Subject Guide
Helpful URLS
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Using the library catalog
VIRGO, the U.Va. Library’s primary search tool, contains catalog records for books, print journals, DVDs, maps, and digitized materials, as well as links to online articles from our rich array of subscription journals. A few hints:
- If you're new to Virgo, this quick two-minute video will show you the basics. If you find that video helpful, check out the others on our Teaching and Learning page.
- For the most effective searches, limit to Catalog Results or Article Results to reveal the facets that can limit your search by format, date, language, subject, geographic location, etc.
- When viewing the record for an item that is checked out, click on the Request Item button to initiate a recall. The book will be returned within 10 days, and you will be notified when to pick it up.
- When viewing the record for an item that is located in our off-Grounds Ivy Stacks, click on the Request from Ivy button to retrieve it. Within 48 hours, it will be delivered to the library you specify.
Finding scholarly journal articles and book chapters
The MLA International Bibliography (MLAIB) indexes the broadest range of resources about literature in all languages, including over 4,000 journals as well as books and dissertations. It is not a full-text resource, meaning that you can only search the description of an article, rather than the text of the article. To get the full text of an article, click on “Find article @ UVa Libraries”, or look up the journal title in VIRGO.
JSTOR contains back issues (usually 3-5 years old or older) of significant scholarly journals in many subjects, including language and literature. JSTOR is not as comprehensive as MLAIB, but the full-text search will do a better job of picking up matches for specific themes or subjects. Articles are immediately available as PDFs.
Project Muse provides full-text searching of recent articles from major scholarly journals, including roughly 120 journals about literature. Like JSTOR, Project Muse is not as comprehensive as the MLAIB, but offers the advantages of full-text searching and instant access to PDFs.
Finding basic reference information
The Oxford English Dictionary is considered the most authoritative resource about the English language. It's useful not just for definitions and etymology, but for quotations demonstrating the usage of words and phrases over time.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is an authoritative source for researching the lives of British persons from the earliest times to the end of the 20th century.
Literature Resource Center (LRC) includes full text articles from the Dictionary of Literary Biography -- a terrific source for author biographies -- as well as journal articles, reference works, and reviews.
Handbooks, companions, and bibliographies
The following books are available online, as well as in print:
The Oxford Companion to Chaucer by Call Number: PR1924.O99 2003ISBN: 9780198117650Publication Date: 2003-12-11Contains over 2,000 relatively short entries, organized from A-Z, covering all aspects of Chaucer's life and work.
A Companion to Medieval English Literature and Culture C. 1350-C. 1500 by Call Number: PR255.C653 2007ISBN: 9780631219736Publication Date: 2007-01-08In particular, see Chapter 22, "Dream Poems," by Helen Phillips.
Middle English by Call Number: PR255 .O94 2007 (Alderman)ISBN: 9780199287666Publication Date: 2007-06-14In particular, see Chapter 20, "Vision, Image, Text," by Jessica Brantley.
The following books are available in print in the Alderman stacks:
The Yale Companion to Chaucer by Call Number: PR1905 .Y35 2006 (Alderman)ISBN: 0300109296Publication Date: 2006-03-08In particular, see Chapter 5, "The Dream Visions", by Deanne Williams.
The Oxford Handbook of Medieval Literature in English by Call Number: PR255 .O95 2010ISBN: 9780199229123Publication Date: 2010-06-06Contains essays on a range of key texts, authors and issues in medieval literature.
The following books are on reserve in Clemons Library:
Reading Dreams by Call Number: PR275 .D74 R76 1999 (Clemons Reserve)ISBN: 0198183631Publication Date: 1999-07-29Contains essays on the representation and interpretation of medieval and Renaissance dreams. Authors discussed include Chaucer, Shakespeare, Langland, the Pearl-poet, and Milton.
Dreaming in the Middle Ages by Call Number: PN671 .K7 1992 (Clemons Reserve)ISBN: 052141069XPublication Date: 1992-06-18"This wide-ranging study examines the role of the dream in medieval culture with reference to philosophical, legal and theological writings as well as literary and autobiographical works."
Helpful websites
- Classics in the Middle AgesPart of the Oxford Bibliographies series, this online article lists works that cover "the transmission and reception in western Europe of classical Greek and Latin texts written before 525 CE, and focuses on the Latin tradition".
- Harvard's Geoffrey Chaucer WebsiteDesigned to support the Chaucer courses taught at Harvard, this website provides a wide range of texts and translations from Chaucer and other relevant writers, along with articles and general information about the Middle Ages.