Using Gale Literature 

This database is a great place to find topic overviews and other introductory sources that are useful for getting starting ideas on how to read a piece of literature. Topic overviews discuss key themes, stylistic characteristics, and contexts, They may also provide an introduction to some of the criticism on a literary work, without presenting their own argument about it. 

Search Tips

There are many ways you can search this database. One thing you will notice when you start typing in the search box is that you will get many suggestions for search terms; that is, the database will make suggestions and autofill them for you. If you are seeing the right terms, do use the suggestions, and allow the database to format the search for you. 

In the search below, you can see "Richard II" is the search term used. 

• Start by typing in the book title at Name of Work or the character or person you're researching.

When you see the search results, you will see that they are broken up into different types of articles.

• By choosing Topic & Work Overviews you can find articles that will give you a nice summary and overview of the story and/or topic.

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• I suggest looking for topic and work overviews from Shakespeare for Students. Look for articles that include a critical essay and work overview, as in the image below.

Using Gale Ebooks

Gale Virtual Reference Library, also called Gale Books - is a database is great to find topic overviews and additional info about a specific play, person, or character. Use the search tips below to help you navigate to these overview articles. 

Search Tips

This database is a great one to start, as it can often provide you with background articles - articles that give you a definition or summary of a term or concept. Try searching a play or a character, or even the Bard himself, and find articles that can help you answer the who, what, when, where, why, and how kinds of questions.

As shown in the image below, you can search by keyword and see a list of results. Each title is a section or chapter that comes from a larger subject-specific encyclopedia. 

• Use the tools to the left to search for words within a set of articles 
• Limit by Document Type or click on Subjects to see smaller subtopics within the results
• Note also that even though some of the titles of the smaller sections might be the same (Eg. The Tempest), they are each coming from different books and each will cover the topic from a slightly different perspective.

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Using World History in Context

Search the database below to find articles on historical topics. You can find primary sources, as well as articles from newspapers, magazines, journals, and more.

Search Tips

Search the Library Database World History in Context for Reference articles on Shakespearean England.

• As shown in the image below, you can search by keyword - here, his name being the keyword, or you can select 'Browse Topics' at the top and then Shakespeare's England and/or related topics. 

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