Literary Theory is concerned with establishing the value of art in general and explaining the principles that underlie its achievement. It defines the goals, illustrates the methods, and supplies the tools for the literary critic. Concepts such as deconstruction, Marxist criticism, structuralism, and semiotics are defined in reference sources such as the ones mentioned below.
 AUTHOR       Hawthorn, Jeremy.
 TITLE        A glossary of contemporary literary theory / Jeremy Hawthorn.
 PUBLISHER    London ; New York : E. Arnold ; New York : Distributed in the USA
                by Routledge, Chapman and Hall, 1992.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN44.5 .H37 1992               

 TITLE        Critical survey of literary theory / edited by Frank N. Magill.
 PUBLISHER    Pasadena, Calif. : Salem Press, c1987.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN45 .C74 1987 v. 1            

Dictionary of Literary terms and literary theory
 AUTHOR       Cuddon, J. A. (John Anthony), 1928-
 TITLE        A dictionary of literary terms : and literary theory 
 EDITION      3rd ed.
 PUBLISHER    Oxford, OX ; Cambridge, MA, USA : Blackwell Reference, 1991.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN41 .C83 1991                 

 TITLE        Encyclopedia of contemporary literary theory : approaches,
                scholars, terms / Irene R. Makaryk, general editor and
                compiler.
 PUBLISHER    Toronto : University of Toronto Press, c1993.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN81 .E63 1993                 

 AUTHOR       Orr, Leonard, 1953-
 TITLE        A dictionary of critical theory / Leonard Orr.
 PUBLISHER    New York : Greenwood Press, c1991.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN98.S6 O77 1991               

 TITLE        The Johns Hopkins guide to literary theory & criticism / edited
                by Michael Groden and Martin Kreiswirth.
 PUBLISHER    Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, c1994.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN81 .J54 1994                 
For other books on literary theory, try Keyword searches in Annie. Ex: Derrida Ex: Marxist Criticism Ex: literature theory
Literary Criticism is concerned with justifying or explaining a literary work, with establishing guidelines for the creation of art, and with setting standards of taste. It applies the insights of the theorist. Sources like the ones mentioned below will therefore lead you to criticism written about literary works.

Also do a keyword search in ANNIE under a particular writer or title and see if the library holds any critical works on these. Ex:Faulkner criticism Ex:Huckleberry Finn criticism Ex:literature criticism

 TITLE        Encyclopedia of literature and criticism / edited by Martin Coyle
                , Peter Garside, Malcolm Kelsall and John Peck.
 PUBLISHER    London : Routledge, c1991.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN81 .E53 1991                 

 AUTHOR       Weiner, Alan R., 1938-
 TITLE        Literary criticism index / by Alan R. Weiner and Spencer Means.
 EDITION      2nd ed.
 PUBLISHER    Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1994.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN523 .W44 1994
(A one-volume index that leads you to criticism on specific works of literature. Novels, plays, short stories, and poems are included. A very useful source.)
 TITLE        Nineteenth-century literature criticism. (NCLC)
 PUBLISHER    Detroit : Gale Research Co., 1981-
 PN761 .N5 Leyburn-Reference                                              
This is a 43-volume set containing excerpts from criticism of the works of novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers, philosophers, and other creative writers who died between 1800 and 1899. Includes author index and critic index in each volume.
 TITLE        Twentieth-century literary criticism. (TCLC)
 PUBLISHER    Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co.
 PN771 .T83 Leyburn-Reference                                             
(A 53-volume set containing excerpts from criticism of the works of noverlists, poets, playwrights, short story writers, and other creative writers who died between 1900 and 1960. Includes author index and critic index.
 TITLE        Contemporary literary criticism. (CLC)
 PUBLISHER    Detroit, Gale Research Co.
 PN771 .C59 Leyburn-Reference                       
(An 81-volume set containing excerpts from criticism for the works of today's novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers, script writers, and other creative writers. Includes author index and critic index.)
 AUTHOR       Rodway, Allan Edwin.
 TITLE        The craft of criticism / Allan Rodway.
 PUBLISHER    Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] ; New York : Cambridge University
                Press, 1983.
 Leyburn Library        PR502 .R53                     

 TITLE        Poetry criticism : excerpts from criticism of the works of the
                most significant and widely studied poets of world literature.
 PUBLISHER    Detroit, MI : Gale Research Inc., c1991-
 Leyburn-Reference     PN1010 .P6 
(A 4-volume set containing excerpts from criticism of the works of the most significant and widely studied poets of world literature.)
 TITLE        Critical survey of poetry. English language series / edited by
                Frank N. Magill.
 EDITION      Rev. ed.
 PUBLISHER    Pasadena, Calif. : Salem Press, c1992.
 Leyburn-Reference      PR502 .C85 1992 v. 1           

 AUTHOR       Moulton, Charles Wells, 1859-1913.
 TITLE        The library of literary criticism of English and American authors
                , ed. by Charles Wells Moulton, assisted by a corps of able
                contributors.
 PUBLISHER    Buffalo, N. Y., The Moulton Publishing Company, 1901-05.
 Leyburn Library        PR83 .M73 v. 1                 

 AUTHOR       Howard-Hill, T. H. (Trevor Howard)
 TITLE        British bibliography and textual criticism : a bibliography 
 PUBLISHER    Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press,
                1979.
 Leyburn-Reference      PR83 .H64 v.4                  

 TITLE        Research guide to biography and criticism / [edited by] Walton
                Beacham.
 PUBLISHER    Washington, D.C. : Research Pub., c1985.
 Leyburn-Reference      PR85 .R47 1985 v. 1            
You should also do a Keyword search in Annie for a particular writer or title to find critical works. Ex: Faulkner Criticism Ex: Huckleberry Finn Criticism
Literary Terms: Guides to literary terms like the ones mentioned below will give you definitions to concepts such as Narrative, Free Verse, Rhetoric, Plot, and Discourse.
 AUTHOR       Scott, A. F. (Arthur Finley)
 TITLE        Current literary terms : a concise dictionary of their origin and
                use / A. F. Scott.
 EDITION      Reprinted with revisions, 1979.
 PUBLISHER    New York : St. Martin's Press, 1979, c1965.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN44.5 .S3 1979                

 AUTHOR       Shaw, Harry, 1905-
 TITLE        Dictionary of literary terms.
 PUBLISHER    New York, McGraw-Hill [1972]
 Leyburn-Reference      PN44.5 .S46                    

 AUTHOR       Cuddon, J. A. (John Anthony), 1928-
 TITLE        A dictionary of literary terms : and literary theory / J.A.
                Cuddon.
 EDITION      3rd ed.
 PUBLISHER    Oxford, OX ; Cambridge, MA, USA : Blackwell Reference, 1991.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN41 .C83 1991                 

 TITLE        Critical terms for literary study / edited by Frank Lentricchia
                and Thomas McLaughlin.
 PUBLISHER    Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1990.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN81 .C84 1990                 

 AUTHOR       Dupriez, Bernard Marie, 1933-
 TITLE        A dictionary of literary devices : Gradus, A-Z / translated and
                adapted by Albert W. Halsall.
 PUBLISHER    Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1991.
 Leyburn-Reference      PN172 .D813 1991