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Research Databases

Search these databases to find journal articles, books and book chapters on Shakespearean Criticism.

World Shakespeare Bibliography Online
Find citations to Shakespeare-related scholarship and theatrical productions published or produced worldwide from 1960 to the present.
MLA International Bibliography
Index of scholarly materials for the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore, and film. Provides citations to journal articles, books, book chapters, series, translations, scholarly editions, websites, and dissertations with links to full text in JSTOR, Project MUSE, and other resources. Coverage: early 20th century to present.
Gale Literary Sources
Gale Literature brings together Gale's literary databases in one search interface. Currently allows for federated searching and access to Gale Literature Criticism, Gale Literature Resource Center, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors and Something About the Author.
Literature Criticism Online
This resource provides online access to the full-text to all 10 of the Thomson Gale Literature Criticism Reference Sets, including Contemporary Literary Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Shakespeare Criticism, etc. Provides access to criticism (excerpts or full-text) published from an author's own time to the present as well as biographical and bibliographical information.

Select Ebook and Full Text Collections

Shakespeare Titles through our Cambridge Core collection:
This link provides a search of the criticism on Shakespeare that we have access to through the Cambridge Core Collection

Editions and Adaptations of Shakespeare
Discover the full-text of select editions of Shakespeare, as well as adaptations and related writings, ranging from the 16th to the 19th century.

Electronic Video Resources

Shakespeare's Globe on Screen (2008-2018)
Experience landmark Shakespeare productions recorded live on the Globe stage in London
Ambrose Video: BBC Shakespeare Plays
Stream all 37 Shakespeare plays produced by the BBC. Includes performances by Britain's most distinguished theatrical talent: John Gielgud, Ben Kingsley, Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, Michael York, and Derek Jacobi.
Digital Theatre+
View streaming video of current British theatre productions. Also contains behind-the-scenes documentaries and learning resources, including introductions, plot summaries, character biographies, relationship maps, language analysis, scene studies, performance backgrounds, and historical contexts.

Select Online Reference Works on Shakespeare (all eBook format)

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Shakespeare
ISBN: 9783319993782

Publication Date: 2020

This encyclopedia is an indispensable resource for students and scholars of 'Global Shakespeare', an area of study which explores the global afterlife of Shakespearean drama, poetry and motifs in their literary, performative and digital forms of expression in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Shakespeare's Books : a Dictionary of Shakespeare Sources
ISBN: 9781472555328

This encyclopedia-style Dictionary is a comprehensive reference guide to Shakespeare's literary knowledge and recent scholarship on it. Nearly 200 entries cover the full range of literary writing Shakespeare was acquainted with, and which influenced his own work, including classical, historical, religious and contemporary works.
Shakespeare's Legal Language by B. J. Sokol
ISBN: 9780567145697

Publication Date: 2000

This encyclopedia-style dicitonary explores early modern social life, legal thought, and the interactions within Shakespearean drama.
Shakespeare's Theatre: a Dictionary of his Stage Context by Hugh Macrae Richmond
ISBN: 9781847146113

Publication Date: 2003

Shakespeare's Theatre consolidates the author's forty years of experience in studying and staging Shakespeare's plays. Under an alphabetical list of relevant terms, names and concepts, the book reviews current knowledge of the character and operation of theatres in Shakespeare's time, with an explanation of their origins. Coverage includes the practices of Elizabethan actors and script writers: methods of characterization; gesture, blocking and choreography, including music, dance and fighting; actors' rhetorical interaction with audiences; and use of costumes, stage props, and make-up.
Shakespeare's Religious Language : a Dictionary by Hassel, R. Chris
ISBN: 9786611298531

Publication Date: 2005

"This dictionary discusses just over 1000 words and names in Shakespeare's works that have some religious denotation or connotation. Its unique word-by-word approach allows equal consideration of the full religious nuance of each of these words, from 'abbess' to 'zeal'. It also gradually reveals the persistence, the variety, and the sophistication of Shakespeare's religious usage."
Shakespeare's Military Language by Charles Edelman
ISBN: 9781281291707

Publication Date: 2010

More than just a book of definitions, the dictionary provides a comprehensive account of Shakespeare's portrayal of military life, tactics, and technology. His use of military expressions, customs, and ideas is discussed, with insights into how the plays comment upon military incidents and personalities of the Elizabethan era, and how warfare was presented on the Elizabethan stage.

Select Journals for Shakespearean Studies

Shakespeare Quarterly
Essays and book reviews devoted to William Shakespeare published by the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Shakespeare Studies
An international volume of essays, studies and reviews dealing with the cultural history of early modern England and the place of Shakespeare's production in it.
Shakespeare Bulletin
Journal of performance, criticism, reviews & scholarship.
Shakespeare Oxford Newsletter
Produced by the Shakespeare-Oxford Society. Provides news of society activities and authorship debate.

Websites and Organizations

The Folger Shakespeare Library
Home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare materials. The Discover Shakespeare section provides pertinent information about his life and works, Shakespearean theaters, FAQs and links to other Shakespeare sites. Teach and Learn features lesson plans, study guides and Shakespeare for Kids.
SAA: Shakespeare Association of America
SAA is a "non-profit professional organization for the advanced academic study of William Shakespeare’s plays and poems, his cultural and theatrical contexts, and the many roles these have played in world culture." See their section on Resources: Research Links for recommended websites.
Illuminating Shakespeare
A collection of resources from Oxford University Press around Shakespeare's works and world.

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Research Databases

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Electronic Video Resources

Select Online Reference Works on Shakespeare (all eBook format)

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