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Library Research Guide for Theatre, Film & Dance 135: 
Shakespeare: Violence and Sexuality

Developing a Search Strategy
Finding Background Information
Finding Books
Finding Periodical Articles/Reviews
Selected Periodical Indexes
eReference Collection
Internet Resources
Citing Sources
Research Help Online
Reference Help in Person
Question? Ask a Librarian

DEVELOPING A SEARCH STRATEGY

Search strategy is a library term for the process of finding information in a logical, step-by-step manner. Using a search strategy insures that you will find the information or material you need as quickly and efficiently as possible.
 
 

Research Steps:

  1. Choose your topic
  2. Find background information
  3. Find books on your topic
  4. Find periodical articles
  5. Find networked resources or relevant Web sites
  6. Cite your sources
For online help using on library research strategy and using library resources, try using Library Research, a Hypertext Guide - online, hypertext-based tutorial on library research.

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FINDING BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The materials listed below are a selection of reference resources for finding background information and context for topics you will be covering in this class. Note the call numbers and library locations for these materials and check the reference collections for additional sources of background information. The authors of articles in reference books often provide bibliographies of selected books and articles for further study.

Printed Sources

Baugh, Albert C., ed. A Literary History of England. 2nd ed. New York: Appleton, 1967. (Uris Ref PR 83 B34 1967; also Olin Ref)
A comprehensive and scholarly history of the literature of England. Arranged by period and genre, with numerous footnotes indicating standard editions and an extensive bibliographical supplement listing, by chapter and page, the most important books and articles in which the reader may pursue further the writings of authors discussed.

Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More. New York: Facts on File, 1990. (Uris Ref PR2892 B78)
A useful handbook including nearly 3,000 entries on all facets of Shakespeare's life. For each play there is an act-by-act, scene-by-scene synopsis, a commentary, and the theatrical history of the play. There are also entries for individual characters both historical and fictional, major character types, major Shakespeare scholars and performers, and the people who influenced Shakespeare. A suggested reading section and an appendix list entries by broad categories.

Brogan, T.V.F., ed. The New Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994. (Olin Ref PN 1021 E56 1994)
Intended as a "convenient" abridgement of the New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry & Poetics, this smaller volume contains more concise entries, and omits many of the long essays on nationa poetries found in the larger. The emphasis is on the technical terminology of poetry; "all entries were written for the general reader." (Preface).

Campbell, Oscar James, ed. The Readers' Encyclopedia of Shakespeare. New York: Thomas Crowell, 1966. (Uris Ref PR 2892 C17+; also Olin Ref )
Offers all the essential information available on aspects of Shakespeare's life and works including critical analyses. Included is a chronology of events related to the life and works of Shakespeare. A selected bibliography appears at the end of the text.

Cuddon, John A. A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Oxford: Blackwell Reference, 1991. (Olin Ref PN44.5 C96 1991)

Davis, J. Madison. The Shakespeare name dictionary. New York : Garland Pub., 1995. (Olin Ref + PR 2892 .D26 1995; also Olin stacks)
Alphabetically arranged dictionary of "every name, proper adjective, official title, literary and musical title, and place name which appears in the text of the complete plays and poems of William Shakespeare." (Intro.)

Drabble, Margaret, ed. Oxford Companion to English Literature. rev. ed. Oxford: OUP, 1995. (Olin Ref PR 19 H34 1995; also Uris Ref has 1985 ed.)
Brief articles on authors and literary works from all periods of English literature are arranged alphabetically in this comprehensive single volume handbook. Contains extensive cross-references and appendices include essays on "Censorship and the Law of the Press" and "Notes on the History of English Copy Right."

Evans, Gareth and Barbara LLoyd Evans. The Shakespeare Companion. New York: Scribner's, 1978. (Uris Ref PR 2976 E92 1978)
A handbook to the Shakespearean theatre. Divided into four sections: 1) The Man and his Times, 2) Shakespeare in Performance, 3)The Works and 4) Stratford upon Avon and Shakespeare. Section III is particularly useful for its discussions of specific productions of the plays, both on stage and film. Useful features include a glossary of difficult words used in the plays and numerous illustrations and photographs.

Haigh, Christopher, ed. The Cambridge Historical Encyclopedia of Great Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1985. (Uris Ref DA 34 C17+; also Olin Ref)
An illustrated overview of British history. Provides chapters of about forty pages each dealing with the major periods in British history, for example, "Reformation and Inflation, 1450-1625."

Harner, James L. Literary Research Guide: a guide to reference sources for the study of literatures in English and related topics. 2nd ed. New York: MLA, 1993. Olin Ref Z 2011 H28 1993 (more copies & older ed. in Olin stacks)
An extensive and clearly-arranged, annotated handbook describing the major tools employed in literary research, including such areas as reference books, bibliographies, manuscripts & archives, library catalogs, databases, and biographical sources. Individual chapters focus on English, Irish, Welsh, & Scottish literatures.

Holman, Hugh C. and William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature. 6th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1992. (Olin Ref PN 41 T524 1992)
This "handbook" is really a dictionary of literary terms and concepts. Entries range in length from a few sentences to several pages. Many provide references for further reading. An index of proper names atthe end of the volume cites the entries within which these names appear.

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: An International Reference Work in Five Volumes. 2nd ed. 5 vols. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984. (Uris Ref PN 1625 M14+ 1984; also Olin Ref)
"The purpose of the book is to present, in the clearest possible format, factual information and critical evaluations of numerous dramatists' work and stature." (Preface) Most entries contain a biographical sketch, a brief critique of the dramatist's work, a selection of synopses of his/her plays, a bibliography of editions and usually a list of critical and biographical works. Emphasis is on English and Western European playwrights. Includes some general essays on drama of the world as well as many photographs taken during actual productions.

Myers, Jack Elliott, and Michael Sims. Longman dictionary and handbook of poetry. New York: Longman, 1985. (Olin Ref PN1021 M94)
Alphabetically arranged dictionary of technical terms, both historical and contemporary. Includes a selected topical bibliography.

_____________________________. The Longman Dictionary of Poetic Terms. New York: Longman, 1989. (Uris Ref PN 1042 M98 1989)
Later version of the above.

The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 20 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989 (Olin Ref PE 1625 M98 1989)
See annotation to the online edition, below under Networked Reference Resources

Packard, William. The Poet's Dictionary: a Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices. New York: Harper & Row, 1989. (Olin or Uris Ref PN 44.5 P12 1989)

Preminger, Alex and T.V.F. Brogan, eds. The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. (Olin or Uris Ref PN 1021 E56 1993)
This comprehensive encyclopedia provides surveys of 106 national poetries; descriptions of poetic forms and genres; detailed explanations of the devices of prosody and rhetoric; and overviews of all major schools of poetry (Preface). Although it is the third edition of a work originally published in 1965, all original entries have been revised and significant new material has been added.

FINDING eREFERENCE RESOURCES

Searching for Databases

From the Library Gateway, click on the eReference Collection link. Click on the top search box to select the type of resource you are interested in, such as indexes or full text, or all types, then type a keyword or keywords in the second search box. The eReference Collection database will then generate a list of resources (databases) that match your search request.

Browsing for Databases

Below the Search boxes you will find a menu of subject categories. Click on a subject category to browse lists of resources available in that subject area. Or, you can browse the lists of New Resources, "Greatest Hits" (frequently used databases), or the Alphabetical List of titles contained in the Networked Resources database.

Once you have identified the networked resource you are interested in, you can then connect to it directly to gather the information you need to perform a search on your specific topic in the file or database you have selected.

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eReference Resources

Some useful eReference resources for this class are:

  • Britannica Online offers the full text of the multivolume paper encyclopedia set, including its numerous bibliographies, maps, and photographs, as well as supplying links to related Web sites for many of the topics covered.

  • Early English books Online.

    From the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War, Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains over 125,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475 - 1640), Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), and the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661). Contains page images from many early editions of Shakespeare.

  • Editions and Adaptations of Shakespeare. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1997-1999.(Library Catalog and Gateway)
    "The complete text of eleven major editions of Shakespeare's works from the First Folio to the Cambridge edition of 1863-66, twenty-four separate contemporary printings of individual plays, selected apocrypha and related works, and more than 100 adaptations, sequels, and burlesques from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries."

  • Literature Resource Center [Farmington Hills, MI] : Gale Group, c1999-. (Library Gateway-Networked Resources)
    "The Literature Resource Center (LRC) is a complete literature reference database designed for the undergraduate student. LRC combines biographical, bibliographical, and contextual information to deliver a complete reference/resource package on authors and their works (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, history, and journalism). Centering on respected Gale sources, including Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, and Contemporary Literary Criticism, this data set is augmented with full-text, excerpted, and commissioned critical material illuminating an oeuvre or era... LRC [also] offers the Encyclopedia of Literature,... The Scribner Writer Series, and The Twayne Authors Series: Twayne's US Authors, Twayne's English Authors and Twayne's World Authors, providing literary criticism, history and influence of literary movements, and the development of literary genres for approximately 200 authors.

  • Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed.

    • The greatest dictionary of the English language, its aim is to present in alphabetical series the words that have formed the English vocabulary from the time of the earliest records down to the present day, with all the relevant facts concerning their form, meaning, pronunciation, and etymology. Over 400,000 entries. The most important use of this dictionary is for historical information about a word.

  • Oxford English Dictionary Online

    • Same as the above, except that this online edition is more up-to-date, containing the complete A to Z sequence of the Second Edition, its three-volume Additions Series, and also draft material from the revision programme, which represents the latest progress towards the Third Edition.

  • Roget's Internet thesaurus of English words and phrases

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FINDING BOOKS

Help Using the Cornell Library Catalog


Search Commands, Subject Searching, Keyword Searching, and other functions of the online catalog are explained on these pages. Some typical subject searches are:

SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM 1564-1616
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM 1564-1616--FILM AND VIDEO ADAPTATIONS
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM 1564-1616. MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM 1564-1616--BIBLIOGRAPHIES
ENGLISH DRAMA--EARLY MODERN AND ELIZABETHAN
ENGLAND--CIVILIZATION--16TH CENTURY

Connect to the Cornell Library Catalog

The Cornell Library Catalog currently includes all items from all Cornell libraries cataloged since 1973, some pre-1973 items, and items on order or in process. Included in the Cornell Library Catalog are books, periodicals and government documents, as well as some other materials located in the libraries at Cornell. The catalog provides the call number, the name of the library, and the circulation status for most materials.

When to Check the Card Catalog

When the book you want was published before 1973 and it's not in the Cornell Library Catalog, check the card catalog located in the John M. Olin Library. This card catalog contains cards for authors, subjects and titles filed in an alphabetical, word-by-word arrangement for books cataloged through December 1972. Whenever you cannot locate the material you need, ask at a reference desk for assistance.

Understanding Library of Congress Call Numbers

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FINDING PERIODICAL ARTICLES

Articles

Periodical articles are an excellent source for detailed analysis or up-to-date information on a topic. These articles are from materials that are published "periodically" or in daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual or even irregular intervals. They are found in newspapers, magazines, journals, yearbooks, and other sources.

 Periodicals are available in several formats: bound paper volumes (like books), microfiche or microfilm, and increasingly as electronic text.

Indexes and Abstracts

Periodical Indexes and Abstracts are Reference resources that identify and locate articles in periodical publications. They are often subject-oriented and list author, title, name of periodical, volume, pages and date of publication in entries called bibliographic citations. For information about bibliographic format and how to cite resources that you use in your research, go to Citing Sources.

 Abstracts are specialized indexes that also include summaries of the content of the articles with their citations.

 Periodical Indexes and Abstracts also come in several formats: traditional and historical bound paper volumes, stand alone CD-ROM computer workstations, and more recently as networked databases available via the Library Gateway, or through links in the Library Catalog. For more information about finding electronic reference sources through the Cornell University Library, go to Finding eReference Resources.

Full-text Articles

An ever growing number of periodical indexes offer access to the full-text of articles electronically. Use the Library Catalog to find full-text resources.

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PERIODICAL INDEXES

  • MLA International Bibliography. New York: Modern Language Association, 1963 - . (Library Gateway; also in print at Olin Ref)

    • An international database providing references to scholarly articles from over 4000 journals dealing with languages, literature, folklore and linguistics. It is useful for finding literary criticism of a particular author or work, as well as articles on literary theory, women's studies, popular culture, and performing arts.

  • Periodical Abstracts. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1986- . (Library Gateway)

    • Indexes and abstracts over 1600 general interest magazines and scholarly journals including all the magazines in Reader's Guide and most of the scholarly journals from Social Sciences Index, Humanities Index, General Science Index. It also includes citations and abstracts to selected television and radio programs. The Library subscribes to most of the periodicals indexed. Holdings can be found easily since the titles are linked to the online catalog.

SUBJECT BIBLIOGRAPHIES

  • Champion, Larry S. The Essential Shakespeare : an Annotated Bibliography of Major Modern Studies. New York : G.K. Hall c1993. (Uris Ref PR 2894 .C45 1993; also Olin stacks)

    Lists more than 1,800 predominantly English-language studies in an attempt to identify "the most significant items of Shakespeare scholarship from 1900 to 1991." (Pref.) An earlier edition was published in 1986.

  • English Literature: A Selected Bibliography of Reference Sources

    An annotated list of major reference materials in English Literature kept in the Olin and Uris Libraries Reference Collections.

To find more Shakespeare bibliographies in the Library Catalog, enter the subject search SHAKESPEARE WILLIAM 1564-1616--BIBLIOGRAPHIES.

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FINDING INTERNET RESOURCES

Use search engines or Internet subject guides to find resources or sites on the World Wide Web on your topic. Search Engines are software that allow you to search the contents of web pages and Subject Guides are web pages that use menus and lists to sort and classify web sites.

 Question Authority! The Internet is a very democratic tool, in that anyone can write or say virtually anything they wish to on it. As you would do with books and journal articles, look to see who is responsible for producing the web page or site that you are accessing. Does the individual or institution have a particular bias or concern or agenda in presenting their information. How objective is the information? How accurate or truthful? How authoritative?

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SELECTED INTERNET RESOURCES

SHAKESPEARE WEB SITES

ELIZABETHAN BRITAIN WEB SITES

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CITING SOURCES

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RESEARCH HELP ONLINE

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REFERENCE HELP

You can ask your questions at our reference and information desks, over the phone, or by e-mail.

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Question? Ask a Librarian

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Reference Home Page

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revised, January 21, 2002
Fred Muratori, fmm1@cornell.edu
Reference Services Division, Olin Kroch Uris Libraries
Cornell University Library
URL: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/english127.html
 
 
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