Secondary Sources for the Study of Early Modern Drama
There is no shortage of material related to Shakespeare and his contemporaries on the web, but not all of it is of the highest quality. The sites below are the best of what seems to be currently available online for Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. If you find a site that you think should be added to this list, or if a link is broken, email me at
todd[underscore]pettigrew[at sign]capebretonu.ca
Criticism |
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| Online Journals | |
| E16: Sixteenth Century English Culture | |
| Ben Jonson Journal | Jonson and his contemporaries |
| Early Modern Culture | |
| Early Modern Literary Studies | a first-rate scholarly journal |
| Renaissance Forum | |
| Print Journals with some Online Content | |
| Shakespeare Bulletin | |
| Books and Guides | |
| Berens, Brad. Shakespearean Stage History from 1660 onwards: A beginner's guide | mainly bibliographic references |
| Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy | a classic of Shakespeare scholarship |
Early Modern Dramatists |
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| Ben Jonson | |
| Ben Jonson | the Luminarium site |
| Christopher Marlowe | |
| Christopher Marlowe | the Luminarium site |
| William Shakespeare -- links for specific plays | |
| Bardware.com | the best feature of this site is the map collection |
| Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare | includes an anthology of plays and a large number of essays |
| The Stratford Monument | Includes fascinating historical images of the monument |
| Mr William Shakespeare and the Internet | the best all-around site |
| Nicholas Rowe's 1709 biography of Shakespeare | the first biography of Shakespeare |
| Shakespeare and his Critics | selection of early criticism from Johnson, Coleridge and others. |
| The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust | interesting general information on Shakespeare's life, culture and plays |
| Shakespeare's Roots | account of Shakespeare's ancestors with pictures of Warwickshire |
| Shaksper | the continuing online Shakespeare conference including archives |
Early Modern History, Culture and Research |
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| Elizabeth I | includes detailed list of links to online essays |
| English monarchs | useful guide to the Kings and Queens |
| English Handwriting 1500-1800 | an online course in reading early modern manuscripts -- for advanced research |
| Luminarium's Renaissance Links | excellent site for early modern literature |
| Perseus | contains several useful reference works |
| Renaissance | |
| W.W. Norton and Company | the Norton Topics Online site |
Databases |
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| Biographical Index of English Drama Before 1660 | includes actors, writers and anyone else connected with the theatre of the period |
| GGRENir | database of internet sites for renaissance intellectual history |
| The Non-Shakespearean Drama Database | catalogue of plays from the period |
| Records of Early English Drama | emphasis on patrons and performances in England |
| Royal Historical Society | extensive database of English and Irish history |
| The Authorship Question | |
| The Shakespeare Authorship Page | the definitive online source for the plain truth that "Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare" |
| The Shakespeare-Oxford Page | Argues for Edward De Vere as Shakespeare. I do not endorse the arguments made here -- they are refuted in the page above. |