Multiple search and browse options are combined with an engaging format that matches the look and feel of the print originals. literature criticism online may include any or all of the following titles, allowing libraries to build collections that fit their needs. summary: the largest curated online collection of literary criticism in the world, this resource brings together 10 acclaimed multidisciplinary series representing a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres. Clear, accessible introductory essays followed by carefully selected critical responses allow end users to engage with a variety of scholarly views and conversations about authors, works and literary topics.

Students writing papers or class presentations, instructors preparing their syllabi, or anyone seeking a deeper understanding of literature will find this a highly useful resource. source: introductory essays are written and entries compiled by professional literature researchers and other subject matter experts. Each entry includes a set of previously published reviews, essays and other critical responses from sources that include scholarly books and journals, literary magazines, interviews, letters and diaries, carefully selected to create a representative history and cross section of critical responses. literature criticism online offers more than 220,0 critical essays from more than 30,0 unique sources.

structure: each entry features: an introduction explaining the significance of the author, work and topic and reviewing its critical reception across time. Researchers can find electronic access to all volumes of the acclaimed dictionary of literary biography series as well as the dlb documentary series and the dlb yearbook series. literature resource center is the most current, comprehensive, and reliable online literature resource. Its materials support interdisciplinary approaches, information literacy, and the development of critical thinking skills. Researchers will find information on authors and their works in all genres and disciplines.

This chapter discusses how to write a specific type of literature paper often referred to as a critical analysis or interpretive analysis of literature. This type of paper is different from merely analyzing or examining literature using the elements of literature. It also is different from an interpretive or argumentative thesis on a literary work. A critical analysis is one of the two most common types of research papers in literature, the arts, and the other humanities. It is common in both introductory literature courses and in intermediate and advanced ones requiring research writing.

The phrase close reading also is sometimes used to describe this kind of writing, as it requires close examination detailed, careful reading sentence by sentence of one or several small parts, sometimes as little as a line in poetry , a paragraph in short stories and essays, or a page or two in books to critically thoughtfully and carefully explain a work of literature. In literature and the other humanities, to interpret or critically analyze means to break a subject such as a a segment of a work of art or, in other fields, a culture, person, or event into its constituent parts, examine these components, and offer a meaning or alternative meanings about each. Usually such a paper starts with an interpretive question, such as what is a major turning point in the work of literature. Other interpretive questions might, instead, be used, such as what is the relationship of romeo to his father, what did the one ring symbolize to the dwarves in lord of the rings , or how does the element of chance control the fortunes of two different male characters in the color purple? the goal of writing a literary analysis is to thoroughly take apart and look at some important or interesting segment of a literary work. To do so, you should choose an important turning point, or a scene, character, activity, or some other segment of a literary work, break it into parts, and analyze it part by part. You can examine each part thoroughly using the elements of literature to help explain its meanings, compare/contrast each part to others in the literary work, or apply a literary theory or other point of view to each part. The structure you use is that of a logical, balanced essay, with a brief introduction, a series of body sections explaining each part, and a brief conclusion.

If your instructor suggests or allows it, you also may have a brief first body section, after the introduction, that summarizes the main elements of the work if your instructor is unacquainted with it or reports biographical, historical, or other background. In your introduction and conclusion and throughout the body paragraphs of your paper, you should consistently quote and paraphrase the literary work that is your subject as you analyze parts and their possible meanings. These quotations and paraphrases help you support what you are saying by showing clearly just what the author of the work has written.