Guide to Shakespeare Criticism
Books
A number of seminal works of criticism have been placed on reserve in the library. You can also find more material by and about Shakespeare in the 822.33 area of our reference collection and our stacks. To use the online catalog to find book-length criticism, do a Subject Heading search on Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616, followed by the name of the play. For example: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 Hamlet
Two of the Reserve books are available electronically. Click on the following links to access them (if you link from home, you will be prompted to supply your NetID and password):
Shakespeare's Histories (edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom)
Shakespeare's Romances (edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom)
Journal articles
If you search these databases from home, you will be prompted to supply your NetID and password.
The MLA (Modern Language Association) Bibliography indexes literary criticism from 1963 to the present. Note that it is not a full-text resource. Once you find a promising citation, click on the link that will take you to a search in the online catalog or to full text that might be available through another database. You can also try a search for the journal title in the Online Research Resources page.
JSTOR searches full-text for backfile articles and reviews in over 130 multi-disciplinary journals. See Project Muse (below) for more recent articles.
Project Muse searches full-text in over 150 journals supplied by 10 university presses. Click on the search button to start your search. Muse works well for more recent periodical issues, while JSTOR (see above) reproduces older volumes.
World Shakespeare Bibliography Online provides annotated entries for research and criticism on Shakespeare produced between 1971 and early 2002. Note that it is not a full-text resource. Once you find a promising citation, you'll have to do a search in the online catalog for book and journal titles. You can also try a search for online versions of journal titles in the Online Research Resources page.
Also consider the general periodical databases that are linked to from the Library's home page. Your best bets are WilsonSelectPlus, Ebsco's Academic Search Elite, and Infotrac's Expanded Academic ASAP.
Reference sources
If you search these resources from home, you will be prompted to supply your NetID and password.
Magill OnLiterature is a definitive online source for editorially reviewed critical analyses. It also includes brief plot summaries of the most studied works in the history of literature.
Literature Resource Center identifies biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of authors from every age and literary discipline. Coverage of more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,500 of the most-studied authors. This database only allows 4 simultaneous users.
The English Library on the third floor of the Main Library has a great variety of reference sources that can help you complete this project. Check their website of online reference sourcesfor additional possibilities.
Finally...
Create your annotated bibliography using the Advanced MLA format on NoodleBib. Or, do it yourself, consulting our MLA style guide.