Using Gale Literature

Start with Gale Literature for introductory information on authors, literary texts, and literary movements. 

Start with Topic & Work Overviews, Reviews & News, and Primary Sources for Interviews to: 

• Learn about an author and their cultural, historical, and personal influences
• Gather ideas on important themes and stylistic elements of a literary work
• Get an overview of and introduction to critical approaches to a written text

Note that none of these are scholarly. You can return to find scholarly literary criticism later. 

• The image below shows a search for information about the novel 1984 by the author George Orwell. 

To Find a Topic and Work Overview

1. Type in author, title, and/or keyword. Note that it may work better to type the author's surname, then first name.

(click on images to enlarge)

2. Select Topic and Work Overviews, Biographies, Interviews, and other introductory works. In this case, I selected Topic & Work Overviews. Look for longer articles. I particularly like the for Students series with introductory information on Themes, Styles, and Critical Responses to the work.

• Note: The article menu to the right points to sections of the article.
  • Themes and Style highlights important ideas explored in the text and the author's use of language, imagery, and other stylistic elements.
  • Historical Context situates the work within the cultural, historical, and social events of that time.
  • Criticism includes an overview of critical interpretations of the text and three different approaches to critical analysis of the text.
• Note also the Subjects to the right. Subject terms can help you find a focus and they can be used as search terms for other relevant sources.

Themes

This excerpt discusses the theme of the rift between appearance and reality, fiction or propaganda and truth in 1984.