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The MLA Bibliography is a major resource for literature, language and
linguistics, folkore and film. It indexes journal articles (but not
book reviews), books (including collections and festschriften), conference
papers and proceedings, selected dissertations and reference works.
This guide provides assistance for using the MLA Bibliography in Print.
For information on accessing the MLA Bibliography via the Web, please
see a librarian.
MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern
Languages and Literatures. New York: Modern Language Association,
1921 to date.
Bobst Ref 1 Z7006.M64
From 1981 to date, MLA is in 2 physical books, the Classified
List and the Subject Index.
The Classified List is divided into several
parts, called "volumes":
Volume 1. National Literatures - first by country, then by century,
then by author
Volume 2. Linguistics
Volume 3. General Literature - studies on literary theory, genres, movements,
etc.
Volume 4. Folklore - arranged according to folklore types or genres
So, to find studies on The Great Gatsby, look in the Classified List,
Volume 1:
(1) first under -- American literature
(2) then -- 1900-1999 [i.e., 20th century]
(3) then -- Fitzgerald, F. Scott
(4) and finally, under the title of the novel.
In the following example:
Novel/The Great Gatsby (1925)
[8180] Blissert, Albert. "The Eyes of Dr. Eckleburg: Carraway
and the Fundamental Decencies in The Great Gatsby." MHLS.
1985; 8: 63-69. [+Treatment of Carraway, Nick (character); morality.]
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Novel/The Great Gatsby (1925) is the heading
Blissert, Albert is the article author
"The Eyes of Dr. Eckleburg: Carraway and the Fundamental Decencies
in The Great Gatsby" is the title of the article
MHLS is the acronym of the journal. See the front of the
book for a list of journal abbreviations. You need the full journal
title to locate the article in this library.
NOTE:
To be comprehensive, you should look at the entire listing for the author,
as each item is only listed once. A study on both The Great Gatsby and
Tender is the Night will be listed under only one of these works, and
there are no cross-references.
The Subject Index provides access to names,
genres, themes, etc. Always check the subject index. [The three articles
listed under Fitzgerald were not listed under his name in the "Classified
List."]
NOTE:
The entries in the Subject Index give some descriptive information about
the articles, but do not give a full citation. To find the citation,
look in the volume indicated, at the record numbers listed.
In the following example, see also references are made to Volume I,
entry numbers 9293, 3978, and 7182:
FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT (1896-1940)
See also classified section: I:7966 ff.
American literature. 1900-1999
Wharton, Edith.
And FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT. I:9293.
English literature. Novel. 1900-1999
Ford, Ford Madox. The Good Soldier. Narrator; relationship
to hero compared to FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT: The Great Gatsby;
Hemingway, Ernest: The Sun Also Rises. Sources in Conrad,
Joseph: "Heart of Darkness"; Lord Jim. Dissertation
abstract I:3978.
FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT (1896-1940) - STUDY EXAMPLE
American literature. Fiction. 1900-1999
Treatment of American society (1920-1929); study example.
Anderson, Sherwood: Winesburg Ohio; Lewis, Sinclair:
Main Street; Babbit; FITZGERALD, F. SCOTT: The
Great Gatsby; This Side of Paradise. I:7182
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Between 1969 and 1980, MLA was issued in one book each year without
a subject index. It was divided into three sections, called "volumes":
Volume 1. General; English; American; Commonwealth; Latin; Celtic Literature;
Folklore
Volume 2. European, Asian, African, and Latin American literatures
Volume 3. Linguistics and languages
Search for studies on The Great Gatsby by looking:
(1) under American literature, 20th Century
(2) then by author
This section is similar to the one described above EXCEPT that there is
no title by title grouping of studies. You must scan the entire listing
of studies under Fitzgerald to find the ones on The Great Gatsby. Searching
for an abstract topic is difficult.
Before 1956, the MLA listed only studies by Americans. For coverage
of European work, other bibliographies must be used. Even today, European
coverage is not complete.
Last updated:
January, 2003
URL: http://library.nyu.edu/research/ rg52.html
Questions/Comments:
Jennifer Vinopal,
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