UMKC Libs: Library Guide to Shakespeare

The resources listed in this guide will help you identify items relevant to the particular aspect of Shakespeare's life and works that interests you.

To Find Books

Use the MERLIN Library Catalog and the MOBIUS Union Catalog to find resources relevant to your research. A subject search for "Shakespeare, William" will produce a list of hundreds of subject headings and thousands of books. You can browse through the list of subject headings to find the ones that come closest to your topic. Relevant works can be found using subject headings (Library of Congress) such as:

Books on the history of Shakespeare’s times can also be found using subject headings such as:

You can also find books on Shakespeare, along with editions of his plays and poetry, by browsing the shelves on the third floor between the Call Numbers PR2750 and PR3112.

To find the location of a book in Miller Nichols Library, see the Location Guide.

For books not available through MERLIN or MOBIUS, try:

WorldCat (FirstSearch) Current edition. Save to del.icio.us
A union catalog containing records describing items owned by member academic and public libraries around the world. Each record identifies libraries owning a particular item.

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To Find Articles

Remote (off-campus) access to databases is available only to UMKC students, faculty, and staff. All other users must access online resources within the Libraries. Begin searching by selecting a database. After selection you will be prompted to provide a UMKC Single Sign-On user name and password OR a 9-digit UMKC ID number followed by the letter k (example: 0123456789k) and last name, as needed.

World Shakespeare Bibliography Online, 1964 - present. Save to del.icio.us
"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 between 1964 and 2005. The scope is international."

MLA International Bibliography (Chadwyck-Healey) 1884 - present. Save to del.icio.us
An index to scholarship in literature, linguistics, film, folklore, and cultural studies. The print version of this bibliography is available in the Miller Nichols Library Reference Collection Index Wall Z7006 M64 and covers 1921 - 1999.

The Year's Work in English Studies (Ref PE 58 .E6) 1921 - present.
A selective, evaluative review of scholarship in English, American, and other English-language literatures. Each volume contains an essay devoted entirely to Shakespearean scholarship during that year.

Shakespeare Criticism (Ref PR2965 .S44)
"Excerpts from the criticism of William Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry, from the First Published Appraisals to Current Evaluations."

Center for Research Libraries Catalog
CRL is a collection of newspapers, microform, journals, dissertations and other materials. UMKC is an associate member of the Center for Research Libraries , an academic research library consortium in Chicago with members from over 125 universities and colleges in the United States . Materials at CRL may be borrowed for one semester using interlibrary loan. The CRL online library catalog is also accessible through the MERLIN Library Catalog.

University Libraries Photocopying and Printing Services

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Reference Sources: Encyclopedias, Handbooks, Bibliographies

Reference sources are useful for locating background information, definitions, general descriptions, and basic facts. Use these books to help you select or focus your research topic.

All call numbers in this guide refer to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library, unless otherwise noted. Titles are linked to the corresponding MERLIN Library Catalog record.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

All Things Shakespeare: An Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's World	Ref PR2892 .O56 2002
Dictionary of Shakespeare's Sexual Puns and Their Significance	PR2997 .P8 R82 1984 and Ref PR2997 .P8 R82 1984
Oxford English Dictionary	Ready Ref PE1625 .O87 1989 and Online
Reader's Encyclopedia of Shakespeare	Ref PR2892 .C3
Shakespeare Commentary	Ref PR2892 .B2
Shakespeare Lexicon	Ref PR2892 .S4 1980
Shakespeare's Bawdy	PR2892 .P27 1968 c. 2 and Ref PR2892 .P27 1968

Handbooks

Oxford Companion to Shakespeare

Ref PR2892 .O94 2001

Bibliographies

Garland Shakespeare Bibliographies
Henry V	Ref PR2812 .C36 1983
Henry VIII	Ref PR2817 .M5 1988
King Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, and 3	Ref PR 2813 .H5 1984
Richard II	Ref PR 2820 .R62 1988
Richard III	Ref PR 2821 .M66 1986

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Historical Sources

Bullough, Geoffrey. Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare
(PR2952 .B8) 8 volumes
Excerpts of historical sources for Shakespeare's plays. Volumes 3 and 4 cover the English history plays.

Corbett's Parliamentary History of England / Hansard's Parliamentary Debates
(First Floor Microcard, 6 x 9, N-B 2759 ; 2760 ; 2761 ; 2762)
The microcard collection contains reports or debates for the period 1066-1948. Reports for the period 1066 to 1803 are contained in Corbbett's The Parliamentary History of England. The Debates are frequently cited as "Hansards," the name of the firm which compiled and published them for most of the 19th Century. Before l909, the Debates contained the proceedings of both houses of Parliament within the same volume. The microcard collection contains an index at the end of each volume plus some general indexes covering more than one session. (note from Major Microforms Sets - First Floor)
Early English Text Society. Publications (Original Series)
(Ground Floor Microfiche, 3 x 5, N-B 3023-5215)
A collection of early English literature including texts from English history, biography, records, political pieces, and religious and church documents. For access use Lists of Publications I. Classified Survey, II. Order of Publications (MicroRef PR 1119. A1 Z2 1931; Ref PR 1119. A1 Z2 1931).
Some titles are also available in print. Search the MERLIN Library Catalog under the Title: Early English Text Society (Series) or the specific title of the item, if known.

Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Journal
(First Floor Microcard, 6 x 9, N-B 4529)
The Microcard collection of House of Commons Journal covers the period 1547-1900. Journals present the official account of the proceedings of Parliament; some years include the main arguments of speeches given in Parliament. Cumulative indexes on microcards covering multiple volumes are located in a separate box at the end of the Journals. (note from Major Microforms Sets - First Floor)

Great Britain. Privy Council. Acts of the Privy Council of England
(Ground Floor Microfiche, 3 x 5, N-B 840)
Includes the Acts, 2nd series, vols. 17-43 (1588-1628). An index is available at the end of each volume in the set.
Acts for the years 1542 - 1550 and 1587 -1588 are also available in the print collection on the fourth floor J301.N48. Acts for 1629 -1630 are on the fourth floor at J301 .N551.
Great Britain. Public Record Office. Calendars of State Papers Edward VI, Mary, Elizabeth I, and James I (Domestic Series). 1547-1625; Charles I (Domestic Series). 1625-1649
(Ground Floor Microfiche, 3 x 5, N-B 828 and N-B 829)
State Papers are the records of the King's Secretary and later the Secretaries of State. The "calendars" are abstracts of the State Papers. Access is available through indexes at the end of each volume in microfiche set and through Guide to the Contents of Public Record Office, Vol.2 (Ref CD1043 .A553). (note from Major Microforms Sets - Ground Floor)
Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland
(DA130 .G74 1965)

Shakespeare in Context: Source Material on Microfilm Relating to Shakespeare's Life, Times & Works
(Ground Floor Microfilm, N-B 6827)
Part D Shakespeare's Sources on Reel 7 includes selections from Holinshed's The Third Volume of the Chronicles, 1587 and William Baldwin et al., A Myrroure of Magistrates, with speeches by Mowbray, Richard II, Owen Glendower, Henry Percy, and Richard, Earl of Cambridge. A guide to the microfilm is available through Shakespeare in Context (Ref PR2893 .S434 1982 ; MicroRef PR2893 .S434 1982).

Three Centuries of Drama. English, 1500-1800; American 1714-1830
(First Floor Microcard, 6 x 9, N-B 2670 ; 2671 ; 2672)
Includes quartos of Shakespeare's plays, published within his lifetime, in N-B 2670:1. Access to the set is available through Three Centuries of English and American Plays: A Checklist , G. W. Bergquist ( Ref Z2014 .D7B45 , MicroRef Z2014 .D7B45 ).

Web Resources

Complete Works of William Shakespeare (www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html)
Folger Shakespeare Library (www.folger.edu/)
Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet (shakespeare.palomar.edu/)
Yahoo! Shakespeare (dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/Literature/Authors/Playwrights/Shakespeare__William__1564_1616_/)

Use search engines linked on the Internet Search Tools page to identify additional Web resources.

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Videotapes and DVDs

To find videorecordings or DVDs of Shakespeare's plays, search the MERLIN Library Catalog through the Advanced Search option, using Shakespeare or the title of a specific play as the search term and limiting the material type to Proj Medium.

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For further assistance, please contact the
Miller Nichols Library Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534.

Created and maintained by Diane Hunter

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Miller Nichols Library
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