Award, Raiziss/de Palchi Translation Awards, Harold Morton Landon Translation Award, University and College Poetry Prizes, and more. Click each award title on their page to view winners and judges by year.
- Current State Poets Laureate
- Information on current and past poets representing New York and other states. From the Library of Congress.
- National Book Awards: Poetry
- Winners from 1950 to the present.
- Nobel Prizes in Literature
- Includes winning poets (among other writers in this category).
- Poet Laureates of the United States
- Current U.S. poet laureate and past poets. Includes news, articles, and podcasts. From the U.S. Library of Congress. See also their United States Poets Laureate: A Guide to Online Resources page.
- Poetry Foundation: Poetry Awards
- Pegasus Awards, Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, Children?s Poet Laureate, Emily Dickinson Award, Neglected Masters Award, Mark Twain Poetry Award, Randall Jarrell Award in Criticism, Verse Drama Prize. From the Poetry Foundation (publisher of Poetry magazine).
- Poetry Society of America Awards
- "The PSA's Annual Awards are among the most prestigious honors available to poets. They offer emerging and established poets recognition at all stages of their careers. The awards recognize everything from a single poem to our highest honor, the Frost Medal, which celebrates lifetime achievement in poetry."
- Pulitzer Winners for Poetry
- Poets and winning poems/poetry collections for each year.
- The T.S. Eliot Prize
- Current and past winners.
Videos - Poetry Readings & Performances
- The Academy of American Poets: Videos
- Favorite Poem Project
- Please scroll down their page for the videos.
- Griffin Poetry Prize
- Moving Poems: The Best Poetry Videos on the Web
- PBS: Poetry Everywhere
- Pearls of Wisdom
- Poetry (YouTube Channel)
- A Poetry Channel
- PoetryEverywherePTV
- The Poetry Foundation
- SpokenVerse
- TED Talks: Poetry
- See also their articles on poetry.
- Vancouver Poetry Slam
See also:
General Poetry Resources
- The American Poetry Review
- "Bimonthly issues of original poetry, literary criticism, interviews, essays and social commentary."
- Favorite Poem Project
- "The Favorite Poem Project is dedicated to celebrating, documenting and encouraging poetry's role in Americans' lives. Robert Pinsky, the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, founded the Favorite Poem Project shortly after the Library of Congress appointed him to the post in 1997." Select and click on videos on home page or click the Videos link for more recorded readings of favorite poetry read by celebrities and other people throughout the United States. Provided by Boston University, the Library of Congress, and others. Video playback requires the Adobe Flash plugin.
- Modern and Contemporary American Poetry
- A free course (OpenCourseWare/OCW) from the University of Pennsylvania. From the course description: "ModPo is a fast-paced introduction to modern and contemporary U.S. poetry, from Dickinson and Whitman to the present. Participants (who need no prior experience with poetry) will learn how to read poems that are supposedly 'difficult.'" Free registration (via Coursera.org) required.
- Modern Poetry
- A free course (OpenCourseWare/OCW) From Yale University. From the course description: "This course covers the body of modern poetry, its characteristic techniques, concerns, and major practitioners. The authors discussed range from Yeats, Eliot, and Pound, to Stevens, Moore, Bishop, and Frost with additional lectures on the poetry of World War One, Imagism, and the Harlem Renaissance. Diverse methods of literary criticism are employed, such as historical, biographical, and gender criticism."
- The New York Times: Poetry and Poets
- News, articles, and reviews.
- No Fear Shakespeare: Sonnets
- Modern, easy-to-understand renditions of the Sonnets of William Shakespeare. Includes the original Sonnets for comparison.
- PBS NewsHour Poetry Series
- "The NewsHour Poetry Series, funded by the Poetry Foundation, intends to engage a broader audience with poetry through a series of thoughtful, in-depth reports on contemporary poets and poetry." Includes Poet Profiles, videos, and resources for teachers.
- Poems (formerly the Poetry Tool)
- An interactive archive of full text poems you can locate by category, occasion, title, first lines, popularity, or poets' names, birth/death dates, or school/period. From The Poetry Foundation.
- PoemTalk
- A podcast series sponsored by the Poetry Foundation (publisher of Poetry magazine), the Kelly Writers House, and PennSound. In addition to audio clips there are full text articles on classic and contemporary poets and poetry.
- Poetry of America
- "The 'Poetry of America' initiative is part of the Poetry and Literature Center's 75th Anniversary celebration. Through two features, 'Poetry of American Identity' and 'Poetry of American History,' this initiative explores how poetry connects to the following themes: immigration and migration, work and industry, social change, and peace and war." From the Library of Congress.
- PoetryBase: Poetic Forms
- A list of major poetic forms linked to descriptions and explanations of how they work in terms of rhyme, structure, meter, and more.
- Poetry Catalog: Poets & Poetry in the Library Catalog
- Locate poetry books, anthologies, and more at Middletown Thrall Library and the RCLS library system.
- Poetry Daily
- Features contemporary poetry and poets from new books, journals, and magazines.
- The Poetry Foundation
- "The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience." Includes news, articles, featured poems and poets, reviews, audio, videos, and more.
- Poetry: How-to Help and Videos
- Topics include: How to Read a Poem Aloud, Looking at Rhythm and Meter in Poetry, Why You Should Read Poems Aloud, Understanding the Subject of a Poem, and more. From Dummies.com.
- Poetry Journals
- Directory of poetry journals. From Poetry Society of America (PSA). See also their Poetry Publishers list.
- Poetry Out Loud
- Browse titles and text of poems, poets, and recorded performances of poetic readings. Includes teaching resources and tips on reciting poetry.
- Poetry Resources: Poets & Poems
- Middletown Thrall Library's metaguide to poetry resources on the Web and in the library system. Includes links to poetry criticism, ebooks.
- Poetry Society of America (PSA)
- "The Poetry Society of America, the nation's oldest poetry organization, was founded in 1910 for the purpose of creating a public forum for the advancement, enjoyment, and understanding of poetry. Through a diverse array of programs, initiatives, contests, and awards, the Poetry Society of America works to build a larger audience for poetry, to encourage a deeper appreciation of the art, and to place poetry at the crossroads of American life." Includes audio recordings of poets reading their works, news, a blog, articles, information on poetry contests and awards, and more.
- Poets.org
- The Academy of American Poets. Includes Daily Poetry, weekly highlights, a poem/poet search engine, resources for educators, audio feeds of poets reading their works, and poetry news.
- Poets & Writers
- Resources for creative writers. Includes monthly features of contemporary poets, select articles from the Poets & Writers magazine, news, as well as grants and awards.
- RhymeZone
- Find rhyming words and phrases. Also allows you to search William Shakespeare's works alphabetically by lines/word order and "coined words."
- Writing about Poetry
- "The basics of how to write about poetry, including why it is done, what you should know, and what you can write about." From Purdue University's Writing Lab.
Quotations
Famous Literary Quotes
Famous Literary Quotes
- The Columbia World of Quotations
- Search or browse 65,000 quotations. Over 5,000 authors are included. Provided by Bartleby.com.
- Familiar Quotations - Compiled by John Bartlett
- Search or browse the the text of Bartlett's Quotations (10th ed.) courtesy of Bartleby.com. Handy for locating quotes in major classic texts.
- LitQuotes.com
- Includes: Daily Quotes, Quotes by Subject, Quotes by Title or Author.
- One Hundred Best First Lines of Novels
- Provides quote, author, title of work quoted, and the year the novel was published. Provided by Infoplease.com.
See also: Ready Reference: Quotations
William Shakespeare's
Life, Writings, Criticism
Life, Writings, Criticism
Featured Resources
Other Resources
- Shakespearean Criticism (SC)
- In the Literature Criticism Online database. Available at Thrall (and to Thrall members at home).
- Shakespeare for Students
- In the Literature for Students database. Available at Thrall (and to Thrall members at home).
Other Resources
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
- Comedies, histories, and tragedies.
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Described as "the world's largest and finest collection of Shakespeare materials and to major collections of other rare Renaissance books, manuscripts, and works of art."
- Google Books: Books by or about William Shakespeare
- Includes many older "full view" works (anthologies, criticism, essays, etc.) Google has scanned from libraries.
- In Search of Shakespeare
- "While much is known about the works of William Shakespeare, information about the man behind the words can be hard to find. Separating fact from rumor can be even harder." Documentary from PBS.
- Shakespeare Central - The Works of William Shakespeare
- "Understand Shakespeare's plays and poetry with free CliffsNotes summaries, character analyses, glossaries, quotes, essays, filmography, and more. Read Shakespeare's biography; explore themes, symbols, and motifs." From CliffsNotes.
- Mr. Shakespeare and the Internet
- Biography of Shakespeare, study guides, criticism, reviews, a blog, and more. Archived website.
- National Portrait Gallery: Portraits of William Shakespeare
- From the British National Portrait Gallery.
- No Fear Shakespeare
- "No Fear Shakespeare puts Shakespeare's language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English - the kind of English people actually speak today." Modern editions of plays including: As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors, Henry IV (part I and part II), Henry V, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Sonnets, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Twelfth Night.
- Open Source Shakespeare
- Search the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. Also available: a concordance, character lists and searches, and more.
- Phrases from William Shakespeare
- Includes phrase and quoted text from the plays. From Phrase Finder.
- Poets.org: William Shakespeare
- Brief biography as well as poems. From the Academy of American Poets.
- Project Gutenberg: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
- Downloadable electronic texts (e-texts/ebooks) of Shakespeare's plays.
- Shakespeare - Free Resources for Students and Teachers
- Quotes, articles, quizzes, and more. From About.com.
- Shakespeare Authorship Coalition
- "The Shakespeare Authorship Coalition runs this website so anyone who cares about Shakespeare, as we do, can easily see why his identity has long been in doubt, and sign a definitive declaration addressing the issue - the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt About the Identity of William Shakespeare, located on this site."
- Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
- "Founded by the pioneering American actor and director Sam Wanamaker, Shakespeare's Globe is a unique international resource dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare's work and the playhouse for which he wrote, through the connected means of performance and education." This website includes a brief history of the original Globe Theatre.
- Shakespeare in the Park
- "Shakespeare in the Park is one of one of New York City's most beloved summer traditions. New York natives and visitors alike have been enjoying free Shakespeare in Central Park since performances began in 1954."
- Shakespeare's Life and Times
- Illustrated biography. Archived website.
- The Shakespeare Mystery: Who, in Fact, Was He?
- This special from PBS looks into questions regarding Shakespeare's authorship - whether he actually existed or someone else wrote his plays.
- Shakespeare Resource Center
- Topics include: Shakespeare's biography, language, life, will, as well as the debate concerning the authorship (who wrote) Shakespeare's plays.
- Shakespeare Study Guides
- Browse by title of play. From SparkNotes.
- Shakespeare: The Authorship Debate
- A concise examination of possible persons some critics and others believe to have actually written the works of Shakespeare (Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere, Francis Bacon, among others). Includes links to other websites on this topic. From the Shakespeare Resource Center.
- Shakespeare Illustrated
- "Shakespeare Illustrated, a work in progress, explores nineteenth-century paintings, criticism and productions of Shakespeare's plays and their influences on one another." From Emory University.
- Shakespeare in Performance
- "Shakespeare in Performance is a searchable database of performance materials from over 1000 film and stage productions related to Shakespeare's works. Whether you are an actor, director, student, scholar or Shakespeare enthusiast, this database provides an exciting and innovative resource of items and artifacts related to stage production from start to finish."
- Shakespeare Online
- Read or search the plays and poetry (sonnets) of William Shakespeare. Includes plot summaries, study guides, literary critcism and analysis, a glossary, quotations, and more.
- Shakespeare's Will
- Image and text transcript. From the United Kingdom's National Archives.
- Shakespeare's Words
- "The site integrates the full text of the plays and poems with the entire Glossary database, allowing you to search for any word or phrase in Shakespeare's works, and in particular to find all instances of all words that can pose a difficulty to the modern reader." Click on their Glossary button to search for words.
- Shmoop: Shakespeare's Plays and Sonnets
- Overviews and analyses of the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. Browse by title. Click tabs on their page for more information (Intro, Summary, Themes, Quotes, Characters, Analysis, Questions, etc.).
- William Shakespeare Filmography
- A chronologically sorted list of movies and television shows based on Shakespeare's works and plays. Provided by Fandango.
- William Shakespeare in the Library Catalog
- Books by or about Shakespeare, including his works, criticism/critical analysis, interpretations, stories and adaptations, movies, videos, audiobooks, and other items located throughout the Ramapo Catskill Library System (RCLS).
- William Shakespeare News
- From The New York Times.
- William Shakespeare Study Guide
- Sections include: Biography, Critical Essays, Analysis, and more.
Short Stories
- Bibliomania: Short Stories
- Short stories by O. Henry, Chekhov, Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, Washington Irving, and others.
- Short Fiction
- Electronic texts (e-texts) of short stories hosted at Eserver.org.
- The Short Story: Specimens Illustrating Its Development
- Edited Brander Matthews. Over 20 short stories from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. Provided by Bartleby.com.
- The Short Story Library
- Full text to many famous short stories. Also includes a "Short Story of the Day."
- Wikipedia: Short Story
- Definition and related web links. See also Wikipedia's list of short story authors. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
Study Guides
- Bibliomania: Literature Study Guides
- Study guide topics include: Biographies, Plot Synopses, Themes, Character Lists Summaries, and Further Reading.
- CliffsNotes: Literature Study Guides
- Books, novels, drama / plays, poetry, essays, short stories, and more.
- eNotes
- "Thousands of literature study guides, lesson plans, literary criticism." Designed with students and teachers in mind. Search or browse. Also has a discussion board and featured questions/answers about literature.
- Pink Monkey.com
- Hundreds of study guides, summaries, chapter notes, analyses, and classic texts.
- Shmoop Literature Learning Guides and Teacher Resources
- Overviews and analyses of classics and modern literary works. Works are listed alphabetically by title. Click tabs on their page for more information (Intro, Summary, Themes, Quotes, Characters, Analysis, Questions, etc.).
- SparkNotes: Literature Study Guides
- Study guide topics include: Plot Overviews, Character Lists, Analyses of Major Characters, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, Important Quotations, Key Facts, Study Questions, Essay Topics, Quizzes, and Suggestions for Further Reading.
Trivia
Fun & Interesting Literary Facts
Fun & Interesting Literary Facts
- Behind the Names: Literature Names
- Meanings behind the names of major characters from literature. Includes pronunciation for each name.
- Best 100 Characters in Fiction Since 1900
- A list produced in 2002 summarizing some of the most popular literary characters of all time.
- Book Trivia
- A variety of fun facts and interesting trivia about famous books and literary writings throughout the history of literature. Provided by Information Please's "Fact Monster."
- Books Under Fire
- Lists of recent and past (back to 1990) challenged, banned, and censored books in the United States.
- Calendar of Literary Facts
- Said to cover "more than 6,500 events in literary history." Click on calendar dates for various trivia. From Enotes.com.
- Fact Monster: All About Books
- Numerous trivia lists and fun facts about literature, literary characters, and authors. Some examples include: Mystery Initials (and full names of authors, as in J.R.R. Tolkien), Famous Storytellers, Books Inside and Out (all about the parts of a book and related technical terms, such as "bookplate" and "front matter"). Provided by Information Please's "Fact Monster."
- Female Literary Figures
- An alphabetically arranged list of some of the most popular women writers in the history of English and world literature. Click on any of the authors' names for a brief biography and list of their major writings. Provided by infoplease.com.
- FunTrivia.com: Literary Characters Trivia and Quizzes
- "There are 161 quizzes and 1,610 trivia questions in this category."
- FunTrivia: Literary Characters
- Includes such lists as: "Mixed Up Heroines," "Classic Couples," "What Book Am I From," "Characters' Names," "Literary Antagonists," and "Famous Literary Heroes And Heroines," among others.
- Literary Hoaxes
- A new feature at infoplease.com focusing on recent hoaxes perpetrated by several authors attempting to pass their writings off as based on true stories.
- Literary Places
- "This database of writerly destinations-places writers can visit for inspiration, to promote their writing, for research, and to discover community-includes historical sites, reading venues, literary collections, writing centers, and writers spaces. Save your selections to My P&W and populate a personal Google Map that can be used to plan reading tours and visits to literary meccas, or just to keep track of your favorite literary locales." From Poets & Writers.
World Literature
- Asian Literature
- Lists of classics and summaries. From Infoplease.
- Chinese Text Project
- "The goal of this site is to present accurate and accessible copies of ancient (in particular pre-Qin and Han dynasty) Chinese texts in an organized and searchable format, and to make the best possible use of modern technology to aid in the study and research of these texts, so making them accessible to the widest possible audience. This site is available in several versions: English or Chinese interface, and traditional or simplified characters." Includes the Three Rites (The Book of Rites / Liji / The Record of Rites, Rites of Zhou / Zhouli, The Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial / Yili) Four Books (Great Learning / Da Xue, Doctrine of the Mean / Zhong Yong, The Analects of Confucius / , Mencius / Mengzi) and the Five Classics ( The Book of Songs / Classic of Poetry / Shijing, The Book of Documents / Classic of History / Shujing, The Book of Rites / Record of Rites / Liji, I Ching / Classic of Changes / Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals / Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan). Some texts are only available in Chinese.
- Icelandic Saga Database
- "The Icelandic Saga Database is an online resource dedicated to the digital publication of the Sagas of the Icelanders - a large body of medieval literature which forms the foundation of the Icelandic literary tradition. This website contains all the extant Icelandic family sagas in an easily readable format using modernized Icelandic spelling, with Old Norse versions and translations into English and other languages made available where these exist in the public domain." Note: when viewing one of the Sagas, you can select the English, Icelandic, or Old Norse translation through the Versions links on the left side of the page.
- Japanese Text Initiative
- "The Japanese Text Initiative (JTI) intends to put online on the Web texts of classical Japanese literature in Japanese characters. Our primary audience is English-speaking scholars and students. Where possible, the Japanese texts will be accompanied by English translations." From University of Virginia Library's Electronic Text Center.
- Literature in Latin America
- Browse by region/country. From the University of Texas at Austin's Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC).
- Online Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape
- "A series of audio recordings of renowned poets and prose writers reading from their work in their native languages. Writers from the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, the Caribbean and U.S. Hispanics/Latinos have been recorded. Available as streamed audio, 50 recordings are currently available at www.loc.gov/collections/archive-of-hispanic-literature-on-tape/about-this-collection/. Additional material from the collection will be added on a monthly basis. Listen to audio recordings of prominent Hispanic writers including Nobel Laureates Gabriel García Márquez, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, and Octavio Paz, and renowned writers Jorge Amado, Jorge Luis Borges, and Julio Cortázar reading from their works at the Library of Congress." From the Library of Congress.
- The Online Books Page
- Online texts and eBooks:
- Persian Language Rare Materials
- "The Library of Congress is home to a noteworthy collection of rare Persian language manuscripts, lithographic books and early imprints, as well as printed books, housed in the African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED) and the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Most of these Persian manuscripts and lithographic books were procured for the Library in the 1930s by Kirkor Minassian (1874-1944), a renowned dealer in fine Islamic and Near Eastern arts with establishments both in New York and Paris. The Minassian acquisitions included treasures from the entire Middle East with rare books and manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Armenian languages. Since the 1930s the Library has continued to purchase a small number of Persian language manuscripts and lithographs at auctions, and from antique manuscript and book sellers including Christies and Sotheby's. The Library has also benefited from the generosity of people who have donated rare Persian materials they inherited from their families over the generations and which have been present in the United States or Europe before World War II. These rare Persian manuscripts, lithographs and books comprise works in many disciplines, but historical and literary works are dominant. A number of these items are exquisitely illuminated anthologies of poetry by classic and lesser known poets, written in fine calligraphic styles,and illustrated with miniatures. Many also have beautiful bindings. A number of the illuminated books are multilingual works, which include Arabic and Turkish passages in addition to Persian, focusing on scientific, religious - philosophical and literary topics, and others are holy books important to all confessional traditions within the Islamic world."
- Popular World Literature Books
- As voted upon by Good Reads readers, this is a list of internationally popular works and authors, both classic and contemporary.
- From Project Gutenberg
- These free eBooks include both classics of world literature translated into English, literary works in various languages, as well as writings about world literature (e.g. George Saintsbury's A History of the French Novel):
- American and Canadian Literature
- Includes the works of Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jack London, Herman Melville, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Walt Whitman, and many others.
- English Literature
- French Literature
- Germany Bookshelf - Literature
- Includes The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (12 volumes), Faust, and more.
- Classical Literature - Greek and Roman Literature
- Includes The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer, the works of Aristotle and Plato, The Aeneid by Virgil, and more.
- Egyptian Literature
- Includes Egyptian Tales translated from the Papyri and more.
- French Literature
- Includes The Tales of Jean de La Fontaine and works by Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine.
- India Bookshelf - Literature
- Includes the works of Rabindranath Tagore and more.
- Irish Literature
- Includes Poets and Dreamers: Studies and Translations from the Irish by Lady Gregory.
- Italian Literature
- Includes The Divine Comedy (La Divina Commedia) by Dante Alighieri and more.
- Japanese Literature
- An anthology "including selections from Genji Monogatari and the classical poetry and drama of Japan."
- Indo-Iranian Literatures (India / Hindu, Persian, and more)
- Includes The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and more.
- Sanskrit Literature
- Includes Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Upanishads, and more.
- Spain - Literature
- Includes Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Legends and Romances of Spain.
- Welsh Literature
- Includes The Mabinogion and more.
- Project Runeberg
- "Project Runeberg is a volunteer effort to create free electronic editions of classic Nordic (Scandinavian) literature and make them openly available over the Internet." Click their Catalog page for their list of available titles.
- The Skaldic Project
- "An international project to edit the corpus of medieval Norse-Icelandic skaldic poetry." From the University of Aberdeen.
- Slavic Literature (Polish, Russian, and more)
- Includes the short stories and plays of Anton Chekhov as well as the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy, and others.
- Top 100 Works in World Literature
- From Infoplease.com.
- Wikipedia: World Literature
- Definition and related web links. Please note Wikipedia's disclaimers.
- Words Without Borders: The Online Magazine for International Literature
- Features news, interviews with contemporary authors from around the world, educational resources for teachers and students, book reviews,
- World Literature Today
- Features select WLT articles, interviews, and essays from the premium subscription journal. From the University of Oklahoma.
See also:
Writing about Literature
- Criticism and Literary Theory Resources
- Enotes: Literature Guides
- Guides to reading, understanding, interpreting, and exploring literary texts, symbols, and more. Some examples of guides include:
- How to Analyze a Poem in 10 Easy Steps
- How to Analyze Symbolism
- How to Compare Two Characters
- How to Read Literature Critically in 6 Easy Steps - Topics include: Figurative language, Structure, Influence, Archetypes, Symbolism.)
- How to Write a Character Analysis
- How to Write a Good Essay on English Literature in 5 Easy Steps
- How to Write a Persuasive Literature Essay
- From About.com.
- Literary and Literary Criticism Databases
- Articles and biographies of classics and literary authors. Available to members of Thrall.
- What Makes a Good Literature Paper?
- From Purdue University.