Drama Criticism

Use CONSULS, the online catalog of the four CSU libraries (Central-CCSU, Eastern-ECSU, Southern-SCSU and Western-WCSU) and the Connecticut State Library-StLib to find books and other biographical and critical materials on a dramatist. Choose Subject from the CONSULS Main Menu screen and then type the playwright's name (last name first). It is not necessary to type the author's full name but it is important to spell correctly.

Example: Shaw Bernard

A list of SUBJECT HEADINGS will appear in alphabetical order. Select the heading with the subdivision "biography" (for biographical information) or criticism (for critical analysis of the writer's works).

Example: Shaw Bernard 1856-1950 - Criticism and Interpretation

If your search does not have the subdivision you are looking for, choose the subject heading with the most entries. This is usually found in line 1 or 2.

To locate a play in CONSULS, do a title search by choosing Title from the CONSULS Main Menu screen:

Example: Murder in the Cathedral

You may also do a word search by selecting Keyword from the CONSULS Main Menu screen:

Example: Eliot literary criticism

If there are too many entries, you may limit your search to items available in the SCSU library by selecting the Limit/Sort option. From the following screen, use the pull down menu next to "Where item is located" and select "SCSU".

You can also limit by year of publication, language or type of material.

Books pertaining to language and literature are shelved in the P section according to the Library of Congress Classification System. Books that have Ref before the call number are shelved in the Reference section on the main floor of Buley Library. Circulating books are indicated by SCSU Stacks in CONSULS. Books with call numbers A through N are on the second floor. P through Z are on the third floor.

Basic Literature Reference Sources

The following multi-volume interrelated sets are excellent starting points for finding biographical or critical information about writers. All of the series is cross-indexed. Look up your author in the index section of the last volume of each set. Next to the author's name there will be abbreviations of books in which information about the author can be found. These abbreviations are expanded in the front of each volume. Check CONSULS to get the call number of the publication cited.

Children's Literature Review -- Ref PN1009. A1 C5139
Contains excerpts from criticisms, reviews and commentaries of books for children and young people.

Contemporary Authors (CA) -- Ref Z1224. C6
A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, motion pictures, journalism and other fields. There is an annual paperback title index.

Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series -- (CAAS) -- Ref PN453. C63
Provides autobiographies of important current writers. The index lists names, titles, subjects and schools of writing. All genres included.

Contemporary Authors New Revision Series (CANR) -- Ref Z1224. C58
Provides updates on authors listed in Contemporary Authors. Use the latest CA cumulative index to locate individual author's listing.

Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) -- Ref PN771. C59
Contains excerpts from criticisms of authors who are now living or who have died since January 1, 1960. There is an annual paperbound title index and a cumulative index of authors and critics.

Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) -- Ref PN, PQ, PR and PS
Over a hundred volumes, each one dealing with a different topic. To locate a particular writer, check the author index in the latest volume. Check CONSULS to locate books in which the critical information may be found.

Literary Criticism from 1400 -1800 (LC) -- Ref PN86. L53
Contains excerpts from criticisms of authors who lived between 1400 and 1800. Has a cumulative index to authors. Includes all genres.

Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism (NCLC) -- Ref PN761. N5
Contains excerpts from criticisms of authors who lived between 1800 and 1900.

Something About the Author (SATA) -- Ref PN451. S6
Lives and works of authors and illustrators of children's books. Indexes in alternate odd numbered volumes beginning with Vol. 57. Has authors' index and illustrations index.

Something About the Author Autobiography Series -- Ref PN497. S66
A collection of autobiographical essays written by prominent authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults. Each essay has a bibliography.

Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) -- Ref PN771. G27
Excerpts from criticisms of authors, playwrights, poets and other literary figures who died between 1900 and 1960.

To Locate Plays in Collections

The following books shelved in the Reference section are excellent sources to locate individual plays that appear in collections. Check CONSULS to see if the library has the book in which the play is published.

Index to Plays in Periodicals --Ref Z5781. K43
Contains author and title index. Each entry provides author's full name, dates, title of the play, number of acts, a brief description of the play and periodical citation.

Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections: an Author and Title Index to Plays Appearing in Collections Published between 1900 and 1985 -- Ref Z5781. O8
Plays that appear in anthologies from 1900-1985 are indexed here, including translations of foreign plays. Author/title index.

Play Index --Ref Z5781. P53
Entries arranged under author, title, and subject in a single alphabet. Indexes plays published during five-year periods. Each entry contains a brief description of the play.

Three Centuries of English and American Plays, a Checklist. England: 1500-1800, United States; 1714-1830 -- Ref Z2014. D7 B45
Lists approximately 5,500 plays, either as separates or in collections. Includes known and unknown authors. Alphabetically arranged by author.

To Locate Reviews of Plays

Drury's Guide to Best Plays -- Ref Z5781. D8
Covers English language full-length plays. Summarizes the plot in a paragraph Alphabetical arrangement by author.

A Guide to Critical Reviews -- Ref Z1035. A1 S53 2 parts
The first part of the guide is devoted to reviews of American plays arranged alphabetically by playwright. The second part of the guide is devoted to reviews of modern British and continental plays produced on Broadway from 1909-1966.

New York Times Index -- Index section, Main floor
Reviews appear in alphabetical order by title of play under "Theater". Good source if you know the date of the play.

New York Times' Theatre Reviews -- Ref PN181. N48
Reviews of New York productions from various daily newspapers.

Newsbank
Includes reviews of performing arts, interviews and articles that have appeared in newspapers from over 450 U.S. cities prior to 1993. The full text of the article is available on microfiche.

Reference Sources for Drama Criticism

American Plays and Musicals on Screen: 650 Stage Productions and Their Film and Television Adaptations --Ref PS338. M67 H57

Cambridge Guide to World Theatre -- Ref PN2035. C27
Contains factual information on every aspect of drama. Includes information on playwrights.

Comedy: a Geographical and Historical Guide --Ref PN6147. C565

A Companion to twentieth-century American drama --Ref PS350. C655

Contemporary Dramatists -- Ref PN1861. V5
Contains information on living dramatists of the English stage. Includes biography, a list of the dramatist's works, and a signed critical essay.

Critical Survey of Drama. English Language Series -- Ref PR613. C75 6 vols.
Each entry includes a biography of the dramatist, principal works, critical analysis and an annotated bibliography. Major dramatists from Marlowe on are included. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author. The final volume contains lengthy essays on various dramatic genres by country and time period.

Critical Survey of Drama. Foreign Language Series -- Ref PN1625. C74 6 vols. + supplements
Critical essays examine representative plays and identify themes and characteristics employed by more than 170 dramatists from Aeschylus to the present. Alphabetical arrangement by author.

Crowell's Handbook of Classical Drama -- Ref PA3024. H35
Contains information on Greek and Roman drama as works of great literature.

The Crown Guided to the World's Great Plays -- Ref PN6112. 5 S45
Contains stories, plots, history and criticism of great plays from ancient Greece to modern times.

Drama Criticism -- Ref PN1601. D9 Vol. 6
Contains biographical and critical information on the most widely studied dramatic works of the world's literature. Has cumulative author and title index as well as a nationality index.

Major Modern Dramatists -- Ref PN1861. M27 2 volumes
Covers the major, twentieth century dramatists of the world. Provides history and criticism of their works.

Masterpieces of 20th-century American drama --Ref PS350. A23

Masterplots II. Drama Series -- Ref PN6112. 5 M37
Entries for dramatic works of English language playwrights of the twentieth century contain a brief biography, summary of the plot, a discussion of the play and the dramatist's work and a critical essay.

McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: an International Reference Work in Five Volumes -- Ref PN1625. G3
Contains information on world dramatists, the literature of the theater and aspects of stagecraft and production around the world.

Medieval Drama --Ref PN1751.M44

Oxford Companion to the American Theatre -- Ref PN 2220. B6
Contains information on playwrights, plays, performers and producers.

Oxford Companion to the Theatre -- Ref PN 2035. H3
Provides information on dramatists from around the world and international theater companies. Brief biographies are also included.

Performing Arts Biographies Master Index -- Ref PN1583. M37
Provides more than 270,000 citations to over 100 biographical reference sources in the performing arts. A key to tile codes of works indexed is printed on the end sheets. Alphabetical arrangement.

Reader's Encyclopedia of World Drama -- Ref PN1625. G3
Contains signed essays on the history and development of the theater as well as information on plays and playwrights.

Renaissance Drama -- PR651. C58

Renaissance Drama provides a comprehensive account of the drama of early modern England produced for the professional theatre. It brings new insights by exploring the plays in their relation to the culture and society of the period.

Western Drama Through the Ages --Ref PN1721.W47

This two-volume reference guide offers 45 easy-to-read essays that cover theater history in Europe and the Americas from 500 BCE to the present.

Drama Criticism

American Drama Criticism: Interpretations 1890-1977. -- Ref Z1231. D7 P3
Lists interpretations of American plays in books and periodicals. Entries are arranged alphabetically by dramatist. The titles of the plays appear in alphabetical order under the dramatist's name.

American Playwrights since 1945: A Guide to Scholarship, Criticism and Performance -- Ref Z1231. D7 A53
Includes bibliographic essays, production histories and critical sources on modern American playwrights.

Dramatic Criticism Index -- Ref Z5781. B8
Index to criticism on twentieth century American and foreign playwrights. Each playwright has a general section followed by references to specific plays.

European Drama Criticism -- Ref Z5781. P2 + supplements
An index to criticism of classical and contemporary plays by European dramatists excluding Shakespeare. Arrangement is alphabetical by playwright.

Modern Drama: A Checklist of Critical Literature on 20th century Plays. 1967. --RefZ5781. A35
Critical articles that have appeared in books and journals. Arranged alphabetically by playwright.

More Black American Playwrights: a Bibliography-- Ref Z1229 N39 A73
Lists criticism of black playwrights and their works from periodicals and journals. Companion volume to Black American Playwrights, 1800 to the Present: a Bibliography.

Modern Drama Scholarship and Criticism, 1966-1980. --Ref Z5781. C37
Lists international publications on world drama. This list is supplemented each year in the journal Modern Drama.

Winnie Shyam
Reference Librarian

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