LibGuides: Shakespeare: Databases & Web

Web Resources: Elizabethan Era

Clothing in Elizabethan England British Library: Liza Picard describes the laws, trends and standards of hygiene that determined who wore what in Elizabethan England. - See more at: https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/clothing-in-elizabethan-england#sthash.60EcMGue.dpuf
Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England British Library: Liza Picard takes a look at crime in Elizabethan England and describes the brutal punishments offenders received, from whipping and public humiliation to hanging and burning at the stake. - See more at: https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/crime-and-punishment-in-elizabethan-england#sthash.493tYLJP.dpuf
Crime and the Law Internet Shakespeare Editions, University of Victoria, Canada
Education The topics in this section include: Literacy in Renaissance England; The education of boys; The education of girls; The universities
Exploration and New Knowledge (Science) The topics in this section include: A rebirth of knowledge; The humanists; Myth: new subjects to conquer; Copernicus and the solar-centred universe; Paracelsus: alchemy to chemistry; Bacon and the scientific method; Herbs, plants, and animals; The water closet; Machiavelli; Montaigne; The New World
Food in Elizabethan England British Library: The wealthiest Elizabethans ate lavish meals of many courses, while many poorer people didn’t even have their own ovens, and some of the poorest survived on leftover scraps from the rich. Liza Picard describes how class, religion and politics all influenced how Elizabethans shopped for food, cooked and ate.
How were the Jews regarded in 16th-century England? British Library: Jews in 16th-century England practised their religion secretly, and many of those raised in the Jewish faith either converted to Christianity or pretended to have done so. James Shapiro considers Elizabethan prejudices and paranoia about Jews, putting Shakespeare's Shylock in context.
Life in Elizabethan England A Compendium of Common Knowledge: 1558-1603
Marriage and Courtship British Library: Eric Rasmussen explains the complex process of getting married in Shakespeare’s England, and the way this worked for young Will himself. He explores the tension, in Shakespeare’s plays, between the old order, in which fathers chose their daughters’ husbands, and the new order based on mutual love, but still plagued by the threat of infidelity.
The Met: Elizabethan England
Poets & Playwrights
Politics and Government
Power and Government
Puck
Religion The topics in this section include: Elizabeth: the middle path; Churchgoing; Protestantism and the Reformation; The Counter-Reformation; The religion of love: Courtly love; Death: the undiscovered country
Robin Goodfellow (Puck) Internet Shakespeare Editions, University of Victoria, Canada
Shakespeare's London (Social Classes) Early modern London was an expanding metropolis filled with diverse life, from courtiers, merchants and artisans to prostitutes, beggars and cutpurses. Here Professor Eric Rasmussen and Ian DeJong describe the city that shaped Shakespeare's imagination.
The Social Structure in Elizabethan England British Library: Liza Picard describes how, between the Queen at the top and the beggars at the bottom, there was jockeying for position in the different levels of Elizabethan society.
The Supernatural The topics in this section include: Witches and witch-hunts; Ghosts; Folklore; The occult sciences

Web Resources: Shakespeare

British Library: Discovering Literature: Shakespeare Explore a range of articles written by scholars, performers, curators and journalists. - See more at: https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles#sthash.18AONjO0.dpuf
Encyclopedia Mythica Encyclopedia Mythica is an internet encyclopedia on mythology, folklore, and religion.
Open Source Shakespeare Searchable text of the plays.
Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.
The Reformation in Shakespeare (Religion) British Library: Brian Cummings explores the radical religious reforms enacted in Shakespeare's lifetime, and the traces of religion that exist in his plays from Measure to Measure to Hamlet.
Shakespeare's Childhood and Education British Library: From plague in the family to young love, Simon Callow explores Shakespeare's early life as the son of a glove-maker in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Shakespeare's Life British Library: From Stratford to London (and back again), from ‘upstart crow’ to 'wonder of our stage', Andrew Dickson recounts some of the details of William Shakespeare’s life.
Shakespeare's Playhouses British Library: From the open-air Globe to the candlelit Blackfriars, Professor Eric Rasmussen and Ian DeJong explore early modern playhouses.
Shakespeare and Gender British Library: In Shakespeare's day, female parts were played by male actors, while more recently, actresses have taken on some of his most famous male roles such as Hamlet and Julius Caesar. Clare McManus explores gender in the history of Shakespearean performance.
William Shakespeare Essays and literary criticism on Shakespeare and his plays from the Internet Public Library.

Databases

Academic Search Premier
A peer-reviewed multi-disciplinary database with full-text access from the world's leading journals and reference sources. Academic Search Premier provides full text for more than 17,000 journals, including full text for nearly 10,000 peer-reviewed titles. Off campus access available to Connecticut public library card holders and individuals located in Connecticut.
ARTstor
Provides over two million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences with accessible suite of software tools for teaching and research. Its community-built collections comprise contributions from outstanding international museums, photographers, libraries, scholars, photo archives, and artists and artists' estates. Off campus access available.
Biography Reference Bank
contains over 700,000 in-depth and original biography profiles plus the thorough periodicals coverage of Biography Index, full-text articles, page images, and abstracts from the complete range of Wilson databases. Off campus access available to Connecticut public library card holders and individuals located in Connecticut.
Biography Reference Center
Offers a comprehensive collection of more than 430,000 full text biographies, including the complete full text run of Biography Today and Biography Magazine, as well as thousands of unique narrative biographies. Off campus access available to Connecticut public library card holders and individuals located in Connecticut.
Britannica Academic Edition
A general encyclopedia with high quality comprehensive information. The articles are written by scholars and experts in a given field. Articles contain images and links to additional electronic material. Off campus access available.
Credo Reference
A database with over 875 encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauri. Credo also contains over 200,000 images and audio files and nearly 100 videos. Off campus access available.
Digital Theatre+
Digital Theatre+ contains over 600 theatre productions and related educational resources. The productions are from over 50 of the world’s leading arts organizations. Additional resources include: production interviews, essays, documentaries, study guides, theatre history, technical theatre-making process guides, and theatrical techniques.
Ebsco Discovery Service (EDS)
Searches a majority of the Brush Library resources and databases, including PeliCAT, simultaneously in a single interface, and displays results in one unified list. Users have the ability to limit their search to books, eBooks, academic journals, and other resource types. Off campus access available.
History Reference Center
Features full-text for more than 2,000 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books from leading history publishers. The database also includes full text for more than 150 leading history periodicals. Off campus access available to Connecticut public library card holders and individuals located in Connecticut.
JSTOR
Provides access to archival and current issues of more than 2,600 scholarly journals across more than 60 academic disciplines. JSTOR includes scholarly journals, conference proceedings, and primary source materials. Off campus access available.
Scribner Writers Series
Contains more than 2,000 original, scholar-signed bio-critical entries average 15-20 pages each. They include a concise overview, hyperlinks for cross-referencing and information that places the author's work in personal or historical context. Off campus access available.

If you are off campus and the database provides access click here for instructions on accessing databases from off campus.