Modern Language Notes is an academic journal established in 1886 at the Johns Hopkins University, where it is still edited and published, with the intention of introducing continental European literary criticism into American scholarship. Each year, one issue is devoted to each of the four languages of concern. The fifth issue focuses on comparative literature. The journal is published five times each year in January (Italian), March (Hispanic), April (German), September (French), and December (Comparative literature). Circulation is 1,173 and the average length of an issue is 240 pages.