iBard Using online resources for Shakespeare studies

iBard

This guide has been created by the English Faculty Library at the

University of Oxford to offer advice to English Literature students on

some of the key resources available online for Shakespeare studies.

efl

bodleian.ox.ac.uk/english

Why should I use them?

E-resources allow you to do so much more with

your research.

You can read full texts online, quickly look up

critical works both historic and contemporary, and

cross-search the texts for recurring themes or

words.

There are also a number of places where you can

read digital versions of the original texts of

Shakespeare’s works and look at performance

notes.

Resources available

There are a plethora of e-resources for the

study of English Literature and all are

available via OxLip+ or SOLO.

Resources available

E-book collections like Cambridge Companions and

Blackwell Reference Online will allow you to access the

full collection online and cross-search across titles.

Similarly with Oxford Scholarship Online you can read

books or download chapters as well.

Resources available

MLA, ABELL and LION will be useful for looking up critical

works, including the most recently published criticism.

Oxford e-journals will allow you to browse what’s

available or search for specific titles. Don’t forget to look

at current issue’s contents pages as this will give you an

idea of current thought.

Resources available

Drama Online, Arden Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s Words and the

Shakespeare Collection are some great resources for close readings

of the text, looking at contemporary works, looking for quotations,

performance notes and more.

You don’t have to use all of these resources but these are just to

give you an idea of what you can do online.

Key Resource #1

Key Resource #1

LION is a brilliant resource for accessing full texts online, both primary and

critical, so you’ll find the Complete Works on here as well as audio recordings of

all plays.

LION provides access to current criticism and it is possible to cross search

different databases at a time for detailed research. It is a really rich resource

and includes audio recordings of all of Shakespeare’s plays and the Complete

Works as well. It really is a good starting point.

Key Resource #2

Key Resource #2

Drama Online contains full texts of hundreds of plays so it could be

useful to see how themes from Shakespeare still resonate in more

modern drama as well and where he was getting inspiration. You

can read and search full texts of the Arden editions, as well as plays

by his contemporaries.

There is a feature in the Advanced Search screen which allows you

to find specific monologues – useful for quickly finding what you

need to do close readings of the text.

Key Resource #3

Key Resource #3

The MLA Bibliography contains overage from 1926 to the

present so it is great for looking up new and recent

criticism. It is a bibliographic database so will provide

you with abstracts and bibliographic records only; it is

not a database of full text articles. Links to full text

items via the Find it at Oxford button will also appear if

available through the Bodleian, either print or electronic.

More Information

You can find more information and links to further resources

on the LibGuide for Shakespeare:

ox.libguides.com/english-shakespeare