British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: Language, Word Play and Text
Prose and verse, wordplay, neologisms, and rhetoric: discover how Shakespeare and Renaissance writers developed innovative and experimental uses of language.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Deception, Drama, and Misunderstanding
Investigate how Shakespeare and Renaissance writers explore miscommunication, dishonesty, trickery, and the nature of theatre.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Interpretations of 'Madness'
From Lear's breakdown to Ophelia's malady, examine how Shakespeare depicts ideas of 'madness'.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Global Shakespeare
Discover how Shakespeare's work was influenced by other cultures, and how in turn it's been interpreted in other nations over 400 years.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Power, Politics, and Religion
A murdered king, a homeless ruler, a man who sells his soul to the Devil: discover how Shakespeare and other Renaissance writers represented power and powerlessness.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Histories
From the staging of disability to the influence of Machiavelli, explore the history plays of Shakespeare and other Renaissance writers.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Tragedies
From Hamlet's melancholy to Juliet's eloquence; and from Othello's misunderstanding to Doctor Faustus's damnation, discover the richness of Shakespearean and Renaissance tragedies.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Comedies
From cross-dressing in Twelfth Night to magical storms in The Tempest; from deception in Much Ado to biting satire in The Alchemist, discover the beauty and complexity of Shakespearean and Renaissance comedies.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Ethnicity and Identity
From Othello and Shylock to depictions of the 'New World' and anti-immigration riots, explore Shakespeare's fascination with ethnic identity.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Renaissance Writers
Uncover the fascinating, colorful lives of Renaissance writers including John Donne, Ben Jonson, and Christopher Marlowe, and explore key features and themes in their groundbreaking plays and poetry.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Poetry
Discover close readings, critical interpretations, and personal responses to Shakespeare's sonnets, the poetry of John Donne, and more.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Elizabethan England
Exploration and trade, crime and punishment, clothing and social structure: explore key aspects of Elizabethan life, culture, and society.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Gender, Sexuality, Courtship and Marriage
From courtship rituals to cross-dressing to love poetry, examine the ways in which Shakespeare and Renaissance writers explored identity, sexuality, and gender roles.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Shakespeare's Life and World
From the open-air Globe to the candlelit Blackfriars; from the countryside to the city; discover the world that shaped Shakespeare's work and influenced his legacy.
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British Library: Teaching Resources: Putting Hamlet in Context: A Summary of Sources
This summary of sources is a quick and easy way to explore the contexts for Hamlet - from ideas on mortality and revenge to traveling players, melancholy, and madness. It will help you make thoughtful connections between the play and the...
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British Library: Teaching Resources: Putting Twelfth Night in Context: A Summary of Sources
This summary of sources is a quick and easy way to explore the contexts for Twelfth Night - from early tales of confusion between twins to ideas about men playing women, women wearing men's clothes, carnival, and topsy-turvy. Included...
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British Library: Teaching Resources: Putting the Tempest in Context: A Summary of Sources
This summary of sources is a quick and easy way to explore the contexts for The Tempest - from early modern ideas about magic, masques, and music, to controversial images and first-hand accounts of shipwreck and colonization. Included...
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British Library: Teaching Resources: Putting the Merchant of Venice in Context: A Summary of Sources
This summary of sources is a quick and easy way to explore the contexts for The Merchant of Venice - from early modern ideas about trade and usury, Venice and Jewish culture to 20th-century productions by both Nazis and Yiddish companies...
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British Library: Teaching Resources: Putting Romeo and Juliet in Context: A Summary of Sources
This summary of sources is a quick and easy way to explore the contexts for Romeo and Juliet - from young love in Shakespeare's day to sonnets and sleeping potions, and from Brooke's 1562 poem on Romeus and Juliet to a 21st-century...
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British Library: Teaching Resources: Putting Othello in Context: A Summary of Sources
This summary of sources is a quick and easy way to explore the contexts for Othello - from sex in early modern Venice and race in Shakespeare's London, to Coleridge's critique of the play and Ira Aldridge's ground-breaking performance....
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British Library: Teaching Resources: Putting Much Ado About Nothing in Context: A Summary of Sources
This summary of sources is a quick and easy way to explore the contexts for Much Ado about Nothing - from ideas on marriage to masked balls and disguises. Included are ideas for activities and a PDF with related information.
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British Library: Teaching Resources: Putting Julius Caesar in Context: A Summary of Sources
This summary of sources is a quick and easy way to explore the contexts for Julius Caesar - from early modern views on ghosts and tyrannicide to later readings of the play in light of fascist ideas. Included are ideas for activities and...
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British Library: Teaching Resources: King Lear: The Disintegration of the Social Structure
These activities encourage students to examine the tensions that characterized the political and social landscape of the early 17th century and to compare these with fears about the disintegration of the social structure expressed in...
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British Library: Teaching Resources: Hamlet: Ophelia, Gender and Madness
In his portrayal of Hamlet and Ophelia, Shakespeare raises troubling questions about gender and madness. These activities encourage students to compare these two central characters, and how they have been used to reflect changing views...