Shakespeare and the Classical Tradition: An Annotated Bibliography, 1961-1991

This bibliography will give comprehensive coverage to published commentary in English on Shakespeare and the Classical Tradition during the period from 1961-1985. Doctoral dissertations will also be included. Each entry will provide a clear and detailed summary of an item's contents. For pomes and plays based directly on classical sources like Antony and Cleopatra and The Rape of Lucrece, virtually all significant scholarly work during the period covered will be annotated. For other works such as Hamlet, any scholarship that deals with classical connotations will be annotated. Any other bibliographies used in the compiling of this volume will be described with emphasis on their value to a student of Shakespeare and the Classics.

Library Journal

Shakespeare's use of classical references is a rich and varied subject. With the plays alone, there is Ovid's influence on Twelfth Night, the question of just what in Elizabethan politics drove the theme of honor in Troilus and Cressida, and the rich line of Hamlet's antecedents (Orpheus, Hercules, Orestes, and Aeneas). As this outstanding bibliography attests, the body of work that studies the connections between Shakespeare and his classical roots is also rich and varied. Walker (English, Univ. of North Carolina, Wilmington) has gathered 3210 works in English published between 1961 and 1991 that all treat the classical in Shakespeare. The bibliography is conveniently broken into three sections: general bibliographies, surveys, and reference works; general works; and sections on individual titles. Entries consist of books, articles, book chapters, essays, dissertations, other bibliographies, and reference works. Many of the entries are annotated in great detail, so much so that scanning the selections will give one a general feeling for the state of scholarship in a given area. Three indexes (by author of the bibliographical entry, name of Shakespeare's work, and subject) create multiple points of access to the contents. This well-introduced and thoughtfully indexed work is an essential purchase for all academic libraries. Neal Wyatt, Chesterfield Cty. P.L. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.