shakespeare research papers

• Search Menu
• Browse content in Arts and Humanities
• Browse content in Archaeology
• Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Archaeology
• Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
• Archaeology by Region
• Archaeology of Religion
• Archaeology of Trade and Exchange
• Biblical Archaeology
• Contemporary and Public Archaeology
• Environmental Archaeology
• Historical Archaeology
• History and Theory of Archaeology
• Industrial Archaeology
• Landscape Archaeology
• Mortuary Archaeology
• Prehistoric Archaeology
• Underwater Archaeology
• Urban Archaeology
• Zooarchaeology
• Browse content in Architecture
• Architectural Structure and Design
• History of Architecture
• Residential and Domestic Buildings
• Theory of Architecture
• Browse content in Art
• Art Subjects and Themes
• History of Art
• Industrial and Commercial Art
• Theory of Art
• Biographical Studies
• Byzantine Studies
• Browse content in Classical Studies
• Classical History
• Classical Philosophy
• Classical Mythology
• Classical Literature
• Classical Reception
• Classical Art and Architecture
• Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
• Greek and Roman Papyrology
• Greek and Roman Epigraphy
• Greek and Roman Law
• Greek and Roman Archaeology
• Late Antiquity
• Religion in the Ancient World
• Digital Humanities
• Browse content in History
• Colonialism and Imperialism
• Diplomatic History
• Environmental History
• Genealogy, Heraldry, Names, and Honours
• Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
• Historical Geography
• History by Period
• History of Emotions
• History of Agriculture
• History of Education
• History of Gender and Sexuality
• Industrial History
• Intellectual History
• International History
• Labour History
• Legal and Constitutional History
• Local and Family History
• Maritime History
• Military History
• National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
• Oral History
• Political History
• Public History
• Regional and National History
• Revolutions and Rebellions
• Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
• Social and Cultural History
• Theory, Methods, and Historiography
• Urban History
• World History
• Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning
• Language Learning (Specific Skills)
• Language Teaching Theory and Methods
• Browse content in Linguistics
• Applied Linguistics
• Cognitive Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Forensic Linguistics
• Grammar, Syntax and Morphology
• Historical and Diachronic Linguistics
• History of English
• Language Evolution
• Language Reference
• Language Acquisition
• Language Variation
• Language Families
• Lexicography
• Linguistic Anthropology
• Linguistic Theories
• Linguistic Typology
• Phonetics and Phonology
• Psycholinguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Translation and Interpretation
• Writing Systems
• Browse content in Literature
• Bibliography
• Children's Literature Studies
• Literary Studies (Romanticism)
• Literary Studies (American)
• Literary Studies (Asian)
• Literary Studies (European)
• Literary Studies (Eco-criticism)
• Literary Studies (Modernism)
• Literary Studies - World
• Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
• Literary Studies (19th Century)
• Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
• Literary Studies (African American Literature)
• Literary Studies (British and Irish)
• Literary Studies (Early and Medieval)
• Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
• Literary Studies (Gender Studies)
• Literary Studies (Graphic Novels)
• Literary Studies (History of the Book)
• Literary Studies (Plays and Playwrights)
• Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
• Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature)
• Literary Studies (Queer Studies)
• Literary Studies (Science Fiction)
• Literary Studies (Travel Literature)
• Literary Studies (War Literature)
• Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
• Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
• Mythology and Folklore
• Shakespeare Studies and Criticism
• Browse content in Media Studies
• Browse content in Music
• Applied Music
• Dance and Music
• Ethics in Music
• Ethnomusicology
• Gender and Sexuality in Music
• Medicine and Music
• Music Cultures
• Music and Media
• Music and Religion
• Music and Culture
• Music Education and Pedagogy
• Music Theory and Analysis
• Musical Scores, Lyrics, and Libretti
• Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
• Musicology and Music History
• Performance Practice and Studies
• Race and Ethnicity in Music
• Sound Studies
• Browse content in Performing Arts
• Browse content in Philosophy
• Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
• Epistemology
• Feminist Philosophy
• History of Western Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Moral Philosophy
• Non-Western Philosophy
• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Mind
• Philosophy of Perception
• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Action
• Philosophy of Law
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
• Practical Ethics
• Social and Political Philosophy
• Browse content in Religion
• Biblical Studies
• Christianity
• East Asian Religions
• History of Religion
• Judaism and Jewish Studies
• Qumran Studies
• Religion and Education
• Religion and Health
• Religion and Politics
• Religion and Science
• Religion and Law
• Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
• Religious Studies
• Browse content in Society and Culture
• Cookery, Food, and Drink
• Cultural Studies
• Customs and Traditions
• Ethical Issues and Debates
• Hobbies, Games, Arts and Crafts
• Lifestyle, Home, and Garden
• Natural world, Country Life, and Pets
• Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge
• Sports and Outdoor Recreation
• Technology and Society
• Travel and Holiday
• Visual Culture
• Browse content in Law
• Arbitration
• Browse content in Company and Commercial Law
• Commercial Law
• Company Law
• Browse content in Comparative Law
• Systems of Law
• Competition Law
• Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law
• Government Powers
• Judicial Review
• Local Government Law
• Military and Defence Law
• Parliamentary and Legislative Practice
• Construction Law
• Contract Law
• Browse content in Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Criminal Evidence Law
• Sentencing and Punishment
• Employment and Labour Law
• Environment and Energy Law
• Browse content in Financial Law
• Banking Law
• Insolvency Law
• History of Law
• Human Rights and Immigration
• Intellectual Property Law
• Browse content in International Law
• Private International Law and Conflict of Laws
• Public International Law
• IT and Communications Law
• Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
• Law and Politics
• Law and Society
• Browse content in Legal System and Practice
• Courts and Procedure
• Legal Skills and Practice
• Primary Sources of Law
• Regulation of Legal Profession
• Medical and Healthcare Law
• Browse content in Policing
• Criminal Investigation and Detection
• Police and Security Services
• Police Procedure and Law
• Police Regional Planning
• Browse content in Property Law
• Personal Property Law
• Study and Revision
• Terrorism and National Security Law
• Browse content in Trusts Law
• Wills and Probate or Succession
• Browse content in Medicine and Health
• Browse content in Allied Health Professions
• Arts Therapies
• Clinical Science
• Dietetics and Nutrition
• Occupational Therapy
• Operating Department Practice
• Physiotherapy
• Radiography
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Browse content in Anaesthetics
• General Anaesthesia
• Neuroanaesthesia
• Clinical Neuroscience
• Browse content in Clinical Medicine
• Acute Medicine
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Clinical Genetics
• Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology and Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Genito-urinary Medicine
• Geriatric Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Medical Toxicology
• Medical Oncology
• Pain Medicine
• Palliative Medicine
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Sports and Exercise Medicine
• Community Medical Services
• Critical Care
• Emergency Medicine
• Forensic Medicine
• Haematology
• History of Medicine
• Browse content in Medical Skills
• Clinical Skills
• Communication Skills
• Nursing Skills
• Surgical Skills
• Browse content in Medical Dentistry
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Paediatric Dentistry
• Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics
• Surgical Dentistry
• Medical Ethics
• Medical Statistics and Methodology
• Browse content in Neurology
• Clinical Neurophysiology
• Neuropathology
• Nursing Studies
• Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Gynaecology
• Occupational Medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Otolaryngology (ENT)
• Browse content in Paediatrics
• Neonatology
• Browse content in Pathology
• Chemical Pathology
• Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics
• Histopathology
• Medical Microbiology and Virology
• Patient Education and Information
• Browse content in Pharmacology
• Psychopharmacology
• Browse content in Popular Health
• Caring for Others
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Self-help and Personal Development
• Browse content in Preclinical Medicine
• Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Reproduction, Growth and Development
• Primary Care
• Professional Development in Medicine
• Browse content in Psychiatry
• Addiction Medicine
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Learning Disabilities
• Old Age Psychiatry
• Psychotherapy
• Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Browse content in Radiology
• Clinical Radiology
• Interventional Radiology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiation Oncology
• Reproductive Medicine
• Browse content in Surgery
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Gastro-intestinal and Colorectal Surgery
• General Surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Paediatric Surgery
• Peri-operative Care
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Transplant Surgery
• Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
• Vascular Surgery
• Browse content in Science and Mathematics
• Browse content in Biological Sciences
• Aquatic Biology
• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Ecology and Conservation
• Evolutionary Biology
• Genetics and Genomics
• Microbiology
• Molecular and Cell Biology
• Natural History
• Plant Sciences and Forestry
• Research Methods in Life Sciences
• Structural Biology
• Systems Biology
• Zoology and Animal Sciences
• Browse content in Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Computational Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Environmental Chemistry
• Industrial Chemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Materials Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Mineralogy and Gems
• Organic Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Polymer Chemistry
• Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry
• Theoretical Chemistry
• Browse content in Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Architecture and Logic Design
• Game Studies
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Mathematical Theory of Computation
• Programming Languages
• Software Engineering
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Virtual Reality
• Browse content in Computing
• Business Applications
• Computer Security
• Computer Games
• Computer Networking and Communications
• Digital Lifestyle
• Graphical and Digital Media Applications
• Operating Systems
• Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Environmental Geography
• Geology and the Lithosphere
• Maps and Map-making
• Meteorology and Climatology
• Oceanography and Hydrology
• Palaeontology
• Physical Geography and Topography
• Regional Geography
• Soil Science
• Urban Geography
• Browse content in Engineering and Technology
• Agriculture and Farming
• Biological Engineering
• Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building
• Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Energy Technology
• Engineering (General)
• Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology
• History of Engineering and Technology
• Mechanical Engineering and Materials
• Technology of Industrial Chemistry
• Transport Technology and Trades
• Browse content in Environmental Science
• Applied Ecology (Environmental Science)
• Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Environmental Sustainability
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science)
• Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environmental Science)
• Nuclear Issues (Environmental Science)
• Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science)
• History of Science and Technology
• Browse content in Materials Science
• Ceramics and Glasses
• Composite Materials
• Metals, Alloying, and Corrosion
• Nanotechnology
• Browse content in Mathematics
• Applied Mathematics
• Biomathematics and Statistics
• History of Mathematics
• Mathematical Education
• Mathematical Finance
• Mathematical Analysis
• Numerical and Computational Mathematics
• Probability and Statistics
• Pure Mathematics
• Browse content in Neuroscience
• Cognition and Behavioural Neuroscience
• Development of the Nervous System
• Disorders of the Nervous System
• History of Neuroscience
• Invertebrate Neurobiology
• Molecular and Cellular Systems
• Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System
• Neuroscientific Techniques
• Sensory and Motor Systems
• Browse content in Physics
• Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Biological and Medical Physics
• Classical Mechanics
• Computational Physics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Electromagnetism, Optics, and Acoustics
• History of Physics
• Mathematical and Statistical Physics
• Measurement Science
• Nuclear Physics
• Particles and Fields
• Plasma Physics
• Quantum Physics
• Relativity and Gravitation
• Semiconductor and Mesoscopic Physics
• Browse content in Psychology
• Affective Sciences
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Criminal and Forensic Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Health Psychology
• History and Systems in Psychology
• Music Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Organizational Psychology
• Psychological Assessment and Testing
• Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction
• Psychology Professional Development and Training
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Browse content in Social Sciences
• Browse content in Anthropology
• Anthropology of Religion
• Human Evolution
• Medical Anthropology
• Physical Anthropology
• Regional Anthropology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Theory and Practice of Anthropology
• Browse content in Business and Management
• Business Ethics
• Business Strategy
• Business History
• Business and Technology
• Business and Government
• Business and the Environment
• Comparative Management
• Corporate Governance
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Entrepreneurship
• Health Management
• Human Resource Management
• Industrial and Employment Relations
• Industry Studies
• Information and Communication Technologies
• International Business
• Knowledge Management
• Management and Management Techniques
• Operations Management
• Organizational Theory and Behaviour
• Pensions and Pension Management
• Public and Nonprofit Management
• Strategic Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Forms of Crime
• International and Comparative Criminology
• Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
• Development Studies
• Browse content in Economics
• Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics
• Asian Economics
• Behavioural Finance
• Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
• Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
• Economic History
• Economic Systems
• Economic Methodology
• Economic Development and Growth
• Financial Markets
• Financial Institutions and Services
• General Economics and Teaching
• Health, Education, and Welfare
• History of Economic Thought
• International Economics
• Labour and Demographic Economics
• Law and Economics
• Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
• Microeconomics
• Public Economics
• Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
• Welfare Economics
• Browse content in Education
• Adult Education and Continuous Learning
• Care and Counselling of Students
• Early Childhood and Elementary Education
• Educational Equipment and Technology
• Educational Strategies and Policy
• Higher and Further Education
• Organization and Management of Education
• Philosophy and Theory of Education
• Schools Studies
• Secondary Education
• Teaching of a Specific Subject
• Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs
• Teaching Skills and Techniques
• Browse content in Environment
• Applied Ecology (Social Science)
• Climate Change
• Conservation of the Environment (Social Science)
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environment)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
• Browse content in Human Geography
• Cultural Geography
• Economic Geography
• Political Geography
• Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies
• Communication Studies
• Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences
• Browse content in Politics
• African Politics
• Asian Politics
• Chinese Politics
• Comparative Politics
• Conflict Politics
• Elections and Electoral Studies
• Environmental Politics
• European Union
• Foreign Policy
• Gender and Politics
• Human Rights and Politics
• Indian Politics
• International Relations
• International Organization (Politics)
• International Political Economy
• Irish Politics
• Latin American Politics
• Middle Eastern Politics
• Political Behaviour
• Political Economy
• Political Institutions
• Political Methodology
• Political Communication
• Political Philosophy
• Political Sociology
• Political Theory
• Politics and Law
• Public Policy
• Public Administration
• Quantitative Political Methodology
• Regional Political Studies
• Russian Politics
• Security Studies
• State and Local Government
• UK Politics
• US Politics
• Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
• African Studies
• Asian Studies
• East Asian Studies
• Japanese Studies
• Latin American Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Native American Studies
• Scottish Studies
• Browse content in Research and Information
• Research Methods
• Browse content in Social Work
• Addictions and Substance Misuse
• Adoption and Fostering
• Care of the Elderly
• Child and Adolescent Social Work
• Couple and Family Social Work
• Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work
• Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
• Emergency Services
• Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
• International and Global Issues in Social Work
• Mental and Behavioural Health
• Social Justice and Human Rights
• Social Policy and Advocacy
• Social Work and Crime and Justice
• Social Work Macro Practice
• Social Work Practice Settings
• Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
• Welfare and Benefit Systems
• Browse content in Sociology
• Childhood Studies
• Community Development
• Comparative and Historical Sociology
• Economic Sociology
• Gender and Sexuality
• Gerontology and Ageing
• Health, Illness, and Medicine
• Marriage and the Family
• Migration Studies
• Occupations, Professions, and Work
• Organizations
• Population and Demography
• Race and Ethnicity
• Social Theory
• Social Movements and Social Change
• Social Research and Statistics
• Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
• Sociology of Religion
• Sociology of Education
• Sport and Leisure
• Urban and Rural Studies
• Browse content in Warfare and Defence
• Defence Strategy, Planning, and Research
• Land Forces and Warfare
• Military Administration
• Military Life and Institutions
• Naval Forces and Warfare
• Other Warfare and Defence Issues
• Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
• Weapons and Equipment

Shakespeare Studies & Criticism

Explore our collection, latest books & journal articles.

• Shakespeare Blog

Oxford World’s Classics

Oxford handbooks.

• Submit your research

Shakespeare Video Archive

• World Shakespeare Bibliography

Welcome to the home of Shakespeare Studies & Criticism on Oxford Academic. We hope you will enjoy this celebration of Shakespeare, and that this page will act as a springboard to new discoveries on your research journey.

Oxford Academic hosts three million journal articles, 400,000 book chapters, and two million images and multimedia. To find out how you can get access please visit our get help with access page .

Offers & updates

Latest posts on x, shakespeare on the oupblog.

Written in the stars: Prince Hal’s almanac

Marissa Nicosia

Saturn and Venus this year in conjunction! What says th’almanac to that?

Marissa Nicosia explores the role of the almanac as a measure of time in Shakespeare’s Henry IV , and the parallels between a past and present-day fascination with astrology.

Sir Stanley Wells and the First Folio

It’s often been difficult to dispel this reverence and distinguish an actual author behind it.

For enabling many readers to accomplish that, we have to thank Sir Stanley Wells, general editor of The Oxford Shakespeare and Emeritus Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Birmingham University. His diligent and common-sense scholarship has done much to de-mystify Shakespeare and reposition the plays as working documents.

OUP Archivist Martin Maw examines one scholar’s immense contribution to Shakespeare Studies.

“A tiger’s heart wrapped in a player’s hide”: Shakespeare under attack

Robert Stagg 

Around three years into his career as a dramatist, Shakespeare’s blank verse, came under attack.  

In 1592, playwright Robert Greene described William Shakespeare’s blank verse—his unrhymed iambic pentameter—as "bombastic".

Robert Stagg explores this criticism and how Shakespeare came to fend it off over the course of his career.

Why “the all-male stage” wasn’t

Pamela Allen Brown 

Why is “the all-male stage” inadequate as shorthand for the early modern stage?

Pamela Allen Brown explores gender roles on stage, and the arrival and impact of the 'innamorata accesa' (woman inflamed with passion), the trademark of the foreign diva.

How did Shakespeare become a London playwright?

Lena Cowen Orlin

Shakespeare’s first biographer, Nicholas Rowe, wrote in 1709 that the author married “while he was yet very young.” He then fell in with a bad crowd that “made a frequent practice of deer-stealing” from Warwickshire magnate Sir Thomas Lucy.

Lena Cowen Orlin traces the key events that took the playwright from Stratford to London.

Shakespeare and the sciences of emotion

Benedict S. Robinson

What role should literature have in the interdisciplinary study of emotion? The dominant answer today seems to be “not much.”

Using Shakespeare's Hamlet , Thomas Wright’s Passions of the Mind and Aristotle's Rhetoric ’ as points of departure, Benedict S. Robinson takes a wide view of emotion and "passion" to think about how passion also shaped the rise of new empirical sciences of the mind between 1600 and 1800.

Adapting Shakespeare: shattering stereotypes of Asian women onstage and onscreen

Alexa Alice Joubin

“I should like to see Miss Wong playing Shakespeare. Why not a Chinese Ophelia?”

Alexa Alice Joubin explores the perceptions and portrayal of Ophelia by Asian actors, arguing that gender roles in Shakespeare’s plays take on new meanings when they are embodied by Asian women.

Cut out characters and cracky plots: Jacob’s Room as Shakespeare play

Emily Kopley

But there is another reason, a reason outside of the novel, that Jacob is unknowable. He is the hero of a Shakespeare play.

Emily Kopley analyses Virginia Woolf's Jacob's Room as a Shakespeare play, using letters between her and her brother Thoby, as an insight into the novel.

Early Modern Literary Geographies

Influenced by the work of cultural and human geographers, literary scholars have started to attend to the ways in which early modern people constructed their senses of the world out of interactions among places, spaces, and embodied practices. Early Modern Literary Geographies features innovative and agenda-setting research monographs that partake of this spatial turn.

Series Editors: Julie Sanders and Garrett Sullivan

Oxford Shakespeare Topics

Oxford Shakespeare Topics provide students and teachers with short books on important aspects of Shakespeare criticism and scholarship. Each book is written by an authority in its field, and combines accessible style with original discussion of its subject.

General Editors: Stanley Wells, Peter Holland, and Lena Cowen Orlin

Oxford Wells Shakespeare Lectures

These Lectures are derived from the series of biennial lectures established in 2008 in honour of Professor Stanley Wells. The inaugural lectures were given by Professor David Scott Kastan and since then a series of highly respected scholars have presented and published in this series.

New Oxford Shakespeare

The New Oxford Shakespeare presents an entirely new consideration of all of Shakespeare's works, edited from first principles from the base-texts themselves, and drawing on the latest textual and theatrical scholarship.

The three interconnected print publications and the online edition have been created by an international, intergenerational team of scholars. The project's scope, depth, and vision provide the perfect platform for the future of Shakespeare studies.

Edited by: Gary Taylor, John Jowett, Terri Bourus, and Gabriel Egan

The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Race

Edited by Patricia Akhimie

Premodern critical race studies, long intertwined with Shakespeare studies, has broadened our understanding of the definitions and discourse of race and racism to include not only phenotype, but also religious and political identity, regional, national, and linguistic difference, and systems of differentiation based upon culture and custom.

Replete with fresh readings of the plays and poems, The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Race brings together some of the most important scholars thinking about the subject today.

The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Music

Edited by Christopher R. Wilson and Mervyn Cooke

With global coverage and an extensive survey of genres embracing music for theatre, opera, ballet, musicals, the concert hall, and film, in addition to Shakespeare's ongoing afterlives in folk music, jazz, and popular music.

The Handbook showcases the latest international research into the captivating and vast subject of the many uses of music in relation to Shakespeare's plays and poems, extending from the Bard's own time to the present day.

The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Dance

Edited by Lynsey McCulloch and Brandon Shaw

A concise reference on dance as both an integral feature of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century culture and as a means of translating Shakespearean text into movement - a process that raises questions of authorship and authority, cross-cultural communication, semantics, embodiment, and the relationship between word and image.

From narrative ballet adaptations to dance in musicals, physical theatre adaptations, and interpretations using non-Western dance forms this Handbook explores the relationship between William Shakespeare - his life, works, and afterlife - and dance.

The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Embodiment

Edited by Valerie Traub

Extending the purview of feminist criticism, over 40 chapters offer an intersectional paradigm for considering representations of gender in the context of race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, and religion.

Theoretically sophisticated and elegantly written this Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of current debates.

Shakespeare Quarterly | Submit your research  

Shakespeare Quarterly (SQ)  is a leading journal in Shakespeare studies, publishing highly original, rigorously researched essays, notes, and book reviews. Published for the Folger Shakespeare Library by Oxford University Press, SQ is peer-reviewed and extremely selective.

Read our Author Guidelines to find out how to submit your work

Shakespeare’s Reading

Sir Stanley Wells, CBE, describes the many different sources Shakespeare drew upon in his work. Highlighting comparison passages, Wells explores Shakespeare’s relationship with the different texts he read throughout his life.

Shakespeare and Women

Julie Crawford, Mark van Doren Professor of Humanities at Columbia University, discusses Shakespeare’s portrayal of the power balance between the sexes, women’s contribution to the Elizabethan stage, and Renaissance ideas about gender. She also considers key speeches by Desdemona and Emilia in Othello .

Shakespeare and Religion

Rev. Dr Paul Edmondson, Head of Research and Knowledge at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, explores the religious influences in Shakespeare’s work in the context of 16th century England - a time when the Church of England was given an established authority, Pope Pius V had excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I, and anti-Catholic laws were introduced.

Shakespeare and Sexuality

Sir Stanley Wells, CBE, analyses the references to sexuality in Shakespeare’s plays and poems. From his earlier comedies, such as The Two Gentleman of Verona or Much Ado About Nothing , where he is unafraid to play with this topic, to his middle and last texts where he demonstrates a deeper preoccupation with the destructive potential of sexual desire.

Shakespeare and Death

Laurie Maguire, Emeritus Professor, Magdalen College Oxford discusses the theme of death in Shakespeare's tragedies, histories, and comedies. She considers how Elizabethans encountered death on a daily basis, and how Shakespeare was clearly very familiar with the details of death, and murder.

Shakespeare and Music

Joseph M. Ortiz, Associate Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas, El Paso, explains how music was experienced and understood in Shakespeare’s time, with reference to education, the emerging music publishing industry, conflicting religious views, audiences’ expectations, and music as an instrument of political power.

Shakespeare and Race

Ayanna Thompson considers the theme of race in Shakespeare’s plays, the extent to which he would have been aware of Africans, and how he introduced them into his plays. She discusses the current debate amongst black actors about whether or not to play the part of Othello .

Shakespeare and His Collaborators

• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Institutional account management
• Rights and permissions
• Get help with access
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Shakespeare Research Resources

Use the links below to jump directly to any section of this guide:

Shakespeare’s Life

Shakespeare’s world and historical context, shakespeare’s plays, shakespeare’s poems, shakespeare’s writing style, shakespeare’s most common themes, shakespeare’s most famous quotations, the shakespeare authorship question, shakespeare teacher resources.

Four hundred years after Shakespeare's death, millions of people continue to read his poems, repeat his phrases, watch his plays, and use the words he coined. In addition to being the most celebrated writer in the English language, Shakespeare is also the most studied. Though understanding the breadth of research on Shakespeare would require multiple lifetimes, this guide will give you a comprehensive introduction to his life, work, and place in history. Below, you'll find a curated, annotated, and organized summary of the best available information on Shakespeare.

Even though Shakespeare is one of the most scrutinized authors of all time, there are few historical records regarding his private life. We know the essential facts (baptism date, family information, birthplace), but there are aspects of his life that are subject to speculation or assumption. These include the “lost years” (1578–82 and 1585–92). The resources below will help you piece together the biography of Shakespeare as we know it.

"Shakespeare’s Life" (Wikipedia)  

The Wikipedia entry on Shakespeare’s life discusses most of the public records available, such as lawsuits and accounting records. One helpful feature of the entry is the visual family tree.

"William Shakespeare Biography" (Biography.com)  

This resource from Biography.com outlines the contours of Shakespeare's life in a brief but comprehensive way. It includes sections on his childhood, education, and family.

Video summary of Shakespeare’s life (Biography.com)  

In less than five minutes, this Biography.com video summarizes Shakespeare’s life, work, and legacy. The video includes commentary from Shakespeare scholars and authorities.

William Shakespeare: A Study Of Facts And Problems

James Shapiro, an eminent Shakespeare professor at Columbia University, describes E.K. Chambers as "the most scrupulous of scholars and probably the most influential Shakespeare scholar to have ever lived." With accolades like this one, you'll want to check out Chambers's book, a thorough yet accessible treatment of Shakespeare’s life.

"The Seven Ages of Shakespeare’s Life" (Internet Shakespeare Editions)

This webpage, hosted by the University of Victoria, organizes Shakespeare’s life into seven periods and provides an overview and detailed discussion of each age. The pages provide insightful information as well as images of records such as Shakespeare’s marriage license.

"Shakespeare’s Life" (The British Library)  

Andrew Dickson (an author, journalist, and former arts editor for  The Guardian ) offers this short article on the known details of Shakespeare's life. The article is part of the British Library's series on Shakespeare and Renaissance writers.

"William Shakespeare" biography (Poetry Foundation)

The Poetry Foundation's website provides short biographies of major poets. This article on Shakespeare’s life discusses some of the scholarly disputes surrounding Shakespeare’s works, and the continuing impact of his work today.

"The Mystery of Shakespeare's Identity" ( Time Magazine)

The lack of actual historical records about William Shakespeare inhibits research on his life. As a result, some historians question the man’s very identity. This article discusses the broad outlines of this debate.

Timeline of Shakespeare’s life (BBC)

The BBC created a masterful timeline of Shakespeare's life. The page tracks Shakespeare’s life from birth to death, complete with dates, discussion, and images. To gain the deepest understanding of Shakespeare’s life and work in the shortest amount of time, this resource is a must.

"William Shakespeare" ( Encyclopædia Britannica )

This encyclopedia entry on Shakespeare’s life explores aspects of the bard's persona (man, poet, dramatist), his plays and poems, and his work's known sources. Included on the page are additional images, videos, and related articles.

"The Shakespeare Paper Trail" (BBC)

Michael Wood asks some questions regarding the lack of records surrounding Shakespeare’s life, and offers some tentative answers.

"William Shakespeare" biography (The Literature Network)

For a succinct summary of Shakespeare’s life, the Literature Network’s bio is a good place to start. The straightforward organization of Shakespeare’s tragedies, comedies, and histories is a helpful reference point.

"Four Periods of Shakespeare’s Life" (Shakespeare Online)

Many students of Shakespeare organize his life into four periods. Although these periods have been labelled in various ways, they can be described as the early period, the balanced period, the overflowing period, and the final period.

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare (Amazon)

The well-known early modern literary scholar Stephen Greenblatt published this "attempt" at a Shakespeare biography in 2004. Though he admits the gaps in our knowledge make this biographical project difficult, he successfully fleshes out the details. This book, though intended for a wide readership, is a few steps above "entry-level" treatments of the topic.

Shakespeare's career overlapped with the Elizabethan era, when the eponymous Queen Elizabeth reigned (1558–1603). This period, also known as the “Golden Age” and apex of the English Renaissance, was a time of economic growth, international expansion, and nationalistic fervor. The resources below will help you get to know the world in which Shakespeare lived.

"Shakespeare’s Medieval World" (University of Cambridge)

We tend to think that Shakespeare’s world was thoroughly Elizabethan, characterized by the optimism of the English Renaissance. In reality, as this essay by a prominent early modern scholar asserts, Shakespeare’s “world was largely a medieval one.”

"Shakespeare’s Life and Times" (Royal Shakespeare Company)

Although this article is largely biographical, it provides some insight into drama during Shakespeare's day and the way that Shakespeare himself profited from his plays.

"How the Tudor Dynasty Shaped Modern Britain" (BBC)

To understand Shakespeare in his historical context, it’s important to understand the period of the Tudor Dynasty in English history. This BBC timeline surveys the period from 1485 to 1603, during which Shakespeare lived.

"Theater Experience in Shakespeare's Lifetime" (ThoughtCo)

One of the best ways to understand Shakespeare’s plays is to understand what the theater experience was like in his day. What would it be like to attend a Shakespearean comedy at the Globe? This article discusses 16th century theater etiquette, the absence of female actors, and the business of running a theater.

"Shakespeare's Time and the Renaissance" (ThoughtCo)

Shakespeare lived during the apogee of the English Renaissance. Never before in English history had there been such a proliferation of masterful art, literary interest, and popular appeal in theater. This article discusses the nexus of the English Renaissance with Shakespeare’s life, how the era shaped the man, and how the man shaped the era.

"History and Politics" (Internet Shakespeare Editions)

To understand an era, it’s important to examine it from many angles—cultural, political, legal, and religious. This resource from Internet Shakespeare Editions provides some background on the many streams of influence in Shakespeare’s lifetime.

"Elizabethan Era" (Wikipedia)

The Wikipedia entry on Elizabethan England provides a helpful overview of the period, and includes sections on "government," "social history," "religion," and more.

"English Renaissance Timeline: Some Historical and Cultural Dates" (Univ. of Oxford)

For an at-a-glance-reference to major dates during the English Renaissance, check out this page from an English literature graduate student at the University of Oxford.

"Shakespeare’s London" (British Library)

Shakespeare was a Londoner, and his identity and daily activities were shaped by the city’s expansion, politics, and turmoil. This article provides a compelling description of London city life.

There are 37 extant plays attributed to Shakespeare, each of which is categorized below under tragedies, comedies, or histories. Clicking on the title of the play provides you with the full text alongside a modern English translation.

• Antony and Cleopatra
• Julius Caesar  
• King Lear  
• Romeo and Juliet
• Timon of Athens  
• Titus Andronicus
• Troilus and Cressida
• All's Well That Ends Well
• As You Like It  
• The Comedy of Errors  
• Love's Labor's Lost  
• Measure for Measure
• Merchant of Venice
• Merry Wives of Windsor  
• A Midsummer Night's Dream  
• Much Ado about Nothing  
• The Taming of the Shrew  
• The Tempest  
• Twelfth Night
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona
• The Winter's Tale
• Henry IV, Part I  
• Henry IV, Part II
• Henry VI, Part I
• Henry VI, Part II  
• Henry VI, Part III  
• Richard III

Most of us know Shakespeare as a playwright, but he first gained fame as a poet. Shakespeare’s poetry is no less masterful than his plays—some would even argue that Shakespeare was a better poet than playwright. Shakespeare’s poems contain some of the best-loved lines and popular expressions in the English language. The resources below will introduce you to this body of work.

The Sonnets

"Shakescleare: Shakespeare’s Sonnets" (LitCharts)

Our Shakescleare series provides the full text of all 154 Shakespearean sonnets, along with a line-by-line modern English translation and a one-line summary of each poem.

Sir John Gielgud’s Reading of Shakespeare’s Sonnets (YouTube)

One of the best ways to understand and even interpret poems is to hear them read aloud. Sir John Gielgud performs each of Shakespeare’s sonnets in this YouTube collection.

"Shakespeare’s Sonnets" (Shakespeare Online)

Shakespeare Online has the complete text of each sonnet with accompanying interpretive notes. The introduction to the resource discusses the dates of composition for the sonnets and their narrative objects.

Sonnet Facsimiles (Internet Shakespeare Editions)

The form in which we read Shakespeare’s sonnets today are not the form in which they were originally written. These images from the UCLA Library and hosted by a University of Victoria site offer facsimiles (exact copies of printed material) of the early editions of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

"Shakespeare’s Sonnets by Don Paterson" ( The Guardian )

One arena of scholarly dispute is the interpretation of Shakespeare’s sonnets. For those who are interested in surveying the scholarly melee (and better understanding the sonnets), this essay from The Guardian should help.

"Understanding Shakespeare's Sonnets" (YouTube)

This video is a Q&A discussion between three Shakespeare authors and educators discussing the context and interpretation of Shakespeare’s sonnets. It is hosted by the University of Warwick.

CrashCourse Video: "Shakespeare’s Sonnets" (YouTube)

For an entertaining and humorous survey of Shakespeare’s sonnets, look no further than this 12-minute video from Crash Course Literature.

Other Poems

Aside from the famous sonnets, Shakespeare also published a handful of other, longer poems. The LitCharts Shakescleare series provides access to the text, alongside a modern English translation.

• The Rape of Lucrece
• Venus and Adonis  
• A Lover's Complaint
• The Phoenix and Turtle

Although Shakespeare sometimes followed dramatic conventions of the Renaissance, he also forged his own path. The Tempest  follows Aristotle's classical unities of time, space, and action (for example, that the play's action should occur during 24 hours or less), while The Winter's Tale traverses 16 years and two diverse kingdoms. The resources below survey Shakespeare's stylistic approaches and lasting influence on literature.  

"Shakespeare’s Writing Style" (Wikipedia)  

This entry gives an overview of Shakespeare’s style in both his plays and poems. One helpful aspect of the entry is the discussion on similarities to and differences from contemporaries.

"The Writing Style of William Shakespeare" (Freelancewriting.com)  

For a simple discussion of Shakespeare’s writing style, this article is a helpful place to start. The article surveys Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter and explores the depth of character development in his work.

"Why Shakespeare Loved Iambic Pentameter" (TED-Ed)  

This TED-Ed original introduces students to Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter and explains why "Shakespeare's words have such staying power."

"Shakespeare’s Reputation" (YouTube)

Gordon McMullan, a literature professor at King’s College, suggests that Shakespeare’s writing style was a result both of his inherent genius and the extrinsic forces of market and popular appeal.

Many of the themes in Shakespeare's work are easy to spot—for example, love in Romeo and Juliet . Other themes may be less obvious, but are no less significant. Had you noticed that  Romeo and Juliet also has a recurring theme of servants and masters? These figures' presence conveys a subtle message that the disadvantaged possess identity and worth apart from their menial duties. The resources below will help you get to know these common threads.

"'Romeo and Juliet' Themes" (LitCharts)

Each LitChart for Shakespeare's plays contains a guide to its major themes. Linked above is the "themes" section for  Romeo and Juliet , which features colors and icons you can use to track each theme across the play.

"What are the typical recurring themes in Shakespeare's plays?" (Mytutor)

When introducing students to the subject of themes in Shakespeare’s plays, it may be helpful to start at a basic level. Each Shakespeare play may have multiple themes, but the elemental ones are power, nature, love, and conflict.

"Themes in Shakespeare’s Plays" (Abilene Christian Univ.)

This resource by Shakespeare professor Tracey Sanders explains how Shakespeare communicates his themes, and discusses the four recurring themes found throughout Shakespeare’s plays and poetry.

"Teachers' Notes: Plays, Themes and Characters" (BBC)

This BBC archived page provides a list of Shakespeare's plays followed by the key themes of that play. For example, the listed themes for  Twelfth Night  are love and disguise.

"Shakespeare Tragedies" (ThoughtCo)

Shakespeare’s tragedies share several common features, as explained in this brief summary of tragic themes. It was written by a former university lecturer of Theater Studies.

"Thinking in Shakespeare" (Oxford Univ. Press via Vimeo)

This short animation from Oxford University Press discusses the theme of thinking in Shakespeare, and provides helpful examples from several of his plays.

According to some analyses, Shakespeare is the most quoted writer in the English language, not counting quotations from the Bible. Shakespeare quotations are so common, in fact, that many people quote him without realizing it. Phrases like “Greek to me,” “fair play,” and “into thin air” come directly from Shakespeare plays ( Julius Caesar , King John , and  The Tempest , respectively). Each of the resources below deals with Shakespeare's contributions to the English language.

"Here Are Shakespeare's 15 Most Beloved Quotes" (TIME)

Rather than choosing quotations at random, TIME counted the Kindle highlights across three editions of Shakespeare’s works. Their quasi-scientific approach brought up 15 well-loved quotes.

"34 Of The Most Brilliant Shakespeare Quotes" (Buzzfeed)  

This admittedly arbitrarily-chosen Buzzfeed list will introduce you to many of the most quoted Shakespearean lines, including a few by Polonius ( Hamlet ), Jacques ( As You Like It ), and Cordelia ( King Lear ).

"Top Shakespeare Quotes" (ThoughtCo)

ThoughtCo, which publishes a wide variety of Shakespeare resources, offers this article on ten Shakespeare quotes. It was written by a former English teacher and believer in the persuasive power of quotations.

"William Shakespeare Quotes" (BrainyQuote)

If visual quotations are more to your liking, BrainyQuote provides quotations overlaid on scenic landscapes. Each quotation is tagged with its corresponding themes.

"William Shakespeare Quotes and Quotations" (William Shakespeare Info)

Although this website is dated and a bit clunky, it helpfully nests famous quotations under headings for the play in which the line is found.

Did Shakespeare actually write the plays attributed to him? The relative lack of records for Shakespeare's life has led to rampant speculation. The resources below will introduce you to the "Stratfordian position" (that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon authored the plays), along with the “anti-Stratfordian” position that he did not. Alongside these questions, it is important to note that recent scholarship has named a number of collaborators on plays we usually think of Shakespeare's alone.

"Shakespeare Authorship Question" (Wikipedia)

The Wikipedia treatment of the authorship question is thorough and well-organized. It is the perfect place to begin attempting to understand the main arguments for and against Shakespeare’s authorship.

AKA Shakespeare: A Scientific Approach to the Authorship Question (Amazon)

Peter A. Sturrock, an astrophysicist, uses Bayesian statistics to tackle the authorship question. Sturrock invites readers to answer the question themselves, but furnishes all the information needed to make up your mind.  

"The Simple Case for Shakespeare" (Shakespeare Resource Center)

This author makes a case for Shakespeare’s authorship by setting the stage with the four most likely authors, a discussion of motive and plausibility, and a conclusion—“the plausibility of Shakespeare.”

"Did Shakespeare Really Write His Plays? A Few Theories Examined" (BBC America)

Wade gently into the controversy by understanding the theories, the purported evidence, and who else might conceivably have written the plays if not William Shakespeare himself.

"Did Shakespeare Really Write His Own Plays?" (The History Channel)  

Another entry-level treatment of the question comes from History.com. In the end, the author takes the traditional position that Shakespeare authored the works attributed to him, but provides an informative sketch of the issue.

"Why the Shakespeare Authorship Question Matters to Teenagers" ( The Guardian )

For high school literature teachers wondering if this question matters, The Guardian says “yes.” They tend to side with the Stratfordians, and suggest that “if Shakespeare did write those works (and all the evidence makes that more likely than not) it reminds us that genius is not delimited by our start in life."

"Who Really Wrote Shakespeare?" ( The Guardian )

Robert McCrum of The Guardian uses James Shapiro’s book  A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare (1599)  as a springboard for his own editorializing on the authorship question. McCrum’s article buzzes with the energy of the debate, while also naming names and pointing fingers at various characters.

"Who Were Shakespeare's Collaborators?" ( Oxford University Press Blog)

This piece from Oxford University Press's blog, an excerpt from the  New Oxford Shakespeare, will introduce you to the actors, poets and playwrights who scholars have identified as Shakespeare's collaborators.

"Who Was Shakespeare?" (WhoWasShakespeare.org)

Using primary source documents and visuals from as far back as 1597, Kennedy Center award-winning Shakespeare producer Ron Song Destro examines the case for the most popular candidate of the last hundred years, Edward de Vere, 17th earl of Oxford, referencing such famous doubters as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman and Mark Twain.

Teaching students about Shakespeare is no easy task, but it can be immensely rewarding. The resources below offer starting points for preparing lessons geared toward any grade level. You'll find classroom activities, distinct resources to create units on the Bard's life and work, and entire websites devoted to teaching Shakespeare.

Classroom Activities on Shakespeare 

Online Shakespeare Games

The Shakespeare’s Globe website has a full selection of online games for kids on Shakespearean topics. The "Shakespeare Word Games" page provides a scrambled word game of Shakespearean terms and characters, as well as a Weird Words Quiz.

"Who Am I" Shakespearean Character Game (Folger Shakespeare Library)

The Folger Shakespeare Library has a list of eight "Who Am I" questions to help students learn about several important Shakespearean female characters.

"Life in Shakespeare’s Time" (Shakespeare Globe)

This page offers ten bits of trivia about life in Shakespeare’s era, and will help students to visualize the world in which Shakespeare lived.

Tales from Shakespeare (Amazon)

The classic children’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s plays comes from Charles and Mary Lamb. Although the style is very much that of the 18th century, it remains a popular choice for young readers.

"Top 10 Shakespeare Books for Children" ( The Guardian )

The Guardian provides a list of ten excellent Shakespeare books for kids, from Leon Garfield's  Shakespeare Stories  to Bloomsbury's  Shakespeare Today.

Websites Devoted to Teaching Shakespeare

Teaching Shakespeare Blog (Folger Shakespeare Library)

This Folger education blog highlights individual lessons on Shakespeare and other resources. Under the "resources" tab, you'll find Shakespeare lesson plans, a digital image collection, and more.

Teaching Shakespeare website

This website, a collaboration between some of the U.K.'s major cultural institutions, aims to "provide creative routes into the world of Shakespeare."

"Teacher Resources" (Royal Shakespeare Company)

Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company offers a number of resources for teaching Shakespeare on its website. Simply choose a play, type of resource, and age range. (Note: KS1 corresponds to ages six and seven, while KS5 corresponds to ages 16 through 18).

"Teaching Shakespeare with 'The New York Times'"

The New York Times 's Learning Network has compiled a list of articles that will help your students connect Shakespeare's work to our contemporary world. (Note: Though access to The New York Times requires a subscription, you can access a few free articles a month).

Units on Shakespeare Plays

Though all of Shakespeare's plays are worthy of study, some of them are particularly suited for use in the middle school and high school classroom, or in undergraduate surveys. These links contain practical suggestions for selecting appropriate plays and advice for designing lesson plans.

"Best First Shakespeare Plays for High School Students" (Kenludwig.com)

Playwright Ken Ludwig suggests that educators start with A Midsummer Night’s Dream , since its themes and humor are accessible to both younger and older age groups. Among the tragedies, Ludwig singles out Macbeth  and  Romeo and Juliet .

Commonly Taught Shakespeare Plays (Folger Shakespeare Library)  

According to research from the Folger Shakespeare Library, the most common plays to teach in the high school English classroom are:  Romeo and Juliet , Hamlet , Macbeth , A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Othello , and  Julius Caesar .

"Best Works of Shakespeare to Use in High School Classes" (ThoughtCo)

ThoughtCo writer Melissa Kelly, a veteran high school English teacher, lists eight Shakespeare plays to use in the classroom. She starts with Romeo and Juliet  and concludes with T he Merchant of Venice .

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night Unit (Teachers Pay Teachers)

This top-rated TPT unit on  Twelfth Night , designed for middle school and high school students, includes student handouts, a quiz and test, a character information sheet, and more.

Macbeth and Shakespeare Unit (Teachers Pay Teachers)

Another top-rated TPT Shakespeare unit, this resource includes an internet scavenger hunt, graphic organizers, group project, power writing prompt, and unit test.

• PDFs for all 136 Lit Terms we cover
• Downloads of 1904 LitCharts Lit Guides
• Teacher Editions for every Lit Guide
• Explanations and citation info for 40,084 quotes across 1904 books
• Downloadable (PDF) line-by-line translations of every Shakespeare play

Need something? Request a new guide .

How can we improve? Share feedback .

LitCharts is hiring!

Shakespeare Studies

• Reference Sources
• Finding Books

Database Search Tips

General and literature related databases, shakespeare specific databases, shakespeare journals.

• Shakespeare on Film
• Digital Collections and Archives
• Christopher Marlowe
• Shakespeare and Witchcraft
• Shakespeare and Law
• Citing Sources

Database Searching Tips:

Here are some great tips for better search results in databases.  This usage works in most databases, but check the "Help" sections for supported search syntax.

Boolean: (using operators: AND, OR, NOT) 

Hamlet AND revenge searches for occurrences of both words within scope defined.

Hamlet OR "Titus Andronicus" searches for one or all, but both are not required.

revenge NOT Hamlet searches for occurrences of the word ‘revenge’ without use of the word ‘Hamlet.’

("Titus Andronicus" NOT Hamlet) AND revenge searches for occurrences of the phrase ‘Titus Andronicus’ without use of the word ‘Hamlet,’ then also requires the word ‘revenge.’

"All's Well That Ends Well" - using quotation marks around a title or proper name will search for the words as a phrase rather than as individual words.

Truncation: 

art* searches for art, arts, artistic, artful, etc.

Wildcard: 

m?n searches for man and men.

• ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window ProQuest Central is a large, multidisciplinary database with over 11,000 titles, with over 8,000 titles in full-text. It serves as the central resource for researchers at all levels in all markets. Over 160 subjects areas are covered extensively in this product including business and economics, health and medical, news and world affairs, technology, social sciences and more.
• JSTOR This link opens in a new window JSTOR provides access to scholarly journals, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. In addition to journal articles, users can access book chapters, ebooks, and primary source documents.
• Credo Reference This link opens in a new window Online collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical sources, quotations, bilingual dictionaries, and measurement conversions covering topics from the arts to the sciences.

• Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window Provides full-text access to dictionaries, language reference, Islamic studies and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
• Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700. Searchable full text is also available for a subset of the collection.
• Drama Online This link opens in a new window Drama Online contains full texts and full-length filmed performances of plays ranging from Aeschylus to the present day, with supplementary material including first night program texts, critical analyses, and images from the Victoria and Albert Museum's archive of production photos. Includes the Core Collection, Critical Studies and Performance Practice, Nick Hern Books Modern Plays, National Theatre Collection, RSC Live Collection, and Aurora Metro Books, among others.
• Theatre in Context Collection This link opens in a new window O’Dell’s Annals of the New York Stage, the Oxford University Press Companion series, and Greenwood’s American Theatre Companies series are just a few of the many in-copyright sources included in the Theatre in Context Collection. Placed alongside thousands of playbills, posters, photographs, and related theatrical ephemera, users will be able to paint a more comprehensive picture of the life and evolution of dramatic works.
• Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Performing Arts Periodicals Database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 210 international journals in the performing arts dating from 1864 to the near present.
• Literature Online (LION) This link opens in a new window Literature Online includes full text of literary works in English from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. It also includes the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature, together with biographic and bibliographic reference materials for each author. More information less... A fully searchable library of more than 350,000 works of English and American poetry, drama and prose. LION is the single most extensive and wide-ranging online collection of English and American literature.Resources included in this resource are: Bibliographies Biographies Columbia Companion to the 20th Century American Short Story Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms Encyclopedia of African Literature Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean Literature, 1900-2003 Encyclopedia of Linguistics (2 vols.) Encyclopedia of the Novel Handbook of African American Literature New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics Oxford Companion to Irish Literature Penguin Classics Introductions Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory Routledge Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English (2nd Edition)
• Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window Literature Resource Center offers biographical and other background information for research on literary topics, authors, and their works. Its coverage includes all genres and disciplines, all time periods, and all regions of the world. Literature Resource Center's content comes from the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and more, including full text of selected poems, plays, and short stories.
• Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new window Literature Criticism Online includes the contents of several multidisciplinary series, including Contemporary Literary Criticism and Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. The collection includes biographical essays and selected literary criticism for authors from the classical period to the present day.
• BBC Shakespeare Plays This link opens in a new window The BBC Shakespeare Plays features full-length performances of the complete corpus of William Shakespeare's plays, produced by the British Broadcasting Company for television between 1978 and 1985.
• Editions and Adaptations of Shakespeare This link opens in a new window Editions and Adaptations of Shakespeare contains searchable full text of eleven major editions of Shakespeare's works from the First Folio of 1623 to the Cambridge edition of 1863–66, plus contemporary printings of individual plays and poems, selected apocrypha and related works. The collection also includes adaptations, sequels, and burlesques from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
• Shakespeare's Globe Archive This link opens in a new window This collection of documents offers insights into the performance practice in the particular space of the reconstructed Globe Theatre. It details the way in which the theatre was constructed as a place of radical experiment. It documents performances through prompt books, wardrobe notes, programs, publicity material, annual reports, show reports, photographs and architectural plans.
• Shakespeare Collection This link opens in a new window The Shakespeare Collection provides access to general reference data, full-text scholarly periodicals, reprinted criticism, facsimile primary source material and the full-text annotated works from The Arden Shakespeare. Users can view page images of the First Folio, key Quartos, and major editions and adaptations of Shakespeare's works, plus works by Shakespeare's contemporaries and promptbooks from the 17th to the 20th century.
• Shakespeare in Performance: Prompt Books from the Folger Shakespeare Library This link opens in a new window Shakespeare in Performance: Prompt Books from the Folger Shakespeare Library, showcases rare and unique prompt books from the Folger Shakespeare Library. These prompt books tell the story of Shakespeare’s plays as they were performed in theaters throughout Great Britain, the United States and internationally, between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries.
• World Shakespeare Bibliography Online This link opens in a new window The World Shakespeare Bibliography Online provides annotated entries for all important books, articles, book reviews, dissertations, theatrical productions, reviews of productions, audiovisual materials, electronic media, and other scholarly and popular materials related to Shakespeare and published or produced from 1960 to the present. The scope is international, with coverage representing every country in North America, South America, and Europe and nearly every country in Asia, Africa, and Australasia.

The best way to stay current with the new research in the field of Shakespearean scholarship is to browse the available journals.  Not only will you be able to stay up-to-date on the latest research, but it may stimulate your own thinking!  In addition to Shakespeare Quarterly , there are a number of Shakespeare and drama oriented journals available.  

The following is just a select list of Shakespeare journals:

• Shakespeare Quarterly Founded in 1950 by the Shakespeare Association of America, Shakespeare Quarterly is a refereed journal committed to publishing articles in the vanguard of Shakespeare studies. The Quarterly, produced by Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington University, features notes that bring to light new information on Shakespeare and his age, issue and exchange sections for the latest ideas and controversies, theater reviews of significant Shakespeare productions, and book reviews to keep its readers current with Shakespeare criticism and scholarship.
• Shakespeare Jahrbuch The Shakespeare Jahrbuch is one of the leading publications in the field of international Shakespeare studies; but it is not only addressed to specialists. It offers contributions in German and English, scholarly articles, an extensive section of book reviews, and reports on Shakespeare productions in the German-speaking world. It also documents the activities of the Shakespeare-Gesellschaft.
• The Hare The Hare is an online, peer-reviewed journal, publishing untimely reviews of books, articles, and performances in early modern theater. This journal provides a venue for the reevaluation and revivification of old scholarly work in contemporary scholarly debate. The Hare invites contributions focusing on a wide range of early modern theater, including but not limited to Shakespeare’s plays. We are excited to publish untimely reviews by scholars inspired to reassess old work and performances in order to open up new possibilities for scholarship, alongside theater artists with a vision for the future of early modern performance.
• Shakespeare Survey Each volume is devoted to a theme, or play, or group of plays; each also contains a section of reviews of that year's textual and critical studies, and of the year's major British performances.
• Shakespeare Studies Shakespeare Studies is a peer-reviewed volume published annually featuring the work of performance scholars, literary critics and cultural historians across the globe. The journal focuses attention primarily on Shakespeare and his contemporaries, but embraces theoretical and historical studies of socio-political, intellectual and artistic contexts that extend well beyond the early modern English theatrical milieu in both space and time. In addition to articles, Shakespeare Studies offers unique opportunities for extended intellectual exchange through its thematically-focused forums, and includes substantial reviews of significant publications.
• Shakespeare: Journal of the British Shakespeare Association Shakespeare publishes articles drawn from the best international research on the most recent developments in Shakespearean criticism, historical and textual scholarship, and performance. The journal promotes the goal of the British Shakespeare Association to bridge the gap between literary and performance based criticism of Shakespeare, and provides an outlet for Shakespeare research undertaken to the very highest standards from around the world. Without privileging any particular critical approaches, methodologies, or theories, the journal welcomes all contributions that throw light upon Shakespeare, his works, and his world, in his time and through to the present day.
• << Previous: Finding Books
• Next: Shakespeare on Film >>
• Last Updated: Mar 25, 2024 4:51 PM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/shakespeare-studies

Shakespeare: A Research Guide: Find Articles

• Search the Online Catalog Yourself
• Also Useful for Finding Books
• Find Articles
• In Search of Shakespeare This link opens in a new window
• Not at Gumberg? This link opens in a new window
• E & A This link opens in a new window
• EEBO This link opens in a new window
• NLM Poster Exhibit This link opens in a new window

William Shakespeare, a 19th century copy of a painting by Richard Burbage. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Shakespeare Journals

To use these subscription periodicals off-campus, you will need to enter your Multipass username and password.

• Shakespeare Bulletin
• Shakespeare Newsletter
• Shakespeare Quarterly
• Shakespeare Studies

Joseph T. Keiley as Shylock, 1901. Public domain.Source: Wikimedia Commons

• Finding Full Text

Click the link below to find out how to identify if the full text of an article is available in a Gumberg Library database.

Droeshout Engraving of Shakespeare, circa 1815. Public domain.Source: Wikimedia Commons

Best Databases for Shakespeare Studies

All of these resources can be accessed from off-campus, but you will need to enter your Multipass username and password in order to use them.

• Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL) An indispensable reference work for English studies, with more than 960,000 records from 1892 to the present, with regular monthly updates of newly indexed material. Widely regarded as one of the most important bibliographical sources for English studies.
• MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window Offers a detailed bibliography of journal articles, books and dissertations. Produced by the Modern Language Association, coverage dates back to the 1920s and contains over 1.8 million citations from more than 4,400 journals & series and 1,000 book publishers.
• World Shakespeare Bibliography Online At this point, the regular login process for this database has been disrupted. To use it, click on "Personal User", and when asked for a username and password, use these: User Name: wsbduquesne Password: Oxford2021

Connecting digital texts from the Folger Shakespeare Library with articles on JSTOR

Click the image to use this database

Other Databases for Literature

• Academic Search Elite (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Offers full text for more than 2,000 serials, including more than 1,500 peer-reviewed titles. This multi-disciplinary database covers virtually every area of academic study. More than 100 journals have PDF images back to 1985.
• Google Scholar This link opens in a new window Broadly search for scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, pre-print repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.
• JSTOR This link opens in a new window A reliable and comprehensive archive of important scholarly journal literature, including searchable and browsable tables of contents and full text articles from both multidisciplinary and discipline-specific journal collections.
• Literature Online (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window A fully searchable library of more than 350,000 works of English and American poetry, drama and prose, 200 full-text literature journals, and other key criticism and reference resources.
• Literature Resource Center (LRC) This link opens in a new window Up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on nearly 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world.
• Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window An archive with backfiles of scholarly periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences that provides access to the searchable full text of hundreds of titles. The database spans more than two centuries of content, 37 key subject areas, and multiple languages.
• Project Muse This link opens in a new window Provides 100% full-text access to over 300 high quality humanities, arts, and social sciences journals from 60 scholarly publishers.
• ProQuest One Literature This link opens in a new window For literature scholars who need an exhaustive set of scholarly resources around a literary topic for research and course planning. 500,000 primary works and millions of records from journals, monographs, and dissertations.

Databases from Other Disciplines

Content found in these databases is often relevant to Shakespearean studies.

• APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window Citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, in psychology and related disciplines, dating as far back as the 1800s. Coverage spans 1887 to present, including international material selected from more than 2,100 periodicals in more than 25 languages. Produced by the American Psychological Association.
• Atla Religion This link opens in a new window The premier index for journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion, with coverage from 1949 and retrospective indexing for several journal issues as far back as the nineteenth century. Journals are selected for inclusion according to their scholarly merit and scope.
• Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window Reference guide to the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada, covered in the EBSCOhost database "America: History and Life"). Over 2,000 journals published throughout the world are covered; includes a targeted selection of hundreds of journals in the social sciences and humanities.
• Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window A bibliographic database with informative, author-written abstracts covering scholarly research in all areas of philosophy. The literature covered goes back to 1940 and includes journal articles, books, book chapters such as contributions to an anthology, and book reviews. Updated quarterly.
• Philosophy Documentation Center (POIESIS) This link opens in a new window Access to the full text of a growing number of philosophy journals and serials, containing over 2,300 issues and 340,000 pages of text from 53 journals and series, and most of these are not available in electronic format from any other service. Also provides publishing services.
• Religion Database (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window Provides a wide range of primarily full-text periodicals and other sources for diverse religious and spiritual studies, covering formal theological studies and commentary on topics of general interest from the perspectives of many worldwide religions. As well as scholarly journals there are many titles from religious publishing bodies and nondenominational organizations. The resource reflects a wide spectrum of religious belief systems and supports the global study of religion.
• Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window Provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from over 1,800+ serials publications, and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Records published by Sociological Abstracts in print during the database's first 11 years, 1952-1962, have been added to the database as of November 2005, extending the depth of the backfile of this authoritative resource.
• << Previous: Also Useful for Finding Books
• Next: Video, Audio & Web >>
• Last Updated: Feb 22, 2024 11:02 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.duq.edu/shakespeare

• Spartanburg Community College Library
• SCC Research Guides

ENG 102 - Shakespeare Research

• 4. Find Sources

Once you've narrowed your topic and thought about keywords, try searching the databases below for potential sources you can use for your paper.  Try to find sources that provide evidence to support your thesis.  If your keywords aren't working, ask a librarian for help!

Literature Databases / Articles

The following databases are the best place to start. 

• Gender Identity in Shakespeare's Works This topic overview from Gale Literature will provide an overview and other reference and literary criticism articles about the theme of Gender Identity in different Shakespeare's plays.
• Violence in Shakespeare's Works This topic overview from Gale Literature will provide an overview and other reference and literary criticism articles of Violence in Shakespeare's plays.

History/Culture Databases

Recommended Books

We have listed several good print and electronic books that would be good sources for finding information on Shakespearean plays and Elizabethan England. These are not the only options. Search the library catalog and our eBook collections for even more books. Access to these resources are included below. The eBooks are great options because you can access them from any device and you can search the book for specific themes and keywords. If you are off-campus you will need to enter your user name and password (same as for portal) to access an eBook collection.

• Literary Criticism
• Elizabethan England

Search for Books & eBooks

Use the search box below to search the SCC Library Catalog for physical books (in one of our library locations) and eBooks. You can also open the Library Catalog or use the Advanced Search for more search options.

• Open Library Catalog
• Advanced Search

Watch the Play

Below are streaming video databases that have numerous plays in them. Search each one or ask a librarian to figure out which one might contain your play.

• << Previous: 3. Narrow Your Topic
• Next: 5. Cite Your Sources >>
• 1. Getting Started
• 2. Explore Your Topic
• 3. Narrow Your Topic
• 5. Cite Your Sources
• 6. Write Your Annotated Bib
• 7. Write Your Paper
• Literary Criticism Guide
• Instruction Modules

Questions? Ask a Librarian

• Last Updated: Mar 5, 2024 5:58 PM
• URL: https://libguides.sccsc.edu/Shakespeare

Giles Campus | 864.592.4764 | Toll Free 866.542.2779 | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Spartanburg Community College. All rights reserved.

Info for Library Staff | Guide Search

Return to SCC Website

• Utility Menu

Jeffrey R. Wilson

• Unit 1: A Single-Source Paper

This unit is designed to help you develop some skills of close reading, which is a fundamental skill required for academic writing in a range of disciplines. A single-source paper is an analysis of a single text (or idea, event, or object), a reading that identifies, presents, and discusses some interesting or problematic aspect of that text (or idea, event, or object) without recourse to any other texts. In a close reading, it’s just the writer and the text, and it’s the writer’s job to make sense of the text.

• William Shakespeare, Hamlet (ca. 1599)
• The Harvard Guide to Using Sources : Introduction , Why Use Sources? , Integrating Sources , and Citing Sources
• Aphorisms on Academic Writing , Close Reading , The Close Reading Process , Titles , Openings , Orientation , Exemplars , Questions and Problems , Texts , Terms , Thesis Statements , Stakes , Assertions , Body Paragraphs , Quotation , Counters and Responses , Arguments , Implications , Style , Signal Phrases , and Organization for Close Readings

Write a five-page paper about some aspect of Shakespeare’s Hamlet .

Instructions

Your close reading should uncover and present something about the play that readers might not notice or understand when viewing or reading it themselves. In a single-source analysis, you are posing and responding to your own questions, not proving or reiterating the ideas of others. The ideas you offer should be your own, informed by your individual work with a text as well as our conversations in class and in office hours and conferences. No outside sources are required, nor should you consult any. 

Your work in class and in response papers for Unit 1 will introduce you to some tried-and-true strategies for close reading. These response papers will include:

• Response Paper 1.1: Questions and Problems: After reading Hamlet , your will write three analytical questions you might be interested in studying further in an essay.
• Response Paper 1.2: Evidence and Analysis: You will create a timeline, an explication, a conceptual map, and then a 300-word argument statement about the question or problem you’ve selected to write about for your first essay.
• Response Paper 1.3: A Basic Outline: You will create a one-page outline for your first paper. 

For your Unit 1 Essay, a five-page close reading, you will draw upon the questions and analyses you develop in class and in your response papers. Your essay will allow you to refine and extend these thoughts and shape them into a coherent argument. In order to do so, your essay should:

• Articulate your problem or question : Most good academic writing begins with a question, one that poses a challenging problem or issue to address or figure out, sparking an essay that analyzes rather than one that describes or summarizes. A good question calls our attention to a dilemma, quirk, quandary, wrinkle, confusion, ambiguity, or grey area in the text. Identifying such a question or problem for your readers makes sure that there is something “at stake” in your essay – i.e., that there is a reason your argument needs to be made.
• Treat evidence with analysis : The success of your essay will depend on how carefully you use the specific details of the play to generate a lucid observation about that work. You will need to guide your readers through your evidence (the information you’re interpreting) and your analysis (your interpretation of that evidence) in support of an argument. Don’t assume (1) that readers know what evidence to look for, (2) that they'll read that evidence in the same way that you do, nor (3) that they'll draw the same conclusions as you do. Your analysis of the evidence should persuade your readers of the validity of your claims.
• Include an argument and a thesis : Taken all together, your analyses should add up to your argument , while your argument should be represented by a thesis , a clear and concise statement of your central proposition that is given early in your paper. As noted in the “Elements of Academic Argument,” a strong thesis is “true but arguable.” It is a matter of interpretation, not historical fact (with which no one could argue) nor wild conjecture (which no one would take seriously). It should be specific enough to be supported with evidence, plausible but not obvious, and revealing for your readers.

Requirements

Your essay for this unit should:

• Be five pages long;
• Be written in MLA style (see  Citing Sources  in  The Harvard Guide to Using Sources  and Wilson’s  Sample MLA Style Paper );
• Include a cover letter.

Sample Papers

• Thomas Westbrook, “ ‘Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark’ (But Not What You Think)” A  Shakespearean  Student’s Close Reading
• Narayan Sundararajan, "Hamlet and the New Misogyny"   A Shakespearean Student's Theorization
• Reina Gattuso, “The Futility of Touch: Caillebotte’s Man at his Bath” Exposé Humanities Paper
• Yunhan Xu, “I Am Become President: The Rhetorical Choreography of Johnson’s Nuclear Propaganda” Exposé Social Sciences Paper
• Liesel Ulrich-Verderber, “Understanding Animals to Understand Ourselves" Exposé Sciences Paper

Response Paper 1.1: Questions and Problems

This assignment is meant to help you develop skills of identifying problems and asking questions, an important early step in academic writing. An analytical question maps out a challenging problem or issue in a text (or idea, event, or object) that needs to be addressed or understood.

• Aphorisms on Questions and Problems

Write three analytical questions about Shakespeare’s Hamlet .

In order to develop your analytical questions, you'll need to do some reading and annotating of the text first, and even some interpreting. That is, an analytical question is not something you ask before interpreting a text but after interpreting it. An analytical question is one that needs more interpretation beyond the initial pass. A good analytical question:

• Speaks to a genuine dilemma or problem in the text: The question focuses on a real confusion, ambiguity, or grey area of the text, an aspect about which readers will conceivably have different reactions, opinions, or interpretations. 
• Yields an answer that is not obvious: In a question such as “How many people does Hamlet kill by the play’s end?” there's nothing to explore: it's too specific and can be answered too easily.
• Suggests an answer complex enough to require a whole essay’s worth of argument: If the question is too vague, it won’t suggest a sustainable line of argument (e.g., “Why does Claudius send Hamlet to England?”). The question should elicit analysis and argument rather than summary or description.
• Can be answered by the text, rather than by generalizations or by copious external research. A question such as “Does the Danish court in Hamlet reflect Elizabethan courts in Shakespeare’s time?” is fascinating, but its scope isn’t suitable for a close reading of Hamlet .

Thus, an analytical question should be answerable, given the available evidence, but not immediately answerable, and not in the same way by all readers. Your goal is to help readers understand why a question is worth asking, why a feature of a text is problematic, and to send them back to the text with a new perspective or a different focus. Here are some additional tips about analytical questions to keep in mind:

• How and why questions require more analysis than who/what/when/where questions.
• Good analytical questions can highlight patterns/connections or contradictions/dilemmas/problems. 
• Good analytical questions should also consider the implications or consequences of an analysis.

The document you submit should:

• Include three numbered questions;
• Be written in MLA style, including proper in-text citations for any quotes, though the document can be single-spaced and no “Works Cited” page is needed.
• Sample Response Paper 1.1

Response Paper 1.2: Evidence and Analysis

This assignment is designed to help you collect and interpret evidence for an argument.

Aphorisms on Information , Explication , Analysis , and Arguments

Generate the evidence and analysis for your first essay by creating a timeline, an explication, a conceptual map, and then a 300-word argument statement that responds to the question or problem you’ve selected to write about for your first essay.

In your first essay, you will offer a close reading of a text, which in this case is Hamlet . In your first response paper, you articulated three analytical questions about Hamlet . For the current response paper, which involves several steps, you should begin by selecting the question you want to address in your essay. Then complete the following four parts of this response paper in order:

• Part A: Timeline. Before any interpretation can occur, the information that needs to be interpreted must be identified, collected, and organized. Create a timeline with at least 15 items related to the question or problem from Hamlet that you’ve selected to work with. It should be a bulleted list, a very specific list of events or "things that happen" in Hamlet . These events should be arranged in chronological order, which could potentially differ from the order in which events occur in the text (e.g., we hear of King Hamlet's murder in Act I, Scene v, but chronologically it took place before the play even begins). Your list should cite the places in the text that indicate the events, whether it's a line, a span of lines, or a longer passage or scene. For further thoughts, see my Aphorisms on Information .
• Part B: Explication. Once you’ve completed your timeline, identify the single most important passage or scene (probably more than 10 lines but less than 100) related to the question you’re posing. Write an “explication” of this passage by making 10 observations about it in a numbered list. Each item in the list should be one- to three- sentence(s) long. You’re just looking for a list of "things you can say" or “points you can make” about the passage in question. The observations you make need not all be earth-shattering. In fact, because you're aiming for specific description of minute details, many of your observations might seem insignificant. Each item should (1) frame or situate some evidence; (2) present that evidence through quotation, paraphrase, or summary; and (3) briefly analyze that evidence (with, when appropriate, the formal terms of literary studies as you know them from your previous studies). Sometimes all this information can be easily covered in one sentence; sometimes it takes longer. For some strategies, see my Aphorisms on Explication . For some concerns and terms of drama, see my Aphorisms on Drama .
• Part C: Conceptual Map. Looking at your explication, identify the point or set of points that you think would make for a compelling argument in your first essay. The next step is to generate that argument by creating a conceptual map. First, go through the passage or scene, and your explication of it, and list out the concepts that are in play. Next, start to draw out a conceptual map relating information (i.e., what happens in Hamlet ) to analysis (i.e., your interpretation of what happens in Hamlet ). A conceptual map weaves together facts and concepts in a sequence to tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end, a story that relates not only what happened (in its use of facts/information), but also why something happened (in its use of concepts/ideas). For more information, see my Aphorisms on Analysis . For your submission for this assignment, you’ll need to scan or take a picture of your conceptual map and submit that file. 
• Part D: Argument Statement. Usually, your conceptual map makes a lot of sense to you, because you made it, but it can be nonsense to someone else if you just hand it to him or her. Thus, you need to turn the visual representation of your idea in the map into a written statement. To do so, compile a 300-600 word “argument statement” by narrating the idea formulated in your conceptual map. Summarize the parts and progression of the idea from start to finish. See my Aphorisms on Arguments . 
• Include Parts A, B, C, and D (in that order in a single document, if possible);
• Sample Response Paper 1.2

Response Paper 1.3: A Basic Outline

This assignment is meant to help you develop skills of organization for a close reading essay and beyond.

• The   Elements of Academic Argument

Aphorisms on Organization for Close Readings

Create a basic outline for your first essay.

Once you have an argument and a thesis that you want to write a paper about, the next step is to draft a basic outline for what that paper might look like. Begin this document with your thesis statement as it currently stands (probably in one to three sentences). Then write out an outline for the structure of your paper. Your outline should be no longer than one page. The exact format your outline takes is up to you, but it should clearly identify an introduction, body, and conclusion and use the Elements of Academic Argument to structure the information presented in each of those sections. Some of those Elements are discussed below; your job is to use those elements to identify the content of your argument and then figure out the best order in which to present your particular claims.

• Introduction : Your introduction will probably be one to three paragraphs long. At the very least, it needs to include your problem , your text , any terms that are key to your argument, your thesis statement , and what’s at stake in your paper. 
• Body : Your basic outline should identify (in only 3-7 words) the topic of each section in the body of the paper and the topic of each paragraph within each section.
• Conclusion : Your conclusion will probably be one or two paragraphs long. It will probably begin with an argument statement , and then it might consider some counters before wrapping up with a discussion of the implications of your argument.
• Be single-spaced in outline form;
• Be one-page long (or not much more); no “Works Cited” page is needed.
• Sample Response Paper 1.3
• Unit 2: A Multi-Source Paper
• Unit 3: A Research Paper
• Bibliography
• Harvard Writing Resources
• Writing Exchange

Shakespeare's England: Research Paper: Home

• MLA Citation and Annotated Bibliographies

Citations are important!

• You must cite (give credit to) others whenever you use their words (quoting); or their information, interpretations, or ideas (paraphrase), even if you reword them entirely.
• You can cite by using the words in your sentence (i.e. "According to...") or parenthetically (Smith 7).
• Any source you cite in your essay must be listed in the Works Cited, and vise versa.
• Quote when an author says something well or when you intend to closely discuss the specific language. Otherwise, paraphras[ing] will do.
• You do not need to look at sources other than those listed as approved for this assignment. 

*Courtesy of Dr. B.

Books Available on Library Cart

In addition to the books listed below, we have many books focusing on the topics you are researching. If you're having difficulty finding a book, let one of the library staff know and we'll help you out!

MEET WITH MR. REESE

• Schedule Your Research Appointment Here

Types of Sources

• CCNY Library Types of Sources page Great resource for a deeper dive into the different types of sources.

Steps in the Research Process

• Pick and develop your topic
• Search for information using databases/search engines
• Locate possible relevant sources
• Evaluate these sources
• Repeat steps 2-4 as needed
• Write your paper/prepare your presentation/etc.
• CITE your information
• Take notes on your search and which search terms you used (this helps you avoid repetition and saves you time)
• Be thorough in your evaluation

Literature Online Resources

• JSTOR This link opens in a new window The go-to source for upper level Scholarly journals, primary sources, and now ebooks. Great for hard to find Science articles and journals!! (Grades 9-12).
• Bloom's Literature This link opens in a new window Bloom’s Literature is rich with relevant content on the core authors and works most studied in the high school curriculum. Students will find exactly what they need without having to wade through an uncurated search. Educators will appreciate the thoughtful organization and important curriculum tools to help with lesson plans, assignments, and independent study. Great for Shakespeare research!
• Literature (Gale-in-Context) This link opens in a new window Gale In Context: Literature provides context for literary classics and diverse new texts by using a robust multimedia collection of videos, images, infographics, eBooks, and more.
• Literary Reference Center This link opens in a new window Combining information from major respected reference works, books, literary journals and original content from EBSCO, Literary Reference Center features an expansive collection of classic and contemporary full-text poems, short stories, and novels.
• Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window A collection of ebooks on a variety of topics
• Shakespeare Online
• Gale - World History This link opens in a new window Gale In Context: World History reaches back to the ancient world—and forward to today's headlines—to deliver a chronicle of the people, cultures, events, and societies that have formed the history of the human race. A range of topics such as Aztecs, the Industrial Revolution, the Silk Road, the Buddha, the Space Race, and more provide a wide perspective across the globe. Rare primary sources, reliable references, and multimedia content put this vast subject into context for students.
• Modern World History Online This link opens in a new window Modern World History offers a comprehensive look at world history from the mid-15th century to the present. Thousands of subject entries, biographies, images, videos and slideshows, maps and graphs, primary sources, and timelines combine to provide a detailed and comparative view of the people, places, events, and ideas that have defined modern world history.
• History Reference Center (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Covering topics in U.S. and world history from the earliest civilizations through the 21st century, History Reference Center is a research database containing full-text journals, magazines, reference books and thousands of primary source documents.

Methods for Evaluating Resources

There is no shortage of methods for evaluating information out there. I've lost count of the number of acronyms used. Regardless of which you use, you'll want to make sure you evaluate information based on the following: 

• Authority - Who is the author? Are they qualified? Did the author post it? Can you contact them/find a record of them? Pay attention to the "About Us" page
• Accuracy - Can you verify the information provided? Is the data cited? Can you confirm these findings with another source? Does the website/author have a history of posting misinformation? Can you find reviews?
• Objectivity - I always ask "What are they selling?" What is the goal of the article/author? Are they trying to spark an emotion? Who benefits from this information? 
• Currency - Is the article recent? Has much changed on the topic since the article was published?
• Coverage - Is this the best source for your topic? Does it answer your questions or appropriately cover the topic? Is there a better article out there? Don't use a source just to add a source; make sure you find one that is relevant.   

Raider Research Portal

This single-search platform will search all of our databases at once. Additionally, it's linked to your Hun Google account, so you can save any articles you find or searches you perform. 

Raider Research

• Next: MLA Citation and Annotated Bibliographies >>
• Last Updated: Apr 10, 2024 12:18 PM
• URL: https://hunschool.libguides.com/c.php?g=1393848