ENG 324 Stavreva
Block 3—2012
A Guide to Library Resources
Conducting Research about Shakespeare’s Language
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)— Also known as the OED, this is the accepted authority on the
evolution of the English language over the last millennium.
From the OED: “The aim of this Dictionary is to present in alphabetical series the words that have
formed the English vocabulary from the time of the earliest records [ca. AD740] down to the present
day, with all the relevant facts concerning their form, sense-history, pronunciation, and etymology. It
embraces not only the standard language of literature and conversation, whether current at the moment,
or obsolete, or archaic, but also the main technical vocabulary, and a large measure of dialectal usage
and slang.”
Organization: The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the definitive source for English word
history. Each entry includes four distinct parts:
1. Identification (if the word is obsolete, the entry will be preceded by the dagger symbol ( )).
• Accepted and variant spellings (Note: 1=before 1100; 2=12 century, 3=13th century; 5-7=15th17th century; 9=19th century; 20=20th century)
• The pronunciation
• The grammatical designation (part of speech)
2. Etymology
• Derivation (origin of the word)
• Subsequent changes in pronunciation or spelling
• Miscellaneous facts as to the history of the word
3. Signification (meaning or senses of the word—how the word can be used in all of its ways).
• If the word is no longer used with a particular meaning, that entry will be preceded by the
dagger symbol ( ).
4. Illustrative quotations
• Earliest written instance of this word with this meaning arranged chronologically, with date,
author, and title of work. For the plays of Shakespeare, the act, scene, and line number are
listed. For example, in the entry for the word “bloody,” one will find the following reference:
“1605 SHAKES. Macb. II. iv. 23 Is't known who did this more then bloody deed?”, which
means that this word appeared in Macbeth in the second act, scene four, line 23.
Format and availability: We have the OED Online available at our library’s webpage, under
“Electronic Resources.” The OED is also a 20-volume set available in the reference collection at the
library, with the call number REF 423 Ox15.
Librarian: Jen Rouse
[email protected]
Russell D. Cole Library 305, x4466
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Important:
Use this print
button, not
the browser’s
print button!
Type your term
here in the
“Quick Search”
box.
Browse the
list of
words
before and
after your
word to see
related
words.
Shakespeare Concordances
A concordance is an index of words used in a particular literary work or collection of works. For
example, in Spevack’s A Complete and Systematic Concordance to the Works of Shakespeare (REF
822.3 Sp3c), the entry for the word “shrew” has fourteen entries, each providing the text of the line
and indicating the play title, and the act, scene, and line number in which the word appears. Keep in
mind that the edition used in the concordance might not be the same edition that you are using in class,
so don’t be surprised if you discover some discrepancies.
Alternatively, you can view the full-text of Macbeth online at
http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html and use “Control-F” to find a particular
term. However, this perhaps is more cumbersome than using the paper concordance!
Even more fun, however, is David and Ben Crystal's online concordance, Shakespeare's Words
(http://www.shakespeareswords.com/). Here you can search in multiple plays, combos of plays and
poems, etc. Use the Advanced Search features for best results.
Librarian: Jen Rouse
[email protected]
Russell D. Cole Library 305, x4466
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Other Shakespeare Resources
Cole Library holds numerous books about Shakespeare and his language, all with the call number
beginning with 822.3 Sh15. The same call number is used for Shakespeare in the 3rd-floor Reference
Collection and in the 2nd-floor Book Stacks. A few that might be helpful to you in this class are as
follows:
Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to his
Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More
Dictionary of Shakespeare
These two comprehensive
dictionaries cover the
plays, poems, characters,
and background of
Shakespeare’s works.
The Shakespeare Name Dictionary
• This alphabetically arranged dictionary includes every name, proper adjective,
official title, literary and musical title, and place name that appears in the text of
plays and poems of Shakespeare.
A Shakespeare Glossary
• This glossary provides definitions and references for many words used in
Shakespeare’s plays. It focuses particularly on words that Shakespeare used that
are now obsolete.
REF
822.3
Sh15zboy
REF
822.3
Sh15zmc
REF
822.3
Sh15zdav
REF
822.3
Sh15eag
Resources for Interpreting Classical References
In his plays, Shakespeare frequently referred to classical figures from the Greek and Roman world. To
aid in interpreting these references, you might use the following resources:
The Oxford Classical Dictionary
• This comprehensive dictionary includes entries about all aspects of
the classical world.
Oxford Companion to Classical Literature
• This alphabetically arranged reference book provides brief definitions
and explanations of terms, concepts, and important figures in
classical literature.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Allusions
A Dictionary of Classical Reference in English Poetry
Dictionary of Classical Mythology
Room’s Classical Dictionary
REF 938.003 Ox2
REF 880.9 H837o
REF 803 W385m
REF 821 Sm55d
REF 292 B413d
REF 292 R674r
Web resources—be cautious when using web resources as they are not held to any set standard
• Encyclopedia Mythica: http://www.pantheon.org/areas/
• Classical Myth project from University of Victoria: http://web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/myth/
• The Perseus Project: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ (this extensive digital library is used by Classics
scholars to access the original classical sources—images and texts.)
Librarian: Jen Rouse
[email protected]
Russell D. Cole Library 305, x4466
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