CHAPTER 13 - How to Trace Literary Criticism. I

Abstract

This chapter discusses various sources of essays, theses, and periodical articles. The most comprehensive index to essays in published books is the Essay and General Literature Index 1900–1933, which lists some 40,000 essays and miscellaneous works. It is kept up to date by supplements that are cumulated regularly. This work is valuable not only in tracing information on literary topics but also for locating essays written by the authors being studied. Although the Essay and General Literature Index only covers essays that have been published since 1900, it is of value for works of older authors because these have often been reprinted in the 20th century. Guides to theses are usually either national guides to all the theses accepted in a particular country or subject guides to theses on a particular topic, irrespective of the country of origin. National guides to theses include the American Dissertation Abstracts (1938–) (formerly Microfilm Abstracts), which is a list of abstracts of doctoral dissertations and monographs available in complete form on microfilm, and the British Index to Theses Accepted for Higher Degrees, published by ASLIB. The most extensive general index to periodical literature is the Internationale Bibliographie der Zeitschriftenliteratur. An Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities, 1960– , indexes approximately 500 journals, including most of the leading English periodicals.