221B Baker Street

Collection of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, as well as images from original woodcuts, analysis, and history of the character.

Academy of American Poets

Information, interactive biographies, and samples from over 200 American poets

Alice in Wonderland: An Interactive Adventure

An Interactive set of adventures through Wonderland for all ages.

American Writers

From C-SPAN – Hundreds of biographies for American authors from 1600 – 1975.  Also includes many videos.

Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations

Searchable index of this famous collection of quotations.  Great for writing prompts or a “quote of the day”.

Bibliomania

Free online literature (over 2000 classic texts) with free study guides and reference materials

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Indexed online version of the print guidebook to grammar and punctuation rules.

Books 2 Barcodes

Scan the QR codes provided to instantly start reading the classics on your mobile device.

Byron’s English Bards, and Scotch Reviewers

A web exhibit on Lord Byron’s satire from the Harvard’s Houghton Library

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature

Online edition of the 18-volume encyclopedia “considered the most important work of literary history and criticism ever published”.  Contains over 303 chapters and 11,000 pages.

The Camelot Project

All things King Arthur:  Arthurian lore, images, and bibliographies

Canting Dictionary

Online dictionary from 1737 of common slang from the times “used by Beggars, Gypsies, Cheats, House-Breakers, Shop-Lifters, Foot-Pads, Highway-Men, &c;”

Cliché Finder

Searchable index of over 3,300 common clichés.

Common Errors in English Usage

Searchable index of the most common errors in using grammar. (Also available as a full-text book)

Creative Writing Prompts

Click on any number (1 – 346) for an instant prompt.

Daily Grammar

440 lessons and 88 quizzes. Subscribe to the e-mail service for a tip or lesson a day or browse the archives.

Dante’s Inferno Virtual Tour

A virtual, interactive tour of Hell, based on Dante’s Inferno.

DanteWorlds

Interactive journey through Dante’s Divine Comedy – includes tours of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.

Discovering Sherlock Holmes

Information about Victorian times, a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the full text of several short stories with analysis.

Edgar Allan Poe Museum

Lots of resources on the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe.  Check out the Teachers section for a free downloadable set of classroom activities.

Encyclopedia Mythica

Great encyclopedia covering all of Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic, and Native American mythology.

English Scholar

Extensive collection of links and resources for English students and intrructors.

Family Tree of Greek Mythology

Wonderful infographic showing the lineage of the Greek gods from Chaos through the Olympians and Zeus’ demigod children.

God Checker

Mythology Encyclopedia featuring over 3,700 supreme beings, demons, spirits and beasts from all over the world.

Google Lit Trips

Use Google Earth to visit the sites of your favorite books

Grammar Safari

Instructions on how to “hunt” for “exotic” grammar structures not found in textbooks using open source e-books and online resources.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

From National Geographic, history and facts about the authors, stories, and more.

Guide to Grammar and Writing

Handouts and online quizzes to test and re-enforce grammar skills.

IPL Literary Criticism

Contains critical and biographical websites about authors and their works that can be browsed by author, by title, or by nationality and literary period.

The Literature Network

Searchable online literature that includes full books, short stories, and poems.  There are also over 340 quizzes available to take on several literary works.

Luminarium

Extensive anthology of English literature from the Medieval through Restoration period as well as religious and dramatic writing and poetry.  Also includes biographies of many authors.

Mark Twain Quotations, Newspaper Collections, & Related Resources

Extensive collection of Mark Twain’s quotes (organized alphabetically by topic), full newspaper articles and opinions, and links for studying his life and times.

Myth Index

A comprehensive dictionary of Greek mythology, including titles and epithets of the gods. (Over 3700 Greek names and 500 Roman)

Mythical Creatures List

Comprehensive list of mythical creatures from all cultures.

National Punctuation Day

Wealth of resources on proper punctuation, including usage guides and rules.

Novel Guides

Free, online study guides for great literature and modern novels.

Online Literature Library

Free collections of classic literature organized by author.

Other Words for Said

Collection of 219 synonyms for the word “said” to help spice up your writing.

The Phrontistery

Word lists and language resources to spread the joy of the English language in all its variety through time and space.

Poetry 180

Designed for high school students by the Library of Congress – Find a poem for each day of the school year.

Poet Seers

A collection of spiritual and illumining poetry by poets from around the world, including many different spiritual traditions.

Read Write Think

Lesson plans and class activities for K-12 in reading and writing

Rhymer

Free online rhyming dictionary.  Type in a word then select from 5 different types of rhyming schemes to get all the rhymes.

Shakespeare Online

Comprehensive collection of all things Shakespeare, including a biography, the plays, sonnets, quotations, and analyses of his works.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theater

Click through the EDUCATION tab to find teacher resources for learning about Elizabethan theater.

Vocab Ahead

Includes SAT Vocabulary words , Videos, Flashcards, and Quizzes for Test prep of SAT, GRE & ACT

Wacky Wordies

Collection of rebus puzzles.  Great for warm-up activities.

Woodberry Poetry Room Listening Booth

Large collection of poetry readings by the authors.

Wordle

Create word clouds and wordmaps for any text.  A great way to show students overused words in their own writing.

Words Shakespeare Invented

A few of the words Shakespeare coined, hyperlinked to the play and scene from which it comes.

Write Rhymes

As you write, hold the alt key and click on a word to find a rhyme for it.

Writing Contests & Awards

Very up-to-date list of creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more.