English 1213 G.H.

ENGLISH 1213 G.H.

Sarah Brick Archer
Assistant Professor of
Library Services
Ofc.: Rm# 308B, ext.: #3267
userid: archersa

Why do research?

Research can lead to information; information can lead to knowledge, and knowledge is powerful.

How is the NSU library organized?

How can I find Biographical/Critical Information about my Poet?

There are several reference books available that provide a brief biographical overview to a poet. Examples of sources are listed below.
American Authors, 1600-1900: A Biographical Dictionary Ref. PS 21.K8
British Authors Before 1800 Ref. PR 105.K9
British Authors of the Nineteenth Century Ref. PR 451.K8 1936
*Dictionary of Literary Biography Ref. PN 451.D32
Twentieth Century Authors Ref. PN 771.K86

Full-length biographies on poets can be found by using the Online Catalog and doing a subject search on the poet's last name.

Journals may also contain biographical articles. These would be accessible by using The Humanities Index, Academic Search Elite on EbscoHost or M.L.A. Bibliography
(described in greater detail below). Look for a subheading biography.

How do I find Criticism on "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock?

For a quick overview to the poem, use Masterplots II: Poetry Series Ref. PN 1110.5.M37

For sections in books and articles about the poem, use the following literary explicators:
*American and British Poetry v 1-2 Ref. PS 303.A44 1984
*Guide to American Poetry Explication: Colonial and Nineteenth-Century Ref. PS 201.R66 1989
*Guide to American Poetry Explication: Modern and Contemporary Ref. PS 221.L46 1989
*Guide to the Secular Poetry of T.S. Eliot Ref. PS 3509.L43Z6436 1996
*Magill's Bibliography of Literary Criticism Ref. PN 523.M25

For additional journal articles, try the indexes available through the library homepage on the Web. For remote access, follow the directions available on the library’s index page. Examples include the following:

Academic Search Elite

The Humanities Index

M.L.A. Bibliography

How do I Locate General Criticism?

General criticisms can be located in books or journal articles. For contemporary (active from 1960 to the present) poets, try Contemporary Literary Criticism (Ref. PN 771.C59). For poets writing between 1900-1960, use Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (Ref. PN 771.G27). For full-length criticisms in books, do a subject search on the poet’s last name in the Online Catalog to identify collections of criticisms (example atwood, margaret–criticism and interpretation).

How do I Locate Internet Sources?

Try The English Server [http://eserver.org/], Online Literary Criticism Collection [http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit/], "Notes and Observations of T.S. Eliot's Early Poems" or the library’s English Resources Web Page [http://library.nsuok.edu/Resources/Subjects/Art/englres.html]. For a generic search engine, try Google.

How do I Locate Information about American Pie?

For information about Don McLean, try Contemporary Musicians Ref. ML 385.C615 v.7. For events discussed in the song and for more information about the songwriter, try the New York Times Index (Index AI 21.N44) and Reader's Guide (Index AI 3.R48). You may also try the current indexes on EbscoHost or Don McLean Online.

Where can I Locate an M.L.A. Style Manual?

The M.L.A. Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is located on the first floor at the call number, Ready Ref. LB 2369.G53 1999. Try the Modern Language Association Web page.

Created by Sarah Brick Archer on February 13, 2002. Return to Sarah's Instruction Page.