This guide is intended for students studying English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford, although any students working in this field may find it useful.
Use this guide to find out about books and online resources for Shakespeare, including ebooks, ejournals and bibliographic databases.
This guide is intended as a quick introduction to some of the key online resources for Shakespeare available via SOLO as well as some freely available web resources.
The databases can help you locate references to books and journal articles on a particular topic, as well as providing electronic access to the full-text of poems, plays, book reviews and bibliographies. You can print, download or email information retrieved from most of these. Other recommended peer-reviewed web resources can also provide you with valuable research tools.
For access to the majority of resources covered in this guide go to the ‘English’ section of the subject list on Databases A-Z. You will find the Shakespeare Collection and the Arden Shakespeare under the sub-heading ‘Author-specific resources’; Cambridge Collections Online is listed under ‘Reference & Criticism’. Alternatively, you can search for each separate resource in the Title List option. Film resources are listed under the Film Studies subject area.
In Trinity Term 2026 we will be offering training sessions aimed at English second-year students studying the Shakespeare paper. These sessions will support students in finding and using online resources that will be of particular use for Shakespeare research.This section will be updated when specific dates are scheduled.
| Bodleian First Folio | Understanding Shakespeare |
| Shaksper: The Global Electronic Shakespeare Conference | The Folger Shakespeare Library |
| Internet Shakespeare Editions | Folger Digital Texts |
| Rare Book Room | Shakespeare in Quarto (British Library) |
| The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust | MIT Global Video & Performance Archive |
| World Shakespeare Bibliography | Shakespeare's Words an online version of David and Ben Crystal's glossary and language companion. |