5. Find Literature Criticism

Once you've narrowed your topic and thought about keywords, try searching the databases below for literary criticism.

Basic Search: a good first search is just the name of the short story in quotation marks, followed by the word 'and' and the author's last name.

"The Wife of His Youth" and Chesnutt

This general search will show you everything we have on a certain short story (sometimes there is more than others). If there are only 5 articles, you can browse through them. If there are 100, you may want to narrow your search a bit by using keywords from your topic such as plot setting or theme (loyalty, race, etc.).

Narrowed Search: There are different ways to narrow your search, but using the Search Within search box to dig deeper into your initial title and author search works well. [Remember to search many times with different keywords!]

Remember, though, not to count on keywords too much. Browsing and scanning are really helpful. If your keywords aren't working, ask a librarian for help!

Literary Databases / Articles

These first 3 databases are the best place to start when looking for literary criticism.

Gale Literature
Gale Literature allows you to search all of Gale’s literary databases and literature eBook titles in one database.
Bloom's Literature
Writings of Harold Bloom as well as other critics. Features author biographies, overviews, synopses, analyses and literary criticism of thousands of works from novels to poetry to plays, video segments, in-depth full-text entries on literary topics and themes and a literary timeline. Proxy Bypass

After searching the first 3 databases above, if you'd like additional resources to search for information about your short story, try these resources.

EBSCO Literature Databases
Search 2 EBSCO literary databases at once: Literary Reference Source and Academic Search Premier. Proxy Bypass

All Literature Databases

Recommended Books

These are only a few of the books that we have with short story criticism. Some of the biographical sources may also contain some criticism. Make sure and search the library catalog and eBook databases (below) for additional sources.

Black Literature Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Most Significant Works of Black Authors over the Past 200 Years
Call Number: DTC REF PS153 .N5 B556 1992 (3 Volumes)
Masterpieces of African-American Literature by Frank N. Magill
Call Number: DTC REF PS153 .N5 M264 1992
ISBN: 0062700669
Publication Date: 1992-12-08
Icons of African American Literature by Yolanda Williams Page (Editor)
Call Number: DTC Stacks PS153 .N5 I33 2011
ISBN: 9780313352034
Publication Date: 2011-10-17
Also Available Online
African American Literary Criticism by Hazel Arnett Ervin (Editor)
Call Number: DTC REF PS153 .N5 A33 1999
ISBN: 0805716831
Publication Date: 1999-08-01
Masterplots II, African American Literature by Frank N. Magill (Editor)
Call Number: DTC REF PS153 .N5 M2645 1994
ISBN: 0893565946
Publication Date: 1994-01-01
Chesnutt and Realism by Ryan Simmons
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 0817382283
Publication Date: 2009-05-01
Looking for Harlem by Maria Balshaw
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 0585426260
Publication Date: 2000-01-01

Search for Books & eBooks

Use the search box below to search the SCC Library Catalog for physical books (in one of our library locations) and eBooks. You can also open the Library Catalog or use the Advanced Search for more search options.