Criticism of any type is ABOUT  a play or playwright. In looking for critical information in the library, the playwright or play becomes the SUBJECT of your search. Ely Library has books of criticism on plays and playwrights  as well as Reference Books, indexes, and electronic resources that serve as guides to additional sources.
 

Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism [NCLC].    REF PN761 .N56

Authors and playwrights who died between 1800 and 1899 are in this set.

Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism [TCLC].    Located on tables in Reference Area

Authors and playwrights who died between 1900 and 1960.

Contemporary Literary Criticism [CLC].     Located on tables in Reference Area

Contemporary Literary Criticism Select      Limited to WSC community

    (Internet site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Contemporary Literary)

(Online Full-text articles and excerpts from selected CLC entries)

Authors and playwrights who are still living or who died after December 31, 1959.

 

 

World Literature Criticism, 1500 to the Present. [WLC] (6 vols.) REF PN523 W67 1992

A selection of major authors from Gale's literary criticism series.

Gale Literary Index  (Internet Site:  http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Gale Literary Index).

This online source provides a master index to the printed editions of Gale's 43 literary series including the works above (CLC, NCLC, etc.). Access this from the Ely Library Web page under Quick Links to Databases to locate the correct set and volume to use when looking for information on specific playwrights or their works.  For indexing to the many Gale series you can also go to the last volume in any of the sets, look in the "Cumulative Index" for the author's name, and follow the abbreviations to their source. Abbreviations are explained in the front of each volume. All of the series are cross-indexed. For example:

In Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Hawthorne, Nathaniel is listed as follows:

Hawthorne, Nathaniel NCLC 39, DA, DAB, DAC, SSC3 WLC

 NCLC 39 is Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Volume 39; SSC3 is Short Story Criticism, Volume 3. Authors are listed alphabetically in each volume. The other acronyms, DA, DAB, etc. are explained in the front of each volume.

 

How to Cite these Books in MLA Format:

The following is the standard MLA format of the citation for a quotation from any of these books.  If the excerpted quotation listed in the series is taken from a book:   Reilly, Patrick. The Literature of Guilt: From 'Gulliver' to Golding.1988. Contemporary Literary   Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz. Vol. 58. Detroit: Gale, 1990. 206-12.  If the excerpted quotation listed in the series is taken from a periodical:   Tyler, Anne. "Manic Monologue," The New Republic 17 Apr. 1989: 44-6. Rpt. in  Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz. Vol. 58. Detroit:  Gale, 1990. 325.

The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.  Ref PN2035 .C27 1995
International in scope, this volume alphabetically presents actors, theatres, and playwrights.  It also discusses theatre in various countries, covers topics such as theatre design, television drama, costume, etc.  This is also available online at xreferplus.

Cambridge History of American Theatre.    Ref PN2221 .C37
This is a six-volume set covering all dimensions of American Theatre including theatre building, playwriting, directors, performers, and designers.  Divided mostly by name, lengthy articles are supplemented by extensive timelines, bibliographies, and indices.

The Cambridge History of British Theatre.  Ref PN2581 C36 2004
Similar to The Cambridge History of American Theatre, but this three volume set provides information about British theatre from its origins to present day.

International Dictionary of Theatre.  Ref  PN2035 . I49 1992
Volume 1 is an index of plays.  Each entry provides the first publication and production date, books and articles about the play, and a critical evaluation written by one of the dictionary's editors.  Volume 2 has biographies of playwrights, including lists of their works and criticisms of it.  Volume 3 is devoted to actors, directors and designers.  This information is also biographical, but also includes a chronology of productions for each person.

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama (2nd ed.).  Ref  PN 1625 .M3 1984
This five volume set contains brief entries on specific authors, plays, and genres which provide a good overview of dramatic literature from Greek drama through 20th Century works.  See index in volume five.

Oxford Companion to American Theatre.  Ref PN 2220 B6 2004
This single-volume companion provides biographies, theatres, and plays presented in an alphabetic arrangement.

Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance.  Ref PN 2035 O94 2003
In this two-volume set, you will  find entries on theatre concepts and theories, styles, historical themes, regions, organizations and institutions, buildings, media issues and biographies of well-known people in theatre.

American drama criticism : Interpretations, 1890-1977 (2nd ed.).             Ref PS332 .A5
Find extensive lists of citations to articles and books including reviews and longer criticism. Search for your author, and then a subheading for a specific work. Indexes for titles, playwrights and critics are found in the back of each volume.

Critical survey of drama (7 vols.).            Ref PN2035 .C7
This set contains articles on playwrights (alphabetically arranged) and their works as well as a volume of essays on types of drama through time and in different regions of the world.  Author / Title index in volume 6.

Dramatic Criticism Index.             Ref PN1861 .B8x
A bibliography of commentaries on playwrights from Ibsen to the avant-garde. Use this to locate articles and books on your playwright and plays. Provides specific page numbers in general works which may be available in Ely Library. Check the Online Ely Library Catalog.

Ely Library Catalog. Use to find books in Ely Library with biographical and critical works about authors and playwrights.

American Writers (Ref PS129 A55) and British Writers (Ref PR85 B688)
Lengthy essays on authors.  The last volume has a cumulative index, check here to see if a dramatist is listed in this set.

Dictionary of Literary Biography.     Ref  PS129 D5
This multi-volume work provides biographies and bibliographies. Check the last volume for an index to the whole set, or use the Gale Literary Index online.

Modern American Literature (2 vols.).    Ref  PS 221 M53 1999
Very short excerpts on authors, poets and dramatists from a variety of both popular and scholarly sources which can often be tracked down in Ely Library. There is no index by title, so you must know your author to use this effectively.

The Undergraduate's Companion to American Writers and Their Web Sites.  REF PS 88 .B67 2001
This book provides lists of sources in print and available on the Internet.

LitFinder  Limited to WSC community
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#LitFinder)
Access to more than 30,000 full text poems, essays, stories, plays, and speeches, plus references to anthologies and sources for 100,000 other works. Searchable indexes of titles, first lines, last lines, and authors.

Index to Plays in Periodicals, 1977-1987.     Ref PN1721 .K43 1990
Index to Plays in Collections (1900 and 1985).     Ref PN1655 .O8 1988
Use these volumes to locate specific plays in either journals (periodicals) or book anthologies (collections). Look up the first in a Current Periodicals List and the second in the Ely Library Catalog.