American Literature     |     Authors     |     Bibliography     |     British Literature    |     Children's and Young Adult Literature     |     Fiction Works     |     Literature Criticism      |     World Literature    

Literature

Read up on the topic of literature, which is any written work, including novels, short stories, plays, poetry, biographies and autobiographies, works of history, essays, and literature criticism. Some people restrict the definition of literature to works that are considered to have artistic or intellectual value. While some tend to think of literature only in terms of printed books, literature in the 21st century can also be read online using popular e-readers, such as the Kindle.

Literature is classified into the broad categories of fiction (literary works that are imagined stories) and nonfiction (works concerned with facts, real events, and real people). Fiction works are further divided into genres such as mysteries, science fiction, horror, fantasy, romance, Westerns, thrillers, dramas, coming-of-age stories, and historical fiction (fiction based on true events from the past). Literature is also defined based on whether it is poetry (works that express ideas and feelings by the use of distinctive style and rhythm) or prose (writings with no metrical structure).

Explore what Gale can provide on this topic:

 

                     View Resources

              Contact my rep

Literature Topics

Gale provides insights and useful resources for research supporting literature across a variety of topics. 

American Literature

Study the field of American literature, which is the body of written works produced in the United States, including fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry, and literary criticism. 

Authors

Learn more about the important authors throughout history, which includes poets, playwrights, novelists, essayists, and biographers. 

Bibliography

Examine the function of the bibliography, which is a complete or selective list of works compiled upon some common principle, generally including information such as the title of the work, place of publication, publisher, and author. 

British Literature

Explore the world of British literature, which concerns English-language written works produced by the inhabitants of the islands comprising the modern-day United Kingdom, including fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry, and literary criticism. 

Children’s and Young Adult Literature

Take a close look at the topic of children’s and young adult literature, also known as juvenile literature, which are written works including poetry, short stories, novels, picture books, and chapter books created to be read either to or by children and teenagers. 

Fiction Works

Examine the topic of fiction works, which are literary works that are imagined stories, as opposed to nonfiction, which is based in facts, real events, and real people. 

Literature Criticism

Delve into the academic field of literature (or literary) criticism, which is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. 

World Literature

Examine the topic of world literature, the definition of which has been subject to scholarly debate. 
 

Browse more subjects >>

 

Literature Resources

Gale offers a product portfolio, including databases, primary sources, and eBooks, designed to support education.

Databases

Gale databases support literature research by providing full-text articles, peer-reviewed articles, and abstracts from must-read literary collections, literary publications, and literary journals.

Gale Literature Resource Center

Gale Literature Resource Center is a research-focused, one-stop literary destination, providing students, academics, and researchers with authoritative and relevant results on demand. Students can search in publications such as the Yale Literary Magazine, the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, the Dickens Quarterly, and other literary magazines. They can also access full-text book reviews from such sources as the New York Times Book Review.

Gale Literature Criticism

Take literature, history, and culture to the next level with the largest, most extensive compilation of literary commentary available. Access centuries of analysis with scholarly and popular commentary from broadsheets, pamphlets, diaries, encyclopedias, books, periodicals, and tens of thousands of hard-to-find essays.

Gale Literature: LitFinder

Provides access to literary works and secondary-source materials covering world literature and writers throughout history. It includes more than 150,000 full-text literary works and over 800,000 poem citations as well as short stories, speeches, and plays from both established writers and new writers. Students have access to literary magazines and other publications that highlight prose and verse as well as criticism. Users can easily target the information they’re looking for with refined search options.

Primary Sources

Gale Primary Sources provides researchers with firsthand content, including literary journals and literary publications. 

Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Children’s Literature and Childhood

Researchers can find a wealth of children’s literature texts from publishing houses around the world with Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Children’s Literature and Childhood. This collection documents the changing construction of childhood, the growing popularity of children’s literature, and the legal and sociological context for both. This collection opens an array of compelling subjects for research and teaching, making it a rich resource for many academic disciplines and areas of study.

The Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive, 1902‒2014

Since 1902, the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) has forged a reputation for fine writing, literary discoveries, and insightful debate. The TLS has attracted the contributions of the world’s most influential writers and critics, from T. S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf in the 1920s and 1930s to A. N. Wilson and Christopher Hitchens in the 1990s and 2000s. The complete run of the TLS from 1902 to 2014 is now available online as The Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive.

Nineteenth Century Collections Online: British Theatre, Music, and Literature

This collection includes receipts and archives from the Drury Lane Theatre; Royal Philharmonic Society music manuscripts; and the largely forgotten Wandering Minstrels archive, which opens a rare glimpse into the decades of Gilbert and Sullivan. The archive enables scholars to explore primary sources covering such topics as Victorian popular culture; street literature; social history; music, bloods, and penny dreadfuls; professional acting on the London stage; the Royal Literary Fund; British dramatic works; and many others.

Gale eBooks

Gale offers a variety of high-quality eBooks that can be added to a customized collection and cross-searched to pinpoint relevant content and workflow tools  that enable users to share, save, and download content.

  • Poetry for Students

    Poetry for Students

    Gale  |  2020  |  ISBN-13: 9781410388377

    Each volume of Poetry For Students contains easily accessible and content-rich discussions of the literary and historical background of 16 works from various cultures and time periods. Each poem covered in this new resource was specially chosen by an advisory panel of teachers and librarians—experts who have helped us define the information needs of students and ensure the age-appropriateness of this reference’s content.
  • Shakespearean Criticism: Excerpts from the Criticism of William Shakespeare’s Plays & Poetry, from the First Published Appraisals to Current Evaluations

    Shakespearean Criticism: Excerpts from the Criticism of William Shakespeare’s Plays & Poetry, from the First Published Appraisals to Current Evaluations

    Gale  |  2020  |  ISBN-13: 9781410384423

    Shakespearean Criticism provides students, educators, theatergoers, and other interested readers with valuable insights into Shakespeare’s drama and poetry. Clear, accessible introductory essays followed by carefully selected critical responses allow end users to engage with a variety of scholarly views and critical conversations about Shakespeare’s works as literature and in performance. Each entry includes a set of previously published reviews, essays, and other critical responses from sources that include scholarly books and journals, literary magazines, interviews, letters, and diaries, carefully selected to create a representative history and cross-section of critical responses. Indexes to characters and major themes help students develop paper topics and locate suitable research materials. Students and teachers at all levels of study will benefit from this series, whether they seek information for class discussion and writing assignments, new perspectives on the works, or the most noteworthy analyses of Shakespeare’s legacy.
  • Short Story Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Short Fiction Writers

    Short Story Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Short Fiction Writers

    Gale  |  2020  |  ISBN-13: 9781410384737

    Short Story Criticism assembles critical responses to the writings of the world’s most renowned short fiction writers, and provides supplementary biographical context and bibliographic material to guide the reader to a greater understanding of the genre and its creators. Each of the more than 250 volumes in this series profiles approximately three to six writers of short fiction from all time periods and all parts of the world. Entries provide an introductory biographical essay; a primary bibliography; a selection of full-text or excerpted critical essays reproduced from books, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers, and scholarly journals; and sources for additional research—many entries include an author portrait. A full citation and annotation precede each of the approximately 50 essays per volume. The series currently covers more than 500 authors, and also includes numerous entries focusing on individual works and topics.

    Although short fiction is also covered in other titles from the Gale Literature Criticism series, Short Story Criticism offers a greater focus on understanding the genre than is possible in the broader, survey-oriented entries in those series. Clear, accessible introductory essays followed by carefully selected critical responses allow end users to engage with a variety of scholarly views and conversations about writers of short fiction and their works. Students writing papers or class presentations, instructors preparing their syllabi, or anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the genre will find this a highly useful resource.

Resources to Boost Your Research

From trending social issues to classic literature, Gale resources have you covered. Explore overviews, statistics, essay topics, and more or log in through your library to find even more content.

Access topics >>