Researching William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time. Some of Shakespeare's plays, such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, are among the most famous literary works in the world. These and other of his plays are regularly studied by high school and college students. This guide will help you find information about Shakespeare, his plays and the time he lived.
Who was William Shakespeare?
Web sites:
There are a number of Web sites that can provide a great deal of information on Shakespeare:
Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Guide to Shakespeare
An excellent starting point for general information about William Shakespeare. Includes information on the man, his plays, the Elizabethan world, and an Internet guide to lead you to additional Web resources.
Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet
An invaluable resource that provides a great deal of basic information about Shakespeare and also serves as an annotated guide to many of the more scholarly sources available on the Internet.
Shakespeare’s Biography
From the Shakespeare Resource Center. Presents a brief biography and a list of links to other Internet sites.
Timelines:
There are Web sites that provide timelines of Shakespeare’s life and writings that help provide an overview of the progress of his works.
Chronology of the Shakespearean World, 1543–1700
The Encyclopaedia Britannica’s timeline presents events in Shakespeare’s life and in the world around him.
A Shakespeare Timeline
Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet has an interactive timeline that shows events from Shakespeare’s life, his literary works, and events in the world at large for any given year.
Books:
The Humanities Department has many resources to assist you with general research on William Shakespeare and his time.
- Olsen, Kirstin. All Things Shakespeare: An Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's World. XPR2892.O56 2002Q
This two-volume set provides a dictionary listing of more than 200 articles which give historical detail and descriptions of obscure and everyday objects from Shakespeare’s time.
- The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. General editor, Michael Dobson; associate general editor, Stanley Wells. XPR2892.O94 2001Q
An authoritative companion to the vast world and work of Shakespeare, containing over 3,000 entries.
- Shakespeare's World and Work: An Encyclopedia for Students. John F. Andrews, editor in chief. XPR2892.S56 2001Q
This three-volume set covers not only Shakespeare's life and plays, but also his world and his continuing influence.
Recent biographies that shed new light on Shakespeare and his contributions to theatre history:
- Ackroyd, Peter. Shakespeare: The Biography. PR2894.A26 2005
This biography is distinguished from other contemporary Shakespeare studies by the author's ability to mesh the facts of Shakespeare's life with social, economic, literary, and political details about the 16th century.
Dommermuth-Costa, Carol. William Shakespeare. PR2895.D53 2002
Shakespeare's story is told in a clear, easy-to-follow prose style that is appropriate for grades 6-10. The book includes high-quality photos and engravings and helpful references to other sources.
Holden, Anthony. William Shakespeare: An Illustrated Biography. PR2894.H58 2002Q
Holden combines in-depth research into the life of William Shakespeare with incredible illustrations to present a vivid portrait of the man and his age.
Where can I find information on his works?
The Plays
Web sites:
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
This Web site from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology provides the full text to all of Shakespeare’s plays.
Internet Shakespeare Editions
The University of Victoria provides access to various Internet Shakespeare editions, including plays from the Quarto and Folio publications.
Shakespeare – Criticism
This section of Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet presents critical essays on each of the plays. Some of the essays provide additional bibliographical citations.
William Shakespeare in Quarto
The British Library’s Web site provides background information about Shakespeare and the theatre as well as the full text of the library’s 93 copies of the 21 plays printed in quarto before 1642. The site allows you to page through the books and compare the various editions, as well as providing access to the plays that were not published in quarto, but appeared in the first folio edition.
Books:
The Humanities Department has many helpful books about each of Shakespeare’s plays. The author and call number for each volume of these series will vary, but the explanatory and critical material for each play is shelved with the text of the play. Some of the most helpful series are:
- Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare Through the Ages.
Presents the best of Shakespeare criticism, from the 17th century through today, emphasizing the greatest critics in our literary tradition. These volumes, intended for students, include basic materials that provide a solid background for each play.
- A Companion to Shakespeare's Works. Edited by Richard Dutton and Jean E. Howard
This four-volume reference set contains original critical essays on each of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as general essays relating to his works.
- Folger Shakespeare Library
Issued by the world’s leading center on Shakespeare studies, this series presents the original text of each play with full explanatory notes. There are additional volumes on many Shakespeare-related subjects.
- Literary Companion Series
This is a general series on masterpieces of literature. It includes several volumes on individual plays as well as a volume on Shakespeare’s comedies and one on his sonnets. Each volume presents an in-depth biography of Shakespeare as well as a collection of critical essays edited to accommodate the reading and comprehension level of young adults.
- Shakespeare for Students
This reference set provides excellent introductions to the plays. Each entry presents a list of characters, a plot synopsis, a discussion of the principal topics, character studies, a series of critical essays, and a bibliography.
- Shakespeare Made Easy / No Fear Shakespeare
These two series present a modern English version of the play side-by-side with the original text, providing an introduction for readers unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s language. All of the plays usually studied in high school are included. Shakespeare Made Easy also includes supplemental classroom activities for teachers.
Databases:
Literature Resource Center
The Enoch Pratt Free Library subscribes to the Literature Resource Center. This database is accessible in all Pratt Library Locations, or from home with your library card. It provides access to criticism, biographies, bibliographies, work overviews, and periodical articles and includes the Gale Literary Index, an index to the literature reference books published by Gale.
The Poetry
Web sites:
William Shakespeare Poems
Contains general information on Shakespeare’s poetry, as well as the full text of the sonnets and longer poems.
Books:
- Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare's Sonnets. Edited with analytic commentary by Stephen Booth. PR2848.A2 B6 2000
This facsimile of the text from the 1609 Quarto is presented side–by-side with the modernized text and includes notes and critical essays.
Where can I find information on Shakespeare’s language?
One of the greatest challenges in reading Shakespeare is the language used. Shakespeare is credited by the Oxford English Dictionary with the introduction of nearly 3,000 words into the language.
Web sites:
The Language of Shakespeare
Part of the Shakespeare Resource Center, this site provides a brief introduction to Shakespeare’s language as well as links to other Internet sites.
Reading Shakespeare's Language
This section of the Folger Shakespeare Library site includes a brief introduction and several links to additional sites.
Shakespeare's Language
This online companion to the PBS program In Search of Shakespeare is aimed at educators and includes lesson plans on the language of Shakespeare’s plays.
Books:
Crystal, David. Pronouncing Shakespeare: The Globe Experiment. PR3081.C93 2005
For three days in June 2004, Shakespeare's Globe in London presented Romeo and Juliet in Early Modern English pronunciation, as part of an 'original practices' production. It was an experiment, the first time a professional theatre company had attempted such an event on a London stage in over 350 years.
Crystal, David. Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion. PR2892.C78 2002
This thorough Shakespearean glossary includes the definition of each word and a citation to its appearance in Shakespeare’s work. Also contains plot synopses of the plays, diagrams of the characters' relationships, a chronology of his works, a list of characters, and notes on the mythological, religious, and historical figures appearing in the plays.
Kermode, Frank. Shakespeare's Language. PR3072.K47 2000
Kermode concentrates on the period between 1594 and 1608 to analyze events and explain the growth of Shakespeare as a dramatist.
Shewmaker, Eugene F. Shakespeare's Language: A Glossary of Unfamiliar Words in His Plays and Poems. XPR2892.S447 2008
This expanded edition includes approximately 17,000 words--2,000 of which are new--and has entries on the three plays recently attributed to Shakespeare: The Two Noble Kinsmen, Edward III, and Sir Thomas More. Each entry includes a definition and an in-context quotation using the word.
Where can I find information on the Elizabethan theatre?
Web sites:
Globe Theatre Virtual Tour
Provides a virtual tour of the reconstructed Globe from the exterior, the pit and the stage.
The Old Globe Theater History
From william-shakespeare.info; provides a very good history of the original Globe Theatre as well as links to illustrations and a timeline of the theatre.
Shakespearean Theatre
This section of the site for the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London provides an excellent introduction to theatre in Shakespeare’s time.
Shakespeare's Globe
A brief history of the reconstruction of the modern Globe.
Books:
- Day, Barry. This Wooden ‘O’: Shakespeare's Globe Reborn: Achieving an American's Dream. NA6840.G72 L663 1998
The story of how American actor Sam Wanamaker worked to fulfill his dream of reconstructing Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
- Shapiro, James S. A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare. PR2907.S47 2005
This biography of Shakespeare covers one of the most important years of his creative life. It includes information on the building of the original Globe Theatre
Where can I find images of the Globe Theatre and Shakespeare’s plays?
Images can often be helpful in understanding plays, works that are intended to be seen in performance, rather than just read. The following may be useful in this aspect of your research.
Web sites:
Shakespeare Pictures at Absolute Shakespeare
Features engravings of paintings inspired by Shakespeare’s plays, accompanied by the text they illustrate.
Shakespeare’s World at Emory University
Emory University has two useful Shakespeare image sites. Shakespeare & the Players is a collection of postcards that you can access by play title, actor, or character. Shakespeare Illustrated is an index to nineteenth-century paintings of scenes from his plays.
Books:
Ask Us
If you would like to know more about our Shakespeare materials, e-mail us through our Ask-A-Librarian service, call us at (410) 396-5487 or mail your questions to:
Humanities Department
Enoch Pratt Free Library
State Library Resource Center
400 Cathedral Street
Baltimore MD 21201
