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Subject Guides:  Poetry

Analysis and explication of poetry can be found in both books and periodicals. They can also be found in many electronic resources. Here is a list of resources to help you find what others have had to say on the subject of individual poets and their work. Entries include title, dates, authors or editors, call number, location, and relationship to other works.

It is important to remember that commentary on poetry is, for the most part, limited to a relatively small number of important or well-known poems by major poets. Recently published poems generally will not have passed the test of time and will probably have had nothing written about them.

Print Resources: Abstracts, Bibliographies, & Indexes

Abstracts of English Studies (1958-1991)
PE 25 A16 (Reference) Library has: vols. 1-34 (1958-1991).

This is a quarterly journal divided into four major categories: General, Britain, United States, and World Literature in English and Related languages. Each category is further divided into sections, and then into individual poets and authors. All abstract entries are brief and numbered. Each quarterly issue contains an index.

American and British Poetry: a Guide to the Criticism, 1925-1978 (c1984) Harriet Semmes Alexander
Z 1231 P7 A44 1984 (Reference)

This one volume bibliography is a bit brief. It is designed “to permit the user to see at a glance a survey of the criticism on a particular work over an extended period of time.” Only criticism of poems 1000 lines or less are included. Entries are alphabetical by poet. The work also contains an extensive bibliography of sources used and a Table of Contents.

American Humanities Index (1975-2001)
AI 3 A278 (Reference) Library has: v.1 (1975)-v.27 (2001).

This is an index to creative, critical, and scholarly English language literary journals and magazines (primarily American and Canadian). Many of these journals are not indexes elsewhere. Entries are arranged alphabetical by subject headings and by the author's name. Subject headings are often subdivided by geographical location and periods of history. Each annual is divided into two volumes.

Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (1923-2000), A. C. Paues
Z 2011 M69 (Reference) Library has: vols. 4-75 (1923-2000).

Published annually, the volumes vary slightly in scope. These changes are noted in the preface of each volume. The work is divided into major subject areas, and further divided into sections. All citations are individually numbered. The work contains a scholars index, and an authors and subjects index.

Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1975-1999)
Z 5931 A78 (Reference) Library has: 1976-1999 (print); 1975-present (online).


Electronic version available through: Web of Knowledge (1975-present)

Published semi-annually as a three-volume set. Volume one, the Citation Index, contains alphabetical listings by author of every work cited in the footnotes or biographies of the articles indexed in the A&HCI. Volume two is the Source and Corporate Indexes. The Source Index contains complete bibliographic information on all the current items (source items) indexed in the A&HCI. The Corporate index contains geographic and organizational entries. Volume three, the Permuterm Subject Index, provides entries for every significant word that has appeared in the title of a current article (source item) in the A&HCI. It is listed and paired with other significant words that appear with it the title. Instructions on how to use this source are provided in each volume.

Epic and Romance Criticism: a Checklist of Interpretations, 1940-1972 (c1973-1974, 2 volumes), Arthur Coleman
Z 7156 E6 C64 (Stacks)

Volume one focuses on English and American Epics and Metrical Romances and Volume two focuses on Classical and Continental Epics and Metrical Romances. Entries are arranged alphabetical by title of poem. Volume one includes an index that contains nine additional titles.

Essay and General Literature Index (2001)
AI 3 E752 (Reference) Library has: V.1 (1900)-V.13 (95/99); v.2001 (2001:JUNE)

This is an author and subject index to essays published in collections, with particular emphasis on materials in the humanities and social sciences. Basically published semi-annually, it is arranged alphabetically and contains author, subject, and occasional title entries. The work also contains a list of books indexed and a directory of publishers and distributors.

Guide to American Poetry Explication (c1989, 2 volumes), James Ruppert and John R. Leo
Z 1231 P7 G85 1989 (Reference)

The first volume deals with Colonial and Nineteenth-Century Poetry; the second with Modern and Contemporary Poetry. Both books are expansions of Poetry Explication: Checklist and Poetry Explication: A Checklist of Interpretation since 1925. The entries are alphabetical by author and contained in a section called “Checklist of Interpretation”. Both volumes have a list of “Main Sources Consulted”.

Guide to British Poetry Explication (c1991, 4 volumes), Nancy C. Martinez, Joseph G. R. Martinez, and Erland Anderson
Z 2014 P7 M34 1991 (Reference)

These four volumes cover the following periods: vol. 1, Old English – Medieval; vol. 2, Renaissance; vol. 3, Restoration – Romantic; vol. 4, Victorian – Contemporary. They continue and expand Poetry Explication: a Checklist of Interpretation. Entries for each volume are alphabetical by author and contained in a section called “Checklist of Interpretation.” All four volumes have a "list of main sources consulted.”

Humanities Index (1974-1993)
AI 3 H85 (Reference) Library has: v.1 (1974/1975)-v.19 (1992/1993).

This is a cumulative index to English language periodicals. Its scope includes language and literature. It is arranged alphabetically with author and subject entries. A separate listing of citations to book reviews is included. This index partly continues Social Sciences and Humanities Index (1965-1974), International Index (1955-1965), and International Index to Periodicals (1907-1955). All are fairly similar in arrangement and scope.

Index to Criticism of British and American Poetry, An (c1973), Gloria Stark Cline and Jeffrey A. Baker
Z 7156 A1 C63 (Stacks)

The work is divided into two parts. Part one consists of entries listed alphabetically by poet and contains poems and critical citations. Part two consists of entries listed alphabetically by critic and contains sources of criticism. The work has a bibliography and an index to poem titles.

Literary Criticism Index (c1984), Alan R. Weiner
Z 6511.W44 1984 (Stacks)

The work is arranged alphabetically by author and title. Most entries are author entries. It focuses on American and English Literature.

MLA International Bibliography (1921-1995)
Z 7006 M64  (Reference) Library has: 1921-1995

.
Electronic version available through: MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association) (1963-present)

Author entries are contained within the Classified Listings section. This section is currently divided into five volumes: vol. one – British and Irish, Commonwealth, English Caribbean, and American Literatures; vol. two – European, Asian, African, and Latin American Literatures; vol. three – Linguistics; vol. four – General Literature and Related Topics; vol. 5 – Folklore.  The entries are numbered according to volume. The work contains a documents author index and a subject index.

New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (c1969-1977, 5 volumes), George Watson, ed.
Z 2011 N45 (Stacks)

Each volume in this work is divided into chapters and sections with some sections focusing on poetry and poets. Entries are alphabetical by author for each section. Each page has two numbered columns. Volumes 1-4 each have an index, with entries referring to column numbers. Volume 5 is a cumulative index for the work. Volumes are basically chronological in scope: volume one – 600-1600; volume two – 1660-1800; volume three – 1800-1900; volume four – 1900-1950.
Updated by The Shorter New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: Z 2011 S417 1981 (Stacks)

Poetry Explication: a Checklist of Interpretation Since 1925 of British and American Poems Past and Present, 3rd ed. (c1980), Joseph Marshall Kuntz
Z 2014.P7 K8 1980 (Reference)

This is an index of poetry explications that covers the years 1925-1977. Most poems included in the work are not over 500 lines in length. The bulk of the work is the Checklist of Interpretation, which lists entries alphabetically by author. The work includes a bibliography.
This volume updates earlier versions of the work: (Z 2014 P7 K8 and Z2014 P7 A7 1950).

Sonnet in England and America: a Bibliography of Criticism, The (c1982), Herbert S. Donow
Z 2014.S6 D66 (Stacks)

This work is divided into four chapters. Chapter one contains general works. Chapter two focuses on the renaissance. Chapter three is devoted entirely to Shakespeare. Chapter four covers eighteenth and nineteenth century literature. Poets are listed alphabetically in each chapter. All entries are numbered. The work contains a poet index, a contributor index, and a subject index.

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Print Resources: Full Text Criticism

After Confession: Poetry as Autobiography (2001), Kate Sontag
PS 323.5 A36 2001 (Stacks)

This collection of essays focuses primarily on modern American poetry. A number of poets and poems are discussed in the essays. The work is interesting but it does not include an index.

American Poets from Puritans to the Present, Revised (c1984), Hyatt Howe Waggoner
PS 303 .W3 1984 (Stacks)

This two-volume work covers over 50 major poets. The twenty-two chapters in the work are divided into seven major parts and are basically in chronological order. Waggoner focuses primarily on major poets who are representative of the time in which they are writing. Primarily a work of criticism, the biographical information on poets is limited. The work contains a section of notes, a bibliography, an index, and an appendix that deals primarily with the topic of “Mysticism”.
Updates American Poets (PS 303.W3).

Black Poets of the United States: from Paul Laurence Dunbar to Langston Hughes (c1973), Jean Wagner
PS153.N5 W313 (Stacks)

This work focuses on Afro-American poetry published from about 1890 to 1940. The work consists of twelve chapters that include an introduction and a conclusion. Coverage is basically chronological. The main authors covered include: Paul Laurence Dunbar, Claude McKay, Jean Toomer, Countee Cullen, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, and Sterling Brown. Biographies are provided for each poet studied. The work includes a bibliographical appendix, a bibliographical supplement, and an index.

Columbia History of American Poetry (c1993), Jay Parini
PS 303 C64 1993 (Stacks)


Electronic version available through: Netlibrary

This work contains essays focusing on a variety of American poets. It tends to focus on the relationship between American poetry and American culture.

Contemporary Poets (1991), Tracy Chevalier
PR 603 C6 1991 (Reference)

This work contains a large number of contemporary poets, and is arranged alphabetically by poet. Each entry contains a biography, a complete list of separately published books, and a signed essay. The work contains a title index. Though a bit dated, this source provides information on many lesser-known contemporary poets.

Contemporary Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Poetry: a Resource Guide and Biographical Directory (1989), Scott E. Green
Z 1231 P7 G74 1989 (Stacks)

This work is divided into three main sections: Magazines, Anthologies, and Poets. The work focuses primarily on American writers, though many foreign writers (mostly British) are also included. The Biographical Directory of Poets focuses on poets who currently write SF, Fantasy, and Horror Poetry. The work includes an index.

Continuity of American Poetry (c1961), Roy Harvey Pearce
PS 303.P4 (Stacks)

This work originated from Pearce's 1954 lectures on the history of American poetry at the Sulzburg Seminar in American Studies. Its ten chapters cover American poetry roughly from the seventeenth century to the 1950's. The work has an index, which is the best way to find criticism on individual authors.

Critical Survey of Poetry: English Language Series, Revised (c1992, 8 volumes), Frank N. Magill
PR 502 C85 1992 (Reference)

Primary entries are author entries. Each entry provides a biography, achievements, a list of works in other formats, criticism, and a bibliography. The first volume contains a list of contributors. Each volume contains a list of authors that it contains. There are twenty-two essays that provide an overview of the development and sub-genres of poetry. The essays and a cumulative index are contained in volume eight.
Updates an earlier 8-volume edition (PN 1111 C7 Reference).

Critical Survey of Poetry:  Foreign Language Series (c1984, 5 volumes), Frank N. Magill
PN 1111 C7 1984 (Reference)

Primary entries are author entries. Each entry provides a biography, achievements, a list of works in other formats, criticism, and a bibliography. The first volume contains a list of contributors. Each of the first four volumes contains a list of authors. The fifth volume contains twenty-seven essays, each focusing on the literature of various countries. Volume five also contains a cumulative index.

Critical Survey of Poetry (Supplement) (c1984), Frank N. Magill
PN 1021 C7 1984 (Reference)

This supplement extends coverage to poets not included in earlier volumes. It contains more information on contemporary poets than previous works. Included in the supplement are 49 poets from 18 different countries. Most poets are from the twentieth century. The work follows the same format as Critical Survey of Poetry. Entries are arranged alphabetically by poet. The work contains a section of updates and a comprehensive index.

English Romantic Poets: a Review of Research and Criticism (c1972), Frank Jordan
PR 590 J6 1972 (Stacks)

This collection focuses on Byron, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, and Wordsworth. The book is divided into chapters, and does include an examination of the Romantic Movement. The work includes an index.
Updated by the 4th edition. (PR 590 E5 1985)

Invisible Poets: Afro-Americans of the Nineteenth Century (c1974), Joan R. Sherman
PS 153 N5 S48 (Stacks)

This work focuses on twenty-six lesser-known African American Poets who published poetry in America during the nineteenth century. As a result, Paul Lawrence Dunbar is not included. Biographical information is included for all authors. The work is divided into one chapter per poet. It also includes sections on: bibliographies of the poets' works, an index and seven appendices. The appendices provide some bibliographic information for the following topics: Poets for Further Research, Occasional Poets, Anonymous Poets and Ada, Turn-of-the-Century Poets, Poets Erroneously Identified as Afro-Americans, the Creole Poets of Les Cenelles, and Phyllis Wheatley and Jupiter Hammon: Bibliographies.

Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors through the Beginning of the 20th Century (c1966), Harold Bloom, ed.
PR 83 M73 1966 (Reference)

This work covers many major British and American authors. This edition of the work is divided into four volumes: v.1. The beginnings to the seventeenth century.--v.2. Neo-classicism to the romantic period.--v.3. The romantic period to the Victorian Age.--v.4. The mid-nineteenth century to Edwardianism. Authors are covered in chronological order based on the dates of their deaths. Entries contain biographical information and criticism.

New Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism, The (c1985, volumes 5-11), Harold Bloom, ed.
PR 85 N39 1985 (Reference)

This work is similar in arrangement and scope to Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors through the Beginning of the 20^th Century. It is comprised of ten volumes instead of four, so each volume deals with smaller periods of time. Authors are arranged basically by date of death. The eleventh volume is a cumulative index that contains an index to bibliographies, series contents, an index to authors, and an index to critics.

Poetry Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of the Most Significant and Widely Studied Poets of World Literature (c1991, 3 volumes), Robyn V. Young
PN 1010 P54 (Reference)

This is a three-volume work. Each volume focuses on 10-13 major poets. The poets are from all times and nationalities. There seems to be no apparent grouping for the poets in each volume. Poets are arranged alphabetically in each individual volume. Each author entry contains poetry criticism, and is supplemented by biographical and bibliographical material.

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Print Resources: Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Longman Dictionary and Handbook of Poetry (c1985), Jack Elliott Myers
PN 1021 M94 1985 (Reference)

This dictionary provides a critical vocabulary of poetic terms for the poet and the student of poetry. It contains definitions of traditional terms, contemporary workshop terms, terms borrowed from other arts and disciplines, and archaic or specialized jargon. The work has three appendices covering selected topics; rhetorical, poetical, and logical devices; and a selected topical bibliography.

New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, The (1993), Alex Preminger
PN 1021 N39 1993 (Reference)

This book is a comprehensive reference source for scholars, students, poets, and general readers. It deals with knowledge, facts, theories, questions, and informed judgment, concerning poetry. It contains descriptions of poetic forms and genres, surveys of 106 national poetries, overviews all major schools of poetry, accounts of major movements, issues in criticism and literary theory, and the relationship of poetry to other disciplines. This is the 3^rd edition of the work and has added increased coverage of emergent and non-Western poetries; coverage of all movements in recent criticism and literary theory that bear on poetry; more extensive bibliographies; extensive cross-referencing. Entries are arranged alphabetically.

New Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms, The (1994), Terry V. F. Brogan
PN 1021 N39 1994 (Reference)

This book is a simplified version of The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Written for the general reader, its purpose is “to provide ready accounts of poetic and (some) prosodic terms likely to be encountered in modern literary study. Entries are arranged alphabetically and are similar in format to entries used in common encyclopedias. This is a good reference source for undergraduates.

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Electronic Resources: Databases

FT=Full text, OC= Off Campus Availability

Academic Search Premier FT, OC

A good general scholarly database. Academic Search Premier contains the full text of more than 4,000 scholarly publications, including more than 3,100 peer-reviewed publications. In addition to the full text, it offers indexing and abstracts for all 7,962 journals in the collection.

Arts and Humanities Citation Index (available through Web of Knowledge) OC

Columbia History of American Poetry, The (available through Netlibrary) FT, OC

To view Netlibrary e-books from home, you'll have to sign up online for a Netlibrary account from the LSU campus, see the Middleton Library Reference Desk for more details.

HarpWeek (Harper's Weekly) FT

Contains the full-text of Harper's Weekly during the Civil War era (1857-1865) and access to HarpWeek Reconstruction I (1866 - 1871).

Index to American Periodicals 1700-1850 OC

Two "Indexes to Early American Periodicals," covering the time periods from 1741 to 1935.

JSTOR FT, OC

JSTOR consists of a reliable and comprehensive archive of important scholarly journal literature.

Literature Resource Center FT, OC

The LRC provides access to biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary discipline. It covers more than 90,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,000 of the most-studied authors.

Masterplots (restricted to in-library use only) FT

The data included in Masterplots are the contents of 22 sets of reference books (102 volumes; 13,364 essays, of which 11,296 are on works of literature and 2,068 are author biographies).

MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association) OC

MLA International Bibliography is an index of journal articles, books and dissertations. Produced by the Modern Language Association, the electronic version of the Bibliography dates back to 1963 and contains over 1.5 million citations from more than 4,400 journals and series and 1,000 book publishers. Coverage is international and subjects include literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory & criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing.

Palmer's Full Text Online 1785-1870 FT, OC

Palmer's Full Text Online, 1785 - 1870 gives students, researchers, and the public online access to approximately one million articles from The Times covering almost a century of British and world history.

Palmer's Index to the Times 1790-1905 (Ask at Middleton Reference Desk for CD MRDF 80).

CD-ROM version

Project Muse FT, OC

Project Muse provides online, world wide, institutional subscription access to the full text of over 100 scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, social sciences and mathematics.

TLS Centenary Archives (Times Literary Supplement) FT, OC

Full text of the reviews appearing in Times Literary Supplement 1902 - 1990, searchable in a variety of ways.

Project Muse FT, OC

Project Muse provides online, world wide, institutional subscription access to the full text of over 100 scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, social sciences and mathematics.

-- Links for these databases are also available on the LSU Libraries Indexes and Databases page.

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Using the Online Catalog

When using the online catalog to locate books on poetry criticism, your best method is to use a subject search. Subject searching relies on strictly defined subject headings developed by the Library of Congress. For the most focused and relevant results, try performing a subject search for the correct Library of Congress subject Headings. If you need help with this, you can ask for help at the Middleton Library Reference Desk. Below are listed some suggested subject headings. These are intended as examples only and should not be taken as an exhaustive list of applicable subject headings.
(The online catalog is not case-sensitive.)

Poetry History and criticism

Poetry Indexes

English poetry History and criticism

English poetry History and criticism Indexes

American poetry History and criticism

American poetry History and criticism Indexes

Poetry Themes, motives

Poets, [nationality]

You may also use the name of a particular poet as a subject. The name must be entered last name, then first name. If you are matching on "exact content" (a radial button available in the basic search), you must also include the poet's dates, as in the following example:
Frost, Robert, 1874-1963.
This search will produce biographies as well as criticism. To limit results to criticism only, extend the subject heading as follows:
Frost, Robert, 1874-1963 Criticism and interpretation.
If you do not know the poet's dates, enter just the name, as above, but make sure the "match on" setting is set to "Keywords" which is the usual search setting.

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