About This Database

The Acclaimed Source for Literary Criticism from Harold Bloom

Bloom's Literary Reference Online features Facts On File's extensive print literature collection, hundreds of Harold Bloom's essays examining the lives and works of great writers throughout history and the world, as well as thousands of critical articles published by noted scholars under the Bloom's Literary Criticism imprint. This accessible database also contains an archive of more than 44,000 characters; extensive entries on literary topics, themes, movements, genres, and authors; almost 170 video segments; and more.

Helpful features for students abound. The "Bloom's How to Write about" section contains essays on how to write about literature, including crafting strong thesis statements and conclusions, writing outlines, and properly citing sources, as well as sample essay topics. Links for popularly assigned authors list essays on the authors and their works. "How to Cite" guidance includes examples of full citations in MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, and the dictionary tool allows users to look up more than 34,000 words without opening a new browser window.

Handy browse and search features include in-text links, record links, and numerous options for further research. Entries can be browsed by time period within American, British, and world literature; by author type; by literary genre; by nationality; by an A-to-Z list; and by subject for images and videos. Author biographies link to a list of major works, and works are linked to a list of principal characters. A "Did You Mean...?" search enhancement suggests another search term when a user's search does not yield results.

Features:

• Authors: biographies of thousands of authors from around the world, browsable by nationality, type of writing, or time periods ranging from ancient to modern
• Works: overviews, synopses, analyses, and literary criticism of thousands of works—from novels to poetry to plays—browsable by genre and time period or alphabetically
• Images and Videos: many images of authors as well as video segments covering a range of topics—from biographies of writers to critical analyses of plays to literary genres
• Topics and Themes: in-depth, full-text entries on literary movements, literary groups, magazines and newspapers, and historical events that help place literature in context, as well as definitions of literary terms
• Timeline: more than 15,000 entries on births, deaths, publications, and events in world literature from the ancient era to the present day
• Characters: information on more than 44,000 major and minor literary characters, including where they first appeared, what part they played in the plot, and how they are related to other literary characters
• Bloom's How to Write about: specific advice on how to write good essays on popularly assigned authors
• Harold Bloom's Western Canon: Professor Bloom's selections of the major works of Western literature
• Dictionary: more than 34,000 entries with concise, informative definitions, many with pronunciation, etymology, and syllable breaks of the word.

Reviews

"...a good-looking interface that is easy to search and browse...valuable..."

“…substantial information…” - School Library Media Activities Monthly

"...highly recommended for the literature reference needs of high-school and college students." - Booklist

"Recommended." - Choice

"This resource is sure to become a favorite in middle and high school libraries. The information is accessible and easy to understand…highly recommended." - American Reference Books Annual

"...a valuable, easy-to-use resource for high school or larger public libraries." - KLIATT

"...the Facts On File databases...have a clear, intuitive, easy-to-use and understand interface...the Facts On File databases, with their reference book resources, their collection of maps and images, and the number of videos included, is a great value for its subscription price. I like the special resources, like posters, tent cards and web page icons...I also appreciate how easy it was to download MARC records for my library's OPAC program."