Bible , classical and Shakespeare

[MikeMikeMike]

Three questions in one really... can anyone recommend good resources (of any sort) which can be used to look up references biblical, classical and/or Shakespearean? Also a more general Jacobean resource would be useful.

[Marsh]

A concordance might be what you want for the Bible. You look up a word and it tells you every verse that word appears in and gives the section of of the verse. E.g. under "destroy":- Num21. 2 then I will utterly destroy their cities. 2 utterly destroyed them and their cities If you are looking for a particular phrase it will be there in the list to be found. There is more than one. Try Amazon, say, and choose. A "Shakespearean Concordance" does the same thing for the works of WS. "Shakespeare Concordance" on Amazon will find them, if this is what you wanted

[RevShirls]

Bible Gateway is a good website for checking out Bible verses, passages etc. It is also fairly good as a concordance. http://www.biblegateway.com You can find some Shakespeare quotes on: http://www.quotationspage.com/ There are a number of websites that relate to the resources you are looking for. You didn't say in your question whether it was printed matter you were looking for or websites. A google search on www.google.com would perhaps lead you to what you are looking for.

[MikeMikeMike]

hi. thanks guys. I'm interested in both online resources and printed material, but I'm having trouble finding a concordance which suits my needs (I'm not specifically interested in bible study, and suggestions and allusions in literature do not necessarily follow original wording). As for Shakespeare et al. the problem is again that I'm dealing more with allusion than quotation, which I can deal with just fine. Maybe something that covers the thematic and stylistic angle...? Having said that, thank you again and I shall have a good look at your suggestions.

[Famous5]

Try 'Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'which gives good general references to all thes areas, and explains the sources. Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is also good if it's just sources you want

[RevShirls]

I found a very good extract on Shakespeare from the Encyclop�dia Britannica: http://search.eb.com/shakespeare/macro/5009/50.html It includes the following quote: "Finally, the importance of the Bible for Shakespeare's style and range of allusion is not to be underestimated. His works show a pervasive familiarity with the passages appointed to be read in church on each Sunday throughout the year, and a large number of allusions to passages in Ecclesiasticus (Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach) indicates a personal interest in one of the uncanonical books."

[RevShirls]

Can you just clarify a little? Are you trying to link biblical, classical, shakespeare and jacobean resources to find a connection or are you needing these resources for independent reasons? Clarification will make it easier to respond.

[MikeMikeMike]

Hi. The more I think about what I'm attempting to ask the more confused I become! Primarily I was looking for resources where I track down allusions in later texts to Shakespeare i.e. Shakspeare as a source (and the same applies to biblical, classical, jacobean,... while we're at it anything else in between renaissance and enlightenment... only kidding!) That, I suppose, should remain my question since I'm researching some post modernist texts. However, focus is not necessarily my strong point, so any suggestions of favourite books covering allusion 'in' rather than'to' Shakespeare would be received with open arms. cheers Mike

[MikeMikeMike]

By the way, thanks everyone for your input thusfar. Much easier to go by people's reccomendations than trawling the darker and more misguided corners of the web!

[RevShirls]

Hi Mike, here are a couple of websites that may be of help (one is an abstract and the other is a review)http://www.berens.org/abstract.html http://www.jmucci.com/ER/reviews/thesis.htm The following books are available on www.amazon.co.uk (just a few that look interesting, as Amazon have tons of books and theses on Shakespeare): "Essential Shakespeare Handbook" by Leslie Dunton-Downer and Alan Riding "Shakespeare: The Basics" by Sean McEvoy "Is Shakespeare Still Our Contemporary?" by John Elsom (I thought this looked interesting) "Shakespearean and Jacobean Tragedy" (Cambridge Contexts in Literature S.) by Rex Gibson "Shakespeare and Classical Antiquity Greek and Latin Antiquity As Presented in Shakespeare's Plays" by Anne Stanford and Anne Stapfer These books may or may not be relevant. If any of the titles seem interesting, just key them into the search engine on Amazon. Some of them have reviews.