CHAPTER 5 - How to Trace Poetry and Drama

Abstract

This chapter discusses the ways of tracing bibliographies of poetry and drama in English. Although these two literary forms are rightly separated in the Dewey Decimal Classification because of the fundamental differences between them, they are close in some respects. Some of the finest poetry in English is in dramatic form, as in Shakespeare's plays, while some of the finest poems are dramatic in conception. The most comprehensive list of poetry is Index to Poetry, 4th edition, by E. Granger, edited by R. J. Dixon. It indexes nearly 600 anthologies and collections up to the end of 1950. The latest edition omits some anthologies covered by earlier editions. The work is divided into three parts: (1) title and first line, (2) author, and (3) subject. The most comprehensive general list of plays and books about drama is The Player's Library, sponsored by the British Drama League and to which supplements are issued. This comprises an author catalogue of plays with details of the number of acts, cast, setting, period, and costume. Translations of foreign plays are included. This work also includes a list of books on theater. Another bibliography of plays is Index to Plays 1800-1926 (1927) with its supplement, edited by I. T. E. Firkins.