Literary Resources: Criticism, Research, and GRE Study Aids

Introductory Note:

This section contains author pages, timelines, study guides, terminology, and criticism. Any literary criticism found on this website may be used as a source (with proper credit given) or as a study aid. However, be reminded that plagiarism of papers is illegal and unethical. For information on allowed usage and citation of sources, see the copyright page. Teachers, for resources to help you check if a paper is plagiarized, click here. For an introduction to the original papers on this site, click here.

Information on the authors, works, or history of:

Pre-Restoration (Before Christ to 1660)

The Restoration & 18th Century (1660-1785)

The Romantic Period (1785-1831)

The Victorian Period (1832-1900)

The 20th Century (1900-2000)

Literature Study Aids:

Preparing for the Literature G.R.E. (advice, books, study guides)

Critical Approaches to Literature (definitions, overviews, applications, etc.)

Literature Quizzes (quizzes the webmaster has written to test your literary knowledge)

Timeline of English History and Literature (thoroughly annotated)

Timeline of American History and Literature (annotated)

Timeline of World History and Literature (annotated)

Kings and Queens of England and Great Britain (outline, family trees, etc.)

A Concise Catalogue of Mythology (Greek, Roman, English, etc.)

Definitions for Literary Terms (figurative, rhetorical, genre-related, etc.)

Bible Study Aids (outlines, genealogies, guides, etc.)

General Resources (other websites for the study of English and literature)

Find the Full-Text of Literary Works:

Search Powells or Amazon.com or Amazon.uk (full-texts available for order)

The Internet Public Library (full-texts online)

Biblomania (full-text, summaries, and notes online)

Bartleby Online Texts (full-texts online)

Online Literature Library (full-texts online)

Chaucer, Geoffery
Overview of Canterbury Tales, books, websites, and a short paper examining the Shipman in the Prologue to Canterbury Tales.

Milton, John
A look at uxoriousness and the expansion of Genesis in John Milton's Paradise Lost.

Shakespeare, William
Biography, overview of his poetry and plays, an outline of the authorship controversy, books, and links to other websites.

Hogarth, William (off site)
A website containing sources useful for the study of William Hogarth.

Otway, Thomas
A paper on the Tory politics of Thomas Otway's Venice Preserv'd.

Pope, Alexander
A look at the Christian message of Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man."

Neoclassical Poetry Quiz (off site)
This literary quiz, which I contributed to FunTrivia, emphasizes Pope and Dryden

Austen, Jane
Expanded timeline, a review of Northanger Abbey, and a short critical paper on anti-romanticism in Sense and Sensibility, websites, and books.

Blake, William
Expanded timeline, overview of Songs, full-text of poem "London," critical paper on Marriage of Heaven and Hell, books, and other websites.

Byron, Lord
Expanded timeline, critical paper on Cain, overview, books, and websites.

Scott, Sir Walter
A brief overview, expanded timeline, full-text of poem "Love," and websites.

Melville, Herman
This paper takes a look at the role of Christ as via media in Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Sailor.
Try also my Works of Melville quiz at FunTrivia.com.

The Victorian Web (off site)
An extensive collection of information and articles on Victorians and Victorian authors. This web contains just about every Victorian author you can imagine, as well as information on the society, religion, and culture of the time. The best Victorian resource I know of on the internet.

Cisneros, Sandra
Two critical papers, one on "Woman Hollering Creek" and one on "Never Marry a Mexican." Ordering information for books. Links to other websites.

Dylan, Bob
Album reviews, annotated bibliography, timeline, and an outline of the biblical allusions in Dylan's song lyrics, including a critical paper on "Jokerman."

Golding, Willaim
A critical paper exploring the alternative reasons for the societal breakdown in William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies.v

Postcolonial Literature (off site)
An extensive collection of information on contemporary postimperial and postcolonial literature in English.

The webmaster, Skylar H. Burris, has written several literary quizzes which she has contributed to FunTrivia.com. These quizzes are automatically scored. The link will take you to the quiz on FunTrivia's website. The quiz will open in a separate window. Close the window to return to this site.

Complete List of Quizzes
Everything I have contributed to FunTrivia, including literature quizzes.

Literature Classics
Provides information on texts generally considered to be worthy of scholarship. Their database includes over one hundred authors who are widely studied and appreciated around the world. Information is in the form of biographical details, lists of works in chronological order, contextual details and critical and analytical essays on individual texts. Links are provided to carefully selected and rated sites on the internet.

Free Dictionary
Contains over a million articles and definitions from leading dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Online Literary Criticism Collection
Select websites with literary criticism, alphabetized by author. A superb resource provided by the Internet Public Library.

Infoplease
A fanatastic reference site complete with search engine. Infoplease is especially good for quickly looking up brief biographies on figures in literature and history. The site also has more detailed information.

Luminarium
Contains links to the full-text of literature as well as essays, biographies, and study resources for Medieval, Renaissance, and 17th century literature. Beautiful layout.