Epic & Classical Literature

A research guide: books, articles, web sites, & videos

Finding Books

· How to Find Books in the ODU Library: Search in the ODU Library Catalog.

· How to Find Books in Other OhioLINK Libraries:
Search in the OhioLINK Library Catalog, or start your search in the ODU Library Catalog and then click on the OhioLINK button at the top of the results screen to search statewide.

· To Help You Search in the Catalogs:
Guides and video tutorials are available online from the library’s Research Help page or in print by the library Reference Desk on the top floor of Spangler.

Reference Books—A Selection

Reference books provide a good starting point for your research. Reference items are located in the Library’s Reference collection, behind the Reference Desk on the top floor of Spangler.

See also these related research guides: English Literature and Literary Analysis, Mythology/Folklore/Legend, Shakespeare Research, and Theology.

Bibliographies and Guides

· Epic and Romance Criticism: A Checklist of Interpretations, 1940-1972. Volume 1: English and American Epics and Metrical Romances. R 016.8091 C692

· The Humanities: A Selective Guide to Information Sources. R 016.0160013 B6144h, 2000

· Who’s Who in the Ancient World: A Handbook to the Survivors of the Greek and Roman Classics.

R 920.009 R129w, 1971

Dictionaries

· An Arthurian Dictionary. R 809.933 M825a, 1978

· Classics Illustrated Dictionary. R 913.38 F951, 1974

· Dictionary of the Middle Ages. R 909.07 S913d 13 vols.

· Greek and Latin Authors, 800 B.C. – A.D. 1000: A Biographical Dictionary. R 928.8 G762g, 1980

· Historical Dictionary of the Elizabethan World: Britain, Ireland, and America.

R 942.05 W1254h, 1999

· The Oxford Classical Dictionary. R 913.38 C333o, 1996

· The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World. R 913.38 O25d, 2005

· Who Was Who in the Greek World. R 920.038 W628, 1982

Encyclopedias and Handbooks

· Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece. R 938 C1781i, 1998

· A Companion to Homer’s Odyssey. R 883 M834Sc

· Chaucer A to Z. R 821.1 R834c, 1999

· A Concise Encyclopedia of the Italian Renaissance. R 945.05 H162c, 1981

· The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations. R 930.03 C847e, 1980

· Encyclopedia of the Classical World. R 913.38 C948

· Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. R 940.23 E197r, 1990 6 vols.

· Encyclopedia of Rhetoric. R 808.003 E197r, 2001

· Greek and Latin Authors: 800 BC – AD 1000. A Biographical Dictionary. R 928.8 G762g, 1980

· Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Classical World. R 913.38 A959i, 1975

· Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World. R 938.003 L343a, 1999

· Medieval England: An Encyclopedia. R 942 M4688e, 1998

· The Middle Ages: A Concise Encyclopedia. R 909.07 L923m, 1989

· A Milton Dictionary. R 821.47 M662h, 1978

· A Mirror of Chaucer’s World. R 821.17 L863

· The Oxford Book of Classical Verse in Translation. R 881.008 O98, 1995

· The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. R 913.38 H341, 1997

· The Oxford History of the Classical World. R 938 O98, 1986

· The Riverside Chaucer. R 821.17 C3931r

· Routledge History of Philosophy: From Aristotle to Augustine. Vol. 2. R 190.9 R7657h, 1999

· Routledge History of Philosophy: From the Beginning to Plato. Vol. 1. R 190.9 R7657h, 1997

· Vergil Reference CD-ROM. R 873.01 V587r, 1997

Reference Resources Online

Literary Reference Center
Provides full-text access to many reference resources online, including:

· Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature;

· Beacham's six-volume Research Guide to Biography and Criticism;

· Continuum’s encyclopedia’s of American, British, and children’s literature;

· The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics and The Columbia Companion to the 20^th

Century American Short Story;

· The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature; The Literary Encyclopedia;

· Masterplots and Masterplots II;Cyclopedia of World Authors, Cyclopedia of Literary Characters, and

Magill's Literary Annual;

· The Harold Bloom series of over 500 books; and additional resources of information on notable

authors of long and short fiction, poetry, drama, and philosophy.

Masterplots Complete 2000
Full-text. On-campus access only; when prompted; click Open to access the file. Coverage includes synopses of plays, character profiles, and brief author biographies including lists of major works.

To access: From the library homepage, click on Articles in Databases, and then select English Language and Literature.

Oxford English Dictionary

Full-text. Offers access to the online, historical dictionary of the English language. Traces the usage of words from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books. Updated quarterly.

To access: From the library homepage, click on Articles in Databases, and then select English Language and Literature.

Oxford Reference Online

Full-text. Brings together 100 dictionaries and other reference books in various subjects into one searchable database. Includes under “Literature” the following: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms and The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature.

To access: From the library homepage, click on Books, and select Oxford Reference Online.

eBooks

NetLibrary

Full-text ebook database. Search among 15,000 ebooks from multiple disciplines, including reference books, other nonfiction, and fiction. Search by keyword, title, or author.
To access: From the library homepage, click on Books, and then select NetLibrary.

For additional possibilities, click on Quick Reference from the ODU Library homepage, then select Etexts-Literature.

Finding Articles and Book Reviews

Use an online research database to find articles in scholarly journals, general magazines, and newspapers.
To access the databases below, from the Library’s Articles in Databases page, select the English Language & Literature category, or choose from the A-Z index near the top of the page.
To Help You Search in the Databases:
Guides and video tutorials are available online from the library’s Research Help page or in print
by the library Reference Desk on the top floor of Spangler. If you need additional assistance,
ask a librarian.

Recommended Databases

Academic Search Complete

Contains peer-reviewed journal coverage from more than 3,400 scholarly publications. Includes articles and book reviews in many academic areas of study arts & literature. Updated daily.

Electronic Journal Center
Presents over 4300 research journals, covering numerous subject areas.

Literary Reference Center
Offers information on authors and their works from reference works, books, and literary journals. Includes plot summaries, synopses and work overviews; articles of literary criticism; author biographies; full text of literary journals, book reviews, classic and contemporary poems, classic and contemporary short stories, classic novels; and author interviews.

MLA International Bibliography
Citations only. Indexes books and articles on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. Information about the libraries that own the library resources is also included. Updated 10 times per year.

Finding Periodicals in this Library

Listed below are some Epic & Classical Literature periodicals available in the ODU Library.

How Do You Find Out if a Periodical Exists in this Library?

· Use the ODU Library Catalog to search for the title of the journal or newspaper you’re trying to find.
Choose a TITLE search and type in the title of the journal or newspaper you desire.

· The library's journals and magazines are located:

(1) In print in the Periodicals section on the top floor, arranged alphabetically by title
(2) Back issues in print (usually prior to 1960) in the Back Issues Room on the bottom floor
(3) In microfilm in cabinets behind the Periodicals section

A microfilm reader/printer (with free printing!) is also available on the top floor.
For more information, see the ODU Library Microfilm/Reader page at:

http://www.ohiodominican.edu/library/tour/microfilm/default.asp.

· If you are looking for a specific article in a periodical, be sure to match issue number and YEAR/MONTH of the article to the information listed in our library catalog to make sure we have the specific issue of the journal/magazine you need.

Finding Web Sites

A portal to Internet search engines and directories is available on the ODU Library’s Internet Search page.

In addition, listed below are web sites that may be of particular use to you in your information search.

Minimum recommended criteria for evaluating websites:

· Accuracy of the information

· Authority of the person or group responsible for the information

· When the information was created and last updated

For more information, view Evaluating Internet Sources & Search Tools on the Internet Search page.

Web Sites—A Selection

See also these related research guides: English Literature and Literary Analysis, Mythology/Folklore/Legend, Shakespeare Research, and Theology.

Epic Literature Sites

Primary Literature

· The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm

· Dante’s Divine Comedy [27 full editions online] http://dante.ilt.columbia.edu/comedy/index.html

· The Decameron Web http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/dweb.shtml

· The Geoffrey Chaucer Website Homepage http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/

· HyperEpos: Epic on the Internet http://www.auburn.edu/~downejm/hyperepos.html

· Sir Gawain and the Green Knight http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/gawain.htm

· Le Morte Darthur: Sir Thomas Malory's Book of King Arthur and of his Noble Knights of the Round Table (London ,1903) http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/malorybib.htm

· Piers Plowman http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/plowman.htm

· Resources for the Study of Beowulf—Editions and Translations http://www.library.unr.edu/subjects/guides/beowulf.html

· The Virgil Home Page http://www.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/literature/world_literature/virgil.html

· Virgil.org—Virgil Resources [Click on “Translations”] http://virgil.org

Secondary & Tertiary Literature (Background information on characters, works, authors; articles, essays, bibliographies)