Drama

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Finding drama/plays

Search for a play in MARQCAT under its title, such as Raisin in the Sun.

Literature Online (LION) contains over 4,000 plays by 1,200 authors from the late thirteenth century to the early twentieth century; begin search from the "Texts" link in the left column.

Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections: An Author and Title Index to Plays Appearing in Collections Published Between 1900 and 1985 Ref. Desk PN1655 .O88 1988

Inter-play: An online index to Plays in Collections and Anthologies.  This online database contains more than 18,000 entries for plays and is easily searchable by author and/or title.

Reference Books and Handbooks

• The Book of Literary Terms: The Genres of Fiction, Drama, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, and Scholarship Ref. PN44.5 .L45 1999
• The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama Ref. PN1861 .C65 2007
• The Drama Dictionary Ref.PN1625 .H64 1988
• The Facts on File Companion to Classical Drama Ref. PA3024 .T48 2005
• The Facts on File Companion to American Drama Ref. PS330 .F33 2004
• McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: An International Reference Work in 5 Volumes Ref. PN1625. M3 1984
• A Reader's Guide to Modern Irish Drama Ref. PR8789 .S76 1998

Playwrights: Biographical Approaches

Literature Online (LION) has thousands of biographies of playwrights; begin on the "Author" search page.

• American Women Playwrights, 1900-1930: A Checklist Ref. PS 338 .W6 B95 1992
• American Women Playwrights, 1964-1989: A Research Guide and Annotated Bibliography Ref. PS 338 .W6 G38 1993
• Biography Resource Center
• British Dramatists Since World War II Ref. PN451 .D535 v.13
• Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their Plays: A Biographical Directory and Dramatic Index Ref. PS153 .N5 P43 1988
• Contemporary Dramatists Ref. PN1625 .V5 1999
• Early Black American Playwrights and Dramatic Writers: A Biographical Directory and Catalog of Plays, Films, and Broadcasting Scripts Ref. PS153. N5 P44 1990
• Elizabethan Dramatists Ref. PN451. D535 v.62
• International Dictionary of Theatre: Playwrights Ref. PN2035 .I49 1992
• Twentieth-century American Dramatists Ref. PN451 .D535 v.7

Web Sites for Drama

• Academic Info: Drama http://www.academicinfo.net/drama.html
• The EServer Drama Collection http://drama.eserver.org/
• Lit Links http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/litlinks/
• Literary Resources on the Net http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/theatre.html/
• Internet Public Library http://www.ipl.org/  Choose "Literary Criticism"
• The Oxford Shakespeare http://www.bartleby.com/70/
• Voice of the Shuttle http://vos.ucsb.edu/ Search for "drama" or the playwright's name.

Criticism and Bibliographies

Literature Online (LION) is the primary starting point for research on drama.  LION contains bibliographies of the author's works and citations to criticism found in scholarly journals.  LION contains the complete MLA International Bibliography and Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL), which together index critical literature from 1920 to present, along with the full text of over 200 journals.

• American Drama Criticism: Supplement III to the Second Edition Ref. PS332 .E33 1979 Suppl.3
• American Playwrights, 1880-1945: A Research and Production Sourcebook Ref. PS351 .A52 1995
• American Playwrights Since 1945: A Guide to Scholarship, Criticism, and Performance Ref. PS350 .A44 1989
• An Annotated Bibliography of Modern Anglo-Irish Drama Ref. PR 8789 .M55 1981
• Bibliography of Medieval Drama Ref. PN1751 .S865 1972
• Black American Playwrights, 1800 to the Present: A Bibliography Ref. PS153 .N5 A7
• British Playwrights, 1956-1995: A Research and Production Sourcebook Ref. PR 736 .B75 1996
• Classical Greek and Roman Drama: An Annotated Bibliography Ref. PA3024 .F67 1989
• Critical Survey of Drama Ref. PN1625 .C68 2003
• The Crown Guide to the World's Great Plays, From Ancient Greece to Modern Times Ref. PN1655 .S45 1984
• Cumulated Dramatic Index 1909-1949 Ref. PN1655 .C86 1965
• Drama Criticism Ref. PN1601 .D59 1991
• The Essential Shakespeare: An Annotated Bibliography of Major Modern Studies Ref. PR2894 .C53 1993
• Masterplots II: Drama Series Ref. PN6112.5 .M37 2004
• Medieval English Drama: An Annotated Bibliography of Recent Criticism Ref. PR641 .B47 1990
• Modern British Dramatists, 1900-1945 Ref. PN451 .D535 v.10
• Shakespearean Criticism Ref. PR2965 .S44 2007
• World Shakespeare Bibliography
• and other sites recommended for English Literature

As a supplement to these guides, students may find other sources in the Reference Collection helpful for background on the playwright's time period or the topic of the play.  Use MARQCAT, looking under the broad subjects, or ask for suggestions at the Information Desk.