TC3 Library Guides: ENGL 104: Shakespeare: Starting Points

There has been so much written about Shakespeare that it may be helpful to have a short list of resources to get you started.

The books listed below are online, reliable, academic sources available through the TC3 library. Current students and teachers will be able to log in with the same myTC3 username (usually your initials followed by three numbers) and password that you use to register for classes and sign into your web courses, for example.

You can browse through each book's table of contents, or use the "Search within publication" box for each title to look for a specific play, character, etc.

Critical Survey of Shakespeare's Plays
"This book examines all 39 of the most influential plays by Shakespeare, with an in-depth examination of each play’s historical significance, literary technique, and contemporary alignment."
Critical Survey of Shakespeare's Sonnets
ISBN: 9781619254992

"A collection of new essays on the Sonnets writer Shakespeare, the most famous English playwright of all time. Each essay in The Critical Survey of Shakespeare's Sonnets is devoted to a single sonnet and provide critical analysis of the sonnet's historical significance, literary technique and discusses its meaning to contemporary audience."
The Definitive Shakespeare Companion: Overviews, Documents, and Analysis
"This [4-volume] reference gives students detailed explanations of Shakespeare's plays and poems and covers his age, life, theater, texts, and language. Numerous excerpts from primary source historical documents contextualize his works, while reviews of productions chronicle his performance history and reception."
The Facts On File Companion to Shakespeare
"This [5-volume] set is the largest and most comprehensive student's guide to Shakespeare ever published."

Use the search box here to find articles from literature research ebooks.

Shakespeare for Students
ISBN: 9781414412559

"Essential criticism to the playwright's most-popularly-studied plays and poetry...criticism along with plot summaries and character profiles .
Shakespeare's Language
"A comprehensive guide to the ornate and sometimes bewildering language that may be unfamiliar to today's readers of Shakespeare's plays and poetry."
Shakespeare's World: the Tragedies: a Historical Exploration of Literature
"Comprising dozens of primary source documents, this book explores Early Modern historical issues reflected in four of Shakespeare's tragedies... Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar."

ENGL 104: Shakespeare: Starting Points

Literature Research