To analyze the social, political, or historical context of the work, search that time period within one of the library's history databases. To analyze any autobiographical elements in the work, look up the author in the library's biography database.
Literature CriticismThis link opens in a new windowExplore the most extensive compilation of literary commentary available. Includes analysis from book excerpts, periodicals, and more. Includes Contemporary Literary Criticism, Children's Literature Review, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Drama Criticism, Literature Criticism (1400-1800), 19th Century Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Short Story Criticism, 20th Century Literary Criticism.
Literature Resource CenterThis link opens in a new windowFind up-to-date biographies, overviews, full-text criticisms, audio interviews, and reviews on writers from all eras. Includes Dictionary of Literary Biography, Something About the Author.
Bloom's LiteratureThis link opens in a new windowBloom's Literature contains a wide range of reference essays and scholarly criticism examining great authors and their works throughout history, as well as full-length videos of classic plays and films. Bloom's Literature includes a Literary Classics eBook shelf containing the full contents of more than 1,000 classic works of literature, and also includes a Shakespeare Center which houses in one convenient location a treasure trove of content on all things Shakespeare.
Search for Background Information
Credo ReferenceThis link opens in a new windowCredo Reference is a general knowledge database providing articles, images, charts, maps and other materials on thousands of topics. With 750+ searchable, full-text titles, Credo Reference places particular emphasis on subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and reference handbooks. Also included are more than 1,100 short reference videos, more than 475,000 high-resolution art images, photographs, and maps across all subject areas.