4. Find Sources

Once you've narrowed your topic and thought about keywords, try searching the databases below for literary criticism.
Basic Search: a good first search is Hamlet, followed by the word 'and' and the subtopic. Example below:

Hamlet and revenge

Hamlet and love

Hamlet and death

Databases / Articles

The following databases are the best place to start.

Gale Literature
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Gale Literature allows you to search all of Gale’s literary databases and literature eBook titles in one database.
Gale eBooks: Literature Collection
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Gale eBooks included literature criticism series: Short Stories for Students, Drama For Students, Poetry For Students, Novels for Students, Epics for Students and Shakespeare for Students.
Bloom's Literature
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Writings of Harold Bloom as well as other critics. Features author biographies, overviews, synopses, analyses and literary criticism of thousands of works from novels to poetry to plays, video segments, in-depth full-text entries on literary topics and themes and a literary timeline. Proxy Bypass
EBSCO Literature Databases
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Search 2 EBSCO literary databases at once: Literary Reference Center and Academic Search Premier. Proxy Bypass
National Theatre Collection (from Drama Online)
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30 full-length streaming videos of live theatre performances from the National Theatre (London, England), including Antigone, Hamlet, Frankenstein, and a Streetcar Named Desire.

Gender Identity in Shakespeare's Works
This topic overview from Gale Literature will provide an overview and other reference and literary criticism articles about the theme of Gender Identity in different Shakespeare's plays.
Violence in Shakespeare's Works
This topic overview from Gale Literature will provide an overview and other reference and literary criticism articles of Violence in Shakespeare's plays.

Find More Books

Use the search box below to search for books at the SCC Library.

Find More E-Books

For ebooks, use the databases below.

eBook Collection (EBSCO)
A collection of over 260,000 eBooks including a variety of subjects including history, business, social science, political science, literature, science, medical, technical subjects, etc.. Proxy Bypass
EBook Central
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A collection of over 250,000 eBooks including a variety of subjects including social science, history, literature, business/management, religion, science, medicine, fine arts, education, etc.
Gale eBooks
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Contains Reference books covering many subjects, but primarily in areas of literature and social science (including history), and also some in health and science.

Recommended Books

Shakespeare by Gabriel Egan
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9780748630165
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Shakespeare's Histories by Emma Smith (Editor)
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 1281310808
Publication Date: 2008-08-01
The Plays of Shakespeare by Victor L. Cahn
Call Number: eBook & Central REF PR2987 .C28 2001
ISBN: 0313309817
Publication Date: 2000-10-30
Shakespeare's Characters for Students by Catherine C. Dominic (Contribution by)
Call Number: Central REF PR2989 .S53 1997
ISBN: 9780787613006
Publication Date: 1997-04-01
Hamlet by Joseph Sobran
Call Number: PR2807 .H262 2008
ISBN: 9780761430278
Publication Date: 2008-01-15
Earlier Version also available in
Central Stacks PR2807 .H26237 1990 and online
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Call Number: PR2807 .S45 2005
ISBN: 1775412792
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Hamlet by Harold Bloom (Editor); Brett Foster (Editor)
Call Number: PR2807 .A2 B566 2004
ISBN: 9780791095928
Publication Date: 2008-04-01
Also Available Online
Hamlet by Don Nardo
Call Number: PR2807 .N37 2001
ISBN: 1560068302
Publication Date: 2001-01-01

Recommended Film Resources

Additional film versions listed below:

Hamlet (David Tennant)
Call Number: Streaming
Publication Date: 2009
Hamlet by Kenneth Branagh
Call Number: Central AV PR2807 .A23 H3 2009
Publication Date: 2009
Hamlet (Mel Gibson)
Call Number: Central AV PR2807 .A2 H68 2004
Publication Date: 1990
Hamlet (Ethan Hawke)
Call Number: Central AV PR2807 .A23 A46 2001
Publication Date: 2000

Films on Demand
Educational videos available via streaming to anywhere (off-campus must log in).
Topics cover general academic areas, as well as health science, industrial, and
business/technology related topics. Proxy Bypass
National Theatre Collection (from Drama Online)
- This link opens in a new window
30 full-length streaming videos of live theatre performances from the National Theatre (London, England), including Antigone, Hamlet, Frankenstein, and a Streetcar Named Desire.