The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is the online equivalent of the book by the same name. This comprehensive source, in both formats, includes surveys of theorists and various schools of criticism. Theorists included in the guide are not strictly limited to literary critics. Also included are philosophers, anthropologists, psychologists, and political theorists. Sample entries include:
Arnold, Matthew;
Beauvoir, Simone de;
biblical theory and criticism;
deconstruction;
Derrida, Jacques
Frye, Northrup
historical theory and criticism;
new criticism;
reader‐response theory and criticism;
structuralism.
Very lengthy entries like the one on “Feminist theory and criticism” are subdivided into smaller categories such as:
1963‐1972;
Anglo‐American feminisms;
post‐structuralist feminisms;
materialist feminisms.
Throughout the guide, each entry is followed by a list of hypertext cross‐ references which directly link users to other entries in the guide. Names of critics and schools of criticism referred to within individual entries are written in hypertext so that users can very easily link from one entry to the next and so forth. Each entry is also followed by a bibliography.
Each scholarly written entry gives a concise yet thorough survey of either a critic or a critical movement. The 21‐paragraph entry on “Roland Barthes,” for instance, outlines his theories on writing, semiotics, and textuality. Exposition of Barthes’ theories includes references to and outlines of his writing: Roland Barthes by Roland Barthes, S/Z, Writing Degree Zero, and Image‐Music‐Text. Readers are also cross‐referenced to:
French theory and criticism 5. 1945‐1968;
6. 1968 and after;
Russian formalism;
Jean‐Paul Sartre;
Ferdinand de Saussure;
semiotics;
structuralism.
The precise and detailed entry on Barthes is further substantiated by the separate essays on “semiotics” and “structuralism.”
This impressive guide may be searched in a number of different ways. Users may browse through an alphabetical list of entries which mirrors the layout of the print source. Users can, however, be more specific and opt to browse through two separate alphabetical listings of entries: one being a listing of the ideas, history, and theory entries and the other a listing of the critic and theorist entries. Users can also browse through a topic index where a user looking for “synchrony” would find links to various related entries in the guide:
synchrony/diachrony: Derrida; Levi‐Strauss; Marxist 2; Prague; Saussure; semiotics; structuralism.
Users can do the same with the name index. Users can also utilize an internal search engine to search the guide. This sophisticated search engine supports Boolean searching, proximity searching, truncation, and the limiting of search terms to specific fields. Users can also access a word list of searchable terms.
In terms of online documentation, this guide provides users with several help screens. Users attempting to search the site with the search engine can access a clear set of instructions explaining how to do so. Otherwise, browsing of the guide is rather self‐explanatory. Updates to the site have been made periodically since September 1997. A second edition of the guide will contain links to online materials outside of the guide, photographs, enlarged entries, new entries, and additions to individual bibliographies throughout the guide.
The print version of The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is an excellent resource. The online version has the added bonus of hypertext links which allow users to easily follow cross‐references, thereby allowing them to make greater connections between the various theorists and theories. The numerous means of browsing and searching make this an extremely easy‐to‐use reference source. The information contained within each entry is rather scholarly and dense; therefore, this guide is best suited to meet the information needs of upper‐division undergraduates, graduates and faculty. This reference source is a must‐have for professors, students, and researchers of literary theory. Depending on potential usage of the guide, many libraries may be content with just the print source; nonetheless, this excellent resource, easily accessible online, is highly recommended.
