Research Guides: English and American Poetry Resources: Criticism

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CRITICISM OF POETS AND THEIR WORKS

The following sets provide convenient critical introductions to poets and their works:

Masterplots II: Poetry Series
The articles in this set provide a handy introduction to critical analysis of specific poems by some of the most important poets throughout history and around the world. The poems included are those most often studied in educational settings and featured in poetry anthologies. The entries are arranged in alphabetical order by the title of the poems, while an author index in the last volume makes it easy to determine which poems by an individual author are analyzed in the set.
Masterplots [ONLINE RESOURCE]
Similar to the Masterplots II: Poetry Series, the articles in the basic Masterplots set provide a handy introduction to critical analysis of works of literature in all genres. Though fewer works of poetry are included in this set, many of the most widely studied poems by important poets throughout history and around the world are included.
Masterplots: 2010-2018 Supplement [ONLINE RESOURCE]
This volume updates the basic Masterplots set with coverage of the most important new works of literature published between 2010 and 2018.

The following online reference works discuss a poet's work as a whole, with critical analysis of a few better-known poems.

The following multivolume set provides extensive criticism of poets and their works.

Poetry Criticism
This set contains the full text of thousands of essays providing criticism of the works of poets from around the world and from all time periods from antiquity to contemporary emerging authors. The criticism reprinted here is carefully selected according to exacting editorial standards, providing an excellent guide to the most important criticism about an author. Because the critical essays are printed in chronological order, this set offers a good opportunity to observe how critical assessments of an author have changed over time.