Alexander Pushkin, Russia's Greatest Poet
CC0. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Webster's New World Rhyming DictionaryThis guide is designed to connect Duquesne University researchers to the wide range of materials on poetry that are available through the Gumberg Library. It wll direct the user to print and online encyclopedias and other sorts of reference works on poetry; to books, both print and electronic, on poets and their works; to databases for finding scholarly journal articles on the subject; and to resources for finding specific poems. The guide also provides information on citation in MLA format, and on how to get materials not available through the Gumberg Library.
Use the tabs to move through the different sections of this guide.
Help is Available!
If at any time in your research your need help, click on the Ask a Librarian link on the blue bar at the top of the screen. Or you can contact me, Ted Bergfelt, the Humanities Librarian. Click to Send Email, or phone me at 412.396.5351.
Contemporary American Women Poets: An A-Z Guide by 
Critical Survey of Poetry: English Language SeriesCritical Survey of Poetry, Foreign Language Series
The Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) is the standard resource for very detailed biographical articles on writers of all types, in many genres. Each volume is devoted to authors from a particular time, country, or genre. There are well over 200 volumes to the set. The Gumberg Library no longer owns the print version of this valuable reference work, but you can access its contents online through the Literature Resource Center.
Do a search for an author's name in the Literature Resource Center, then go to the "Content Types" menu on the upper right of the screen. Click on "Biographies." DLB content will be found in the resulting list.
The Gumberg Library provides access to databases of electronic reference works geared to literature. Using these will provide you with a great amount of introductory information on your chosen literary topic.
All electronic reference works can be accessed off-campus, but you will have to enter your Multipass username and password word in order to use them.
Click on the title of a work below to use it. All electronic reference works can be accessed off-campus, but you will have to enter your Multipass username and password word in order to use them.
American History Through Literature, 1870-1920 by 
A Dictionary of Literary Symbols by 
Feminism in Literature by 
The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics by 
Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature by 
The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature by 
Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Shakespeare's plays and poetry by 
Who's Who in Twentieth Century World Poetry by Much of the content on this research guide was originally created by Emily Cantin, MLIS. The guide was redesigned a number of years ago by Ricky Williams, MM, Reference & Instruction Librarian. A 2021 revision was done by Maria Sosso, English Department Intern, with the assistance of Ted Bergfelt, MLS, Humanities Librarian, who maintains the guide.
