Search for critical analysis of novels, plays, short stories and poetry in the literary criticism database Gale Literature
Use Gale Literature for more introductory information, such as interviews, biographies, work overviews, reviews, etc. There is some scholarly content in the database as well, but you will need to assess if it is really scholarly.
(click on image to enlarge)
​Use the Electronic Resources Collections Contemporary Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Drama Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, etc. to get some full-text and some excerpts of key scholarly literary criticism on literary works and authors.
To search Gale Literature, be sure to use relevant keywords to find resources on your topic, search by author name, and/or search by named work.
Under Limit Results, you can search for articles within a particular collection. This is a useful tool for finding the most relevant articles.
(click on image to enlarge)
After you have completed a search, you will see the list of results - limited by type - and tools to change your search over on the side.
(click on image to enlarge)
One way to locate applicable criticism --or to see if others are discussing the issues you are interested in-- is to identify a school of criticism that fits in with your topic.
Many times literary critics analyze works of literature from a particular philosophical or literary perspective. This perspective often evolves as a reaction to the political, economic, cultural, educational and artistic climate of a historical period
Note:This is not necessarily an exhaustive list. There is ongoing debate as to naming conventions and overlap between the literary schools
Gale Virtual Reference Library, also known as Gale Ebooks, is a great source to find background information on a variety of topics, including literature, authors, time periods, literary theory and more. Use the link below to search for articles in the database.