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Library Subject Guides

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

A Selective Guide to the Library's Resources on This Subject

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Subject headings
These subject headings may be used to locate books in the Pellissippi Library Catalog and netLibrary eBook collection.
Call numbers for browsing 
Databases 

For a complete list of databases:  Databases A-Z

Oxford Reference Online -  contains searchable access to 100 dictionary and reference titles published by Oxford Press including The Consise Oxford Companion series (African American Literature, American Literature, Classical Literature, English Literature, Irish Literature, Twentieth-Century Poetry in English), A Dictionary of Shakespeare, and A Dictionary of Writers and their Works.

* You may access online databases from off-campus computers by entering your general computer account username and password (used for PSTCC e-mail)..
 NOTE: Enter your username in this format example: s_jmdoe. It is not necessary to add "@pstcc.edu" for this application.

Reference Books 
 HarperCollins Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. George Perkins, Barbara Perkins, and Phillip Leininger, eds. New York: Harper Collins, 2002. REF PN 41 .B4 2002 This single volume, dictionary style work of literature includes American, Canadian, and Latin American writers from European exploration to the early 1990s. Includes contemporary writers, literary movements, terms, and history of American literature.

The Cambridge Guide to English Literature. Michael Stapleton, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. REF PR 85 .C28 1983 Covers English language literature and authors: 6th - 7th centuries up to 1983. Black-and-white photographs are included.

Encyclopedia of Literature and Criticism. Martin Coyle, ed. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1991. REF PN 81 .E53 1991 Provides a compilation of critical essays on English language literature and its production and development. It includes lists for further reading.

Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century. Leonard S. Klein, ed. Rev ed. New York: Ungar, 1981-84. Four volumes and index. REF PN 771 .E5 1981 Includes topical and author articles. Author articles are followed by listings of books not discussed in the article and a bibliography of relevant works.

The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. REF PR 19 .O94 2000 A single volume dictionary of English language authors, literary works and literary societies.

Reference Guide to English Literature. 2nd ed. D.L. Kirkpatrick, ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. REF PR 106 .S7 1991 Entries contain a complete list of the writer's published books, a selected list of bibliographies and critical studies, and a signed critical essay. Volumes 1-2 include writers from Britain, Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, English-speaking Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Volume 3 includes selected essays on the best-known works of English literature.

A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms. Edward Quinn. New York : Facts On File, c1999. PN44.5 .Q56 1999  Contains more than 850 literary terms and themes. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Web Resources 

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable - this online edition is from the 1898 edition of the classic reference work; the text is searchable by keyword.

 Dictionary of Symbolism (http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/) - This symbolism dictionary endeavors to provide some possible cultural significance of various symbols, and suggest ways in which those symbols may have been used in context.

Phrase Finder (http://www.phrasefinder.co.uk/) - An online phrase thesaurus. Enter a word and it will generate a list of phrases and sayings related to that word - often including interesting selections that you may not have anticipated.

This writer's resource uses a unique intelligent search function to locate related phrases from whatever you input. Behind the search is a database of the largest collection of English-language phrases and sayings available on the Internet.

A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples (http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/rhetoric.html) Provides definitions of literary terms.