Guides: ENG 461 Enlightenment and Romantic British Literature: Home

Locate literary criticism

MLA International Bibliography
Coverage is international and includes literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing.
In addition, the MLA Directory of Periodicals and their proprietary thesaurus used to assign descriptors within the Bibliography are included.
Literature Resource Center
Provides up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and around the world.
JSTOR
Archive of interdisciplinary journals and books, covering the Arts, Business & Economics, History, Humanities, Law, Science & Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Religion.
Project MUSE
Full-text current and archival articles from scholarly journals covering literature and criticism, history, performing arts, cultural studies, education, philosophy, political science, gender studies, and more.

Newspapers

Newspapers can provide you with valuable information. They include book reviews, author interviews, etc. Historical Newspapers can also provide you with information on how the book was received when it was published, if it was published within the papers date range.

The Times Digital Archive (1785 - 1985)
The entire newspaper is online, with all articles, advertisements and illustrations/photos divided into categories to facilitate searching.

British Periodicals
Provides page images and searchable full text for approximately 500 British periodicals published from the 17th through the early 20th centuries (1681-1920).
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
Collection of English or foreign-language titles printed in the United Kingdom from 1701-1800, along with thousands of important works from the Americas.

Locate biographical information

Dictionary of National Biography
Articles on notable people who shaped British history worldwide, from the 4th century BC to the year 2012.
Literature Resource Center
Provides up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and around the world.

Online Books on Romantic Poetry

The Romantic Poetry Handbook by Madeleine Callaghan; Michael O'Neill
ISBN: 9781118308738

Publication Date: 2017-12-18

This survey explores the work of six poets whose names are most closely associated with the Romantic era--Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, Keats, Byron, and Shelley--as well as works by other significant but less widely studied poets. The volume is alert to relevant contexts, and opens up ways of understanding Romantic poetry. In its central section 'Readings' it explores tensions, change, and continuity within the Romantic Movement, and examines a wide range of individual poems and poets through sensitive, attentive and accessible analyses. In addition, the authors provide a full introduction, a detailed historical and cultural timeline, biographies of the poets, and a helpful guide to further reading.
The Quest of the Absolute: by Louis Dupré
ISBN: 9780268077815

Publication Date: 2013-09-01

Analyzing Romanticism as a unique cultural phenomenon and a spiritual revolution, Dupré philosophically reflects on its attempts to recapture the past and transform the present in a movement that is partly a return to premodern culture and partly a violent protest against it. Following an introduction on the historical origins of the Romantic Movement, Dupré examines the principal Romantic poets of England (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats), Germany (Goethe, Schiller, Novalis, Hölderlin), and France (Lamartine, de Vigny, Hugo), all of whom, from different perspectives, pursued an absolute ideal.

Online Books on Mary Shelley & Frankenstein

Search the library catalog for books such as these:

Shelley's Frankenstein by Graham Allen
ISBN: 9780826495242

Publication Date: 2008-12-23

This book offers an authoritative, up-to-date guide, introducing the novel's context, language, themes, criticism and afterlife, leading to a more sophisticated understanding of the text. Graham Allen places Frankenstein in its historical, intellectual and cultural contexts, offering analyses of its themes, style and structure, providing exemplary close readings, and presenting an up-to-date account of its critical reception. It also includes an introduction to its substantial history as an adapted text on stage and screen and its wider influence in film and popular culture. It includes points an annotated guide to relevant reading.
Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon
ISBN: 9780812980479

Publication Date: 2016-02-02

This groundbreaking dual biography brings to life a pioneering English feminist and the daughter she never knew. Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley have each been the subject of numerous biographies, yet no one has ever examined their lives in one book--until now. In Romantic Outlaws, Charlotte Gordon reunites the trailblazing author who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and the Romantic visionary who gave the world Frankenstein--two courageous women who should have shared their lives, but instead shared a powerful literary and feminist legacy.
Frankenstein by David Higgins
ISBN: 9780826494368

Publication Date: 2008-04-21

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of the most widely read novels of all time. Its two central characters, the scientist Victor Frankenstein and the being he creates, have gained mythic status in their own right. Engaging with the novel's characterization is crucial to gaining a real understanding of its themes and contexts, including education, gender difference, imperialism, personal identity, revolutionary politics, and science. This study includes: an introductory overview of the novel, including a brief account of its historical and literary contexts; its reception history; discussion of the major themes and narrative structure; detailed analysis of, the representation of main characters, such as Walton, Frankenstein, and the creature; and a conclusion reminding students of the links between the characters and the key themes and issues.
Critical Insights: Mary Shelley by Virginia Brackett (Editor)
ISBN: 9781682171165

Publication Date: 2016-09-13

Best known as the author of the ubiquitous Gothic novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley lived an eventful, though grief-stricken life, between troubled finances, her father's disownment, and the death of multiple children. Topics discussed in this compilation include autobiographical elements and themes in her work, the influence of Frankenstein today, and her relationship with her husband, Romantic poet-philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Locate the History of a Word

Oxford English Dictionary
Authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium: the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over more than 600,000 words.
Every three months updates revise existing entries and add new words

MLA Citation Style

Information about the 9th edition of the MLA Style Handbook can be found in the MLA Style Center , including A Quick Guide to Works Cited, What's New and Ask the MLA

MLA instructions from Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) can be helpful