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Reference Books
- Andrews, John F., ed. William Shakespeare: His World, His Work,
His Influence.
New York: Scribner’s, 1985.
This three volume set contains essays related to the study of Shakespeare.
Volume I provides coverage of Shakespeare’s world (i.e. historical
and cultural context for Shakespeare’s work), while Volume II covers
his work (i.e. Shakespeare’s life, career, personal affairs, and
interpretation of his works), and Volume III his influence (Shakespeare’s
impact on theatrical production, playwriting, literature, and popular culture
from Elizabethan times to the present).
CALL NUMBER:PR2976 .W5354 1985 v. 1-3 located in the Reference Collection on the 2nd Level
- Dobson, Michael and Stanley Wells, eds. Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001.
This comprehensive guide to Shakespeare’s life and works provides
entries on topics, works, and figures relevant to the study of Shakespeare.
Most entries are concise, while entries on major plays are in-depth and
thorough, including synopses, artistic features, critical history, stage
history, and film history.
CALL NUMBER: PR2892 .O94 2001located in the Reference Collection on the 2nd Level
- Rosenblum, Joseph, ed. Magill’s Choice: Shakespeare. Pasadena: Salem
Press, 1998.
A compilation of essays on the life and works of Shakespeare, this guide
provides a broad selection of criticism on Shakespeare’s plays and
poetry. The essays about the plays include an overview of the plot, critical
evaluation, and an annotated bibliography of sources for further study.
The essays concerning Shakespeare’s poems provide a summary of the
poem, explanation of forms and devices used, and themes and meanings contained
within the poem. The biographical essays give the cultural and historical
context for Shakespeare’s writing and provide sources for further
study.
CALL NUMBER: PR2894 .S38 1998 located in the Reference Collection on the 2nd Level
- Scott, Mark W, ed. Shakespeare for Students. Detroit: Gale, 1992.
This three volume set is an excellent source of criticism on Shakespeare’s
most-studied plays. Each in-depth entry provides synopses, principal characters,
principal topics, character studies, and an overview of critical works
on the plays. Excerpts of critical essays appear with helpful introductory
paragraphs summarizing the critic’s argument. Each entry ends with
an annotated bibliography of sources for further study.
CALL NUMBER: PR2987 .S47 1992 v.1-3 located in the Reference Collection on the 2nd Level
- Silverbush, Rhona and Sami Plotkin. Speak the Speech: Shakespeare’s
Monologues Illuminated. New York: Faber and Faber, 2002.
This excellent guide to Shakespeare’s monologues will be an invaluable
source to preparing to perform a monologue on stage or in the classroom.
One need not be an actor to find this work useful, however; the commentaries
that accompany each monologue could certainly be useful in literary analysis
of Shakespeare’s monologues.
CALL NUMBER: PR3091 .S45 2002 located in the Reference Collection on the 2nd Level
Books
Grace Library owns a considerable number of editions of works by Shakespeare and biographical material about the author and critical material on his works. These things may be found by using the library online catalog.
To find works written by Shakespeare, do an “author” search in the library online catalog.
In the online catalog, enter shakespeare william into the Quick Search box, select author from the drop down menu and click on the search button.
To find works about Shakespeare and his works, do a “subject” search.
In the online catalog, enter shakespeare william into the Quick Search box, select subject from the drop down menu and click on the search button.
To find a specific work by Shakespeare, do a “title” search.
In the online catalog, enter the play title, such as macbeth, into the Quick Search box, select title from the drop down menu and click on the search button.
Periodical Articles
A useful source of literary criticism is periodical articles. There are
three periodical indexes that will provide you with citations to articles
on Shakespeare and his work. They are:
- EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite
- Wilson Omnifile
- Modern Language Association (MLA) Bibliography
The EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite and Wilson Omnifile
indexes both contain the full-text of many articles and are available
both on and off campus
through the Grace Library web page <http://library.carlow.edu/periodindexes.html>. The
MLA Bibliography is available only on the “red” PC in the Grace
Library reference area and gives only citations to the articles and other
information sources indexed in it.
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