“Attention Must Be Paid”
Finding Literary Criticism on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
A Carolina Day School Library Helpsheet
Start here for an overview and background information!
American Writers . REF 810.9 AME
See volume 2 for a long article on Miller and his work.
Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature . REF 810.3 Enc 2001
Article on Miller and his work.
Oxford Companion to American Theatre . REF 792.0973 Oxf 2004
Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance . REF 792.03 Oxf 2003
Short article on Miller.
Reader's Encyclopedia of World Drama (1969) REF 809.2 GAS
Short article on Miller.
Modern World Drama: An Encyclopedia . REF 809.2 MAT 1972
Articles on DoaS and Miller.
Oxford Dictionary of Plays . REF 809.2 Pat 2005
Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature . REF 810.3 Oxf 2003
Articles on DoaS and Miller.
Reference Guide to American Literature . REF 810.9 Ref 2000
Article in the front section on Miller; article in the back section on DoaS .
Circulating Books
• There are many books, called literary criticism , that analyze certain writers' works. Some deal with characters, scenes, or themes commonly found in a particular writer's work. Other books may deal with only one work, especially if it is well known or influential.
• I have put the circulating books we have on reserve.
• Sometimes collections of plays have a critical essay or introduction to a play. Try searching your play as a keyword to find it in a collection. Then check the book to see if there's a useable essay for you.
• To find these books in a library catalogue, look up your author as a subject (you want books about the author and his/her work, not by the author). In a large library, you may have to look at the subheading under the author's name called “Criticism and interpretation” (example: Welty, Eudora – Criticism and interpretation ) to differentiate from the books dealing mostly with the author's life. There may even be subheadings for particularly well-known works.
• Remember that you can find the books in the UNCA library by checking their online catalogue while you are here at CDS!
This subscription database contains articles from many reference works and periodicals. If you get the password from the librarian, you can search The Student Resource Center from home 24/7.
Available from the library web page under "Subscription Databases."
Choose “ Student Resource Center – Gold”
When the search page appears, scroll down to the “Literature” icon on the left and click on it.
Choose “Authors.”
When the list of authors appears, scroll down to Miller, Arthur and click on his name.
Be sure to check all the tabs (reference, magazines, academic journals, etc.)
( also checks Appalachian State and Western Carolina )
Save time! Check the UNCA Library here at CDS for books on your topic before you go!
• Go to http://bullpup.lib.unca.edu/library and choose Library Catalog .
• Choose Subject Search .
• Type your author's name in the search box: miller, arthur (last name first, no need to use quotation marks or capitals).
• When you find a book that tickles your fancy, click on the title to go to a display that will tell you if the book is in and what the call number is (the call numbers will begin with the letter P).
• Be sure the book is at the library you plan to visit.
• Write the titles and call numbers down so you can scurry to that section in the library when you get to UNCA.
NCLive is a host of databases brought to you by your local public (or academic) library. You must have a library card and a password to access these databases. You can access NCLive from the CDS Library webpage.
The Arthur Miller Society Official Web Site .
http://www.ibiblio.org/miller/
Check out their Miller Links.
American Playwright Arthur Miller Dies at 89
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4495305
National Public Radio site. Not much criticism, but some articles about Miller's impact.
Death of a Salesman .
http://www.novelguide.com/deathofasalesman/index.html
Novel analysis site, including: novel summary, character profiles, metaphor analysis, theme analysis, top ten quotes, and a biography of the author.
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