Locating Criticism of Individual Poems

Subject Headings

OVERVIEW

Library of Congress Subject Headings can be used to search the Library of Congress online catalog to retrieve a list a items cataloged under a specific subject. The following subject headings lead to resources that index criticism of individual poems. Click on any subject heading to be brought to a list of resources in the Library's catalog.

English poetry Explication Bibliography
American poetry Explication Bibliography
English poetry Explication
American poetry Explication
Poetry Explication
American poetry History and criticism Bibliography
English poetry History and criticism Bibliography

To locate books that include criticism on a single poet's poems, search under subject headings structured as follows:

[Last Name, First Name] Criticism and interpretation.
Example: Angelou, Maya Criticism and interpretation.

OR

[Last Name, First Name] [Year Born-Year Died] Criticism and interpretation.
Example: Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882 Criticism and interpretation.

Many well-known books of poetry and poems also have their own subject heading under which additional criticism can be found. For example, the following subject headings for T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land lead to criticism of the poem:

Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965. Waste land
Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965. Waste land Examinations Study guides.

Subject headings for other poems and books of poetry are similarly structured.

For further information on searching the Library's online catalog by subject see the Subject/Browse help page.