Background Information
The following databases are great places to begin your research. Think of them as your Wikipedia alternatives.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new windowGVRL is a collection of encyclopedias on various topics. Entries you find here will also lead you to other, more in-depth sources via bibliographies.
- Oxford Reference OnlineIncludes art, music, theatre/performing arts and much more.
- Oxford Dictionary of Plays (avail. in Oxford Reference)Provides essential information on the best-known, best-loved, and most important plays in world theatre. Each entry includes details of the title, author, date of writing, date of first performance, genre, setting, and composition of cast; there is also a summary of the play's plot, and a brief commentary.
Primary Sources
These databases contain historical documents that may help contextualize your play and playwright. Find a full list of primary source databases here: http://library.hunter.cuny.edu/databases/type/13
- 17th & 18th Century Burney Collection This link opens in a new windowEarly English newspapers from London, the British Isles and the colonies.
- 18th Century Collections Online This link opens in a new windowOver 200,000 volumes of works published in the UK and elsewhere during the 18th Century.
- 19th Century Collections Online This link opens in a new windowVast archive of books, newspapers, diaries, photographs, sheet music, maps, pamphlets and more documenting the 19th Century.
Context and Criticism
Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre by Call Number: PN2111 .O95 1995ISBN: 019212997XWe have two copies of this book: one in the reference collection on the 4th floor, and one in the circulating stacks.
ACLS Humanities ebook Collection
- over 4000 ebooks in the humanities
- contains historical and critical analysis of subjects in the humanities including drama
- Excellent source for contextualizing your work
- Sample titles: Political and Social Theory, Regional Histories (various locations around the world), The Cambridge History of American Theatre (3 volumes), The Cambridge History of British Theatre (2 volumes)
- Over 45,000 academic titles from all areas of study
- Interface allows users to underline and make notes, save titles to a personal book shelf, link out to other sources, and print up to 50 pages, dowload chapters and books to certain e-readers (see help menu for details)
- Sample titles: Localizing Caroline Drama: Politics and Economics of the Early Modern English Stage, 1625-1642; Barbarous Play: Race on the English Renaissance stage
The Oxford encyclopedia of theatre & performance by Call Number: PN2035 .O94 2003, v.1-2ISBN: 0198601743
Shakespeares after Shakespeare : an encyclopedia of the Bard in mass media and popular cultureCall Number: PR2880.A1 S48 2007ISBN: 9780313331169
