Research guides: Literature in English: Background

Dictionaries of Literary Terms

The following only represents a sampling of what University of Toronto Libraries has to offer. For more dictionaires of literary terms, search the library catalogue using the following Library of Congress subject headings:

Criticism Terminology
English language Terms and Phrases
English literature Dictionaries
Literature Terminology
Literary Form Terminology

Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
Dictionary of 1,200 words and phrases describing how they are used in the study of literature.
Dictionary of Literary Devices by Bernard Dupriez; Albert W. Halsall (Translator)
Available online
A Glossary of Literary Terms by M. H. (M. H. Abrams) Abrams; Geoffrey Galt Harpham

Literature Encyclopedias

For more Literature encyclopedias, search the library catalogue using the following subject headings:

Criticism Encyclopedias
English literature Encyclopedias
Literary form Encyclopedias
Literature Encyclopedias

Literary Encyclopedia
Literature Online
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism by Michael Groden (Editor); Martin Kreiswirth (Editor); Imre Szeman (Editor)
Encyclopedia of the Novel by Paul Schellinger (Editor)

Literature Encyclopedias by Region

For more regionally focused literature encyclopedias, search the library catalogue using the following subject headings:

American literature Encyclopedias
American literature African American Authors Encyclopedias
Authors, English Biography Encyclopedias
Canadian literature History and Criticism
Commonwealth literature (English) Encyclopedias
English literature Irish Authors

Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English by Eugene Benson (Editor); L. W. Conolly (Editor)
Also available online
Encyclopedia of American Literature by Susan Clair Imbarrato; Carol Berkin
Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature by David Scott Kastan (Editor)
The Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature by Robert Welch (Editor)
More encyclopedias

Biography research guide

Biography & autobiography
by Robarts Library Last Updated Feb 28, 2023 61 views this year

Research Guides

Literature in English

Dictionaries of Literary Terms

Literature Encyclopedias

Literature Encyclopedias by Region

Biography research guide

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