Explication of a Literary Work
Reference Books
Critical Terms for Literary Study: CREDO eBook
English Novel Explication: Criticisms to 1972: REF Z2014 .P7 K8
The Explicator Cyclopedia: REF PN218 .W4
Guide to American Poetry Explication vol. 1: REF Z 1231 .P7 G85 1989
Modern and Contemporary (Guide to American Poetry Explication vol. 2): REF Z1231.P7 L46 1989
New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics: REF PN 1021 .N39 1993
(Also available as a CREDO eBook)
Poetry Explication: a Checklist of Interpretation Since 1925 of British and American Poems Past and Present: REF Z2014 .P7 K8
Books to Check Out
A Dictionary of Literary Symbols: PN 56 .S7 F47 2000
(Also available as a CREDO eBook)
From page to stage: how theatre designers make connections between scripts and images: PN2091.S8 I45 1998
A Grain of Poetry: How to Read Contemporary Poems and Make Them A Part of Your Life: PN1075 .K65 2000
How to Read a Poem: PR502 .E23 2007
A Literary History of England: PR83 .B3
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism: PN86 .N67 2010
The Poem in Its Skin: PS323.5 .C3
The Poetry Handbook
The Poetry Toolkit: PN1059.A9 H37 2012
The Secret Language of Symbols: a Visual Key to Symbols and Their Meanings: BF458 .F56 1994
Literary Journals
For full-text access to a specific literary journal, search for the title in the A-Z eJournal List.
Research Databases for Full-Text Articles
Find an encyclopedia article about explication
Find a definition of the word “explication”
Search for a poem/literary work as Name of Work or poet/author as Person-By or About and look for Criticism articles
Use Advanced Search to search for an author/title (as Subject or Title) and "criticism" (as Subject)
Use Advanced Search to search for an author/title in the Title field and "criticism" in Full Text
Websites
Poetry Explications – The Writing Center
A handout from the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill
Poetry Explication – The Writing Studio
An explication exercise from Duke University
Features an outline and an example of poetry explication
