LibGuides: Shakespeare: Start Here

Finding Literary Criticism

Use literature databases to find analysis and criticism of Shakespeare's works. The databases listed below are generally a little easier and also offer overviews and synopsis.

Students Literature Collection This link opens in a new window
An excellent starting point for literary research. Find plot summaries, discussions of themes, characters and setting, and some scholarly criticism.
Bloom's Literature This link opens in a new window
Scroll down and on the right side menu, look for the link to the Shakespeare Center.
Literature E-Books: Critical Insights
A collection of both classic and current literary criticism of the worlds most-studied literature. Search by author, title of work, or theme.

Use the below databases to find scholarly articles on Shakespeare's works. Scholarly articles are written by academics and are generally more in-depth and use more formal language.

Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Contains author biographies, book reviews and scholarly critical analyses of authors from every age and literary discipline.
Literary Reference Source This link opens in a new window
Contains works of literary criticism, including scholarly journals, work analyses, book reviews, author interviews, and more.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines. Good database for scholarly articles.

The Explicator
A peer-reviewed journal publishing short articles of literary criticism on commonly studied works.

Tips on Reading Shakespeare

If you find Shakespeare's language difficult to understand, here are some resources to help you.

A Quick Guide to Reading Shakespeare
Tips for how to make sense of word usage, grammar and verse in Shakespeare.
How to Study Shakespeare
Five steps to help you read a Shakespeare play more effectively.
No Fear Shakespeare @ BCC Library
No Fear Shakespeare presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with marginal notes and explanations and full descriptions of each character. Use this link to see the library holdings - SOME EDITIONS ARE EBOOKS.

Video Help

This video shows search tips and techniques for finding scholarly articles on Othello. SEE ALSO the orange tab on the top left for additional sources on Othello.