Poetry Criticism Resources
Analysis and explication of poetry can be found in both books and periodicals. Increasingly, 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. 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 very little (or nothing at all) written about them. For assistance locating or using any of these resources, or if you need further help with literary research, contact Mike Russo.
13 Bookmarks Found with These Tags:

Bibliographies [X]
Literature [X]
American and British Poetry: A Guide to the Criticism 1925-1978
Middleton Reference: Z1231 .P7 A44 1984 Scope: Indexes poems of 1,000 lines or less. Indexing: Alphabetical by name of poet.
Middleton Reference: PR603 .C6 2001 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. It also provides information on lesser known contemporary poets.
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. It also provides information on lesser known contemporary poets. Access to the 6th and 7th editions is available through the Biography Resource Center database.
Critical survey of poetry : English language series
Middleton Reference: PR502 .C85 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 Middleton Reference).
Critical survey of poetry : foreign language series
Middleton Reference: PN1111 .C7 1984 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.
Guide to American poetry explication
Middleton Reference: Z1231 .P7 G85 1989 Volume 1—Colonial and Nineteenth Century Volume 2—Modern and Contemporary
Guide to British poetry explication
Middleton Reference: Z2014 .P7 M34 1991 Volume 1—Old English-Medieval Volume 2—Renaissance Volume 3—Restoration-Romantic Volume 4—Victorian-Contemporary
Invisible Poets: Afro-Americans of the Nineteenth Century
Middleton Main Stacks: PS153 .N5 S48 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.
Middleton Reference: Z2014 .P7 K8 1980 Scope: Covers the years 1925 to 1977, but is limited to poems of less than 500 lines. Indexing: Indexed alphabetically by poet.
The continuity of American poetry
Middleton Main Stacks: PS303 .P4 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.
The New Cambridge bibliography of English literature
Middleton Reference: Z2011 .N45 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.
The Shorter New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature
Middleton Stacks: Z2011 .S417 1981 Update of The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature
The sonnet in England and America : a bibliography of criticism
Middleton Main Stacks: Z2014 .S6 D66 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.

