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English Literature Research

Fant Library's guide to resources for research in English literature. Find access to books in print or online, databases for scholarly articles, and access to library help online or in person.

Recommended Online Resources

There are many online resources that allow you to access to the full-text of literature as well as scholarly information about literature and authors.

  • AmericanLiterature.com provides links to many short stories of all genres for all age groups as well as information on authors and resources for teachers.
  • Bartleby.com provides free access to a wide selection of reference, verse, fiction and nonfiction works on the web.
  • Lit2Go includes full texts and audio of poems, books, and short stories. 
  • Poetry Archives contains over 5,200 poems by more than 150 authors.
  • Project Gutenberg offers access to more than 60,000 free ebooks.
  • Treasures in Full features works from the British Library's collection, including Shakespeare and Chaucer.

Primary Sources

Primary sources are the "raw materials" used to analyze events of the past.  This type of source is generally comprised of original records or objects created by participants or observers at the time historical events occurred or even after events such as memoirs and oral histories.

To find primary sources, visit the following electronic resources: 

For more information on how to best use primary sources to strengthen your paper, visit RUSA's guide.