Shakespeare: a study and research guide

Abstract

Confronted with the formidable and at times daunting mass of materials on Shakespeare, where does the beginning student - or even a seasoned one - turn for guidance? Answering that question remains the central aim of this guide. Revised and updated, this edition contains concise analyses of more than 100 new books on Shakespeare published since the 1987 edition. It has an expanded section on the history plays and provides separate categories for film and television and for culture studies, focusing upon seasonal festivities, hospitality, courtship rituals, sexuality and other Renaissance social practices. It provides an overview of the development and present state of Shakespeare scholarship and its extraordinary diverse critical approaches - including sections on feminism and gender studies, Shakespeare's Romances, post-structuralism and the new historicism - as well as summaries and evaluations of bibliographies, periodicals, monographs and reference books. For beginning and advanced students alike, the guide offers practical advice for doing research and writing critical papers on Shakespeare - including how to select and develop topics, prepare a working bibliography and outline, take notes, avoid plagiarism and use appropriate documentation following the MLA system. Students should find instructive the model research paper, which provides an easy-to-understand example.