International Journal of Library & Information Science (IJLIS)
Volume 6, Issue 1, Jan–Feb 2017, pp. 41–50, Article ID: IJLIS_06_01_005
Available online at
http://www.iaeme.com/IJLIS/issues.asp?JType=IJLIS&VType=6&IType=1
Journal Impact Factor (2016): 8.2651 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com
ISSN Print: 2277-3533 and ISSN Online: 2277-3584
© IAEME Publication
ANALYSIS OF FREE WEBSITES SUPPORTING THE
LEARNING OF SHAKESPEAREAN LITERATURE
Patricia Robin
Research Scholar, Bharathiar University,
Librarian, St. Michael’s College, Cherthala, Kerala, India.
Dr. P. Joshi George
Research Guide, Bharathiar University,
Librarian, St. Albert’s College, Ernakulam, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
Free Websites assist learning in several ways. To what extend are they helpful is always a
question. In the case of the free websites supporting the learning of Shakespearean Literature, a
content analysis is made, to find out whether the usually sought attributes are available. The
websites under study are evaluated with regard to the syllabus assigned to top institutions in India
offering English Literature study. A librarian can make use of this tailored information to support
his clientele of the respective genre. Also, the findings can be used to improvise the respective
websites content.
Key words: Website, Content analysis, Shakespeare.
Cite this Article: Patricia Robin and Dr. P. Joshi George, Analysis of Free Websites Supporting
the Learning of Shakespearean Literature. International Journal of Library & Information Science,
6(1), 2017, pp.41–50.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJLIS/issues.asp?JType=IJLIS&VType=6&IType=1
1. INTRODUCTION
Internet has become inevitability in all walks of life. Learning and teaching is highly dependent on the
World Wide Web since the amount of information on the websites are enormous (Nim Park , Son 2009)[1].
Accessibility and availability has catered to the popularity of these teaching and learning websites. But
how far are these educational websites helpful? Are they on a par with each other? Or do they differ to the
extent that some has established their credibility and dependability over the others? The answers to all
these questions can be deciphered only by analysing these websites. But the analysis or evaluation of
educational website is a subject area that has not had a lot of published research (Boklaschuk, Caisse
2001)[2].
1.1. Research Focus
Analysis or Evaluation of a website can be organized from different perspectives. On making literature
review it was noticed that majority of the evaluation was based on Authorship, Accuracy, Currency,
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41
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Patricia Robin and Dr. P. Joshi George
Credibility, Point of view, etc. (Susser,B 2006)[3]. But a different kind of evaluation is possible by
analyzing the content of the website, to find out how each website enables its users to fetch the expected
items from these sites (Ya-Ting C. Yang, Chia Ying Chan 2008)[4]
The free websites supporting the study of English literature on the World Wide Web is very large in
number. Hence the study has been confined to those websites supporting the learning of Shakespeare. The
websites short-listed for study is analysed thoroughly to find out to what extent they support university and
college level learning
1.2. Why Shakespeare?
Shakespeare has stood the test of time. He can never be outdated. Though his works have been limited to a
few syllabi these days, they are still very much contemporary. The greatest evidence is that browsing
through the available free websites; it was found that there are several websites hosted with the complete
works of Shakespeare. They contain 38 plays in all written by Shakespeare plus the sonnets and poems.
1.3. Website Content Structure
The plays are categorised into Tragedies, Comedies, Tragicomedies, Comitragedies etc. Another kind of
categorization is Roman Plays, Historical Plays etc. The plays are also categorized as per the year of its
composition. Along with this the four long poems and the 154 sonnets are dealt with, in detail.
Above all this, learners of Shakespeare look out for certain other information associated with the play
and the further learning of the play.
Though Shakespeare is said to have written in Modern English (English from 15th Century onwards is
called Modern English), the learners of the modern era find it difficult to understand the rich poetic
language of Shakespeare. Hence with paraphrasing provided parallel, the learners find it more useful.
1.4. Objectives
•
•
•
To find out whether the websites cater to the syllabus of the English teaching institutions under study.
To what extend these websites are tailored to support the English Literature students, in studying
Shakespeare.
To find out what improvements can be brought out on these websites, so that they become more fulfilling.
2. METHODOLOGY
Five leading institutions in India (Universities and Colleges), providing English as a subject of study in the
Post-Graduate and Under-Graduate level were first opted. Their detailed syllabus was perused and that part
catering to the study of Shakespeare was identified. The total number of Plays, Sonnets and Poems
tabulated. The Websites taken up for evaluation is studied in detail, and the various attributes provided by
each website, to support the study of Shakespeare is tabulated. A sixteen point scale with the various
attributes of these free websites, in connection with Shakespeare learning, which is usually made use of by
the English Literature students is devised. Of the various websites available on the internet, the stipulated
five websites were shortlisted, on the basis of student-familiarity with these websites. The researcher, who
had been an English teacher for fifteen years, has found that these are the five websites usually used by
students while learning Shakespeare.
2.1. Data Analysis
For the purpose of this study, a list of five websites catering to the study of Shakespeare has been taken for
analysis. (Table: 1)
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Analysis of Free Websites Supporting the Learning of Shakespearean Literature
Table 1
Sl.No.
Websites
URL
1.
The Ultimate Free Shakespeare resource
http:/www.playshakespeare.com
2.
Open source Shakespeare
http:/www.opensourceshakespeare.org
3.
Absolute Shakespeare
http:/ www. absolute shakespeare.org
4.
William Shakespeare
http:/www.williamshakespeare.info
5.
Shakespeare Resource Centre
http:/www.bardweb.net
3. ANALYSIS OF WEBSITES
On analyzing the websites, each website provides the following attributes
3.1. www.playshakespeare.com[5]
The broad categorization of this website portrays the following attributes of Shakespeare
Each play or work of Shakespeare when taken up furnishes the following details
•
•
•
•
•
•
Synopsis: Perfect summary of the play with the character highlighted
Character: Each character described with the analysis as to what his/her contribution to the plot of the play
is.
Scenes: Each scene by scene is clearly depicted. The user can pick up that particular scene of his
requirement, and not continuously browse.
Full Play: The full text can be made available on logging in or registering in to the website.
First Folio: The original form of stipulated plays. A fool’s cap paper folded into two with the original
spellings, spelling mistakes, anomalies etc. – the authentic version.
Reviews: Theatre productions based on Shakespeare’s plays are reviewed for the purpose of marketing
them. The collection of those reviews is included. The number of reviews varies from play to play.
3.2. Open Source Shakespeare[6]
The features of Open Source Shakespeare are Plays, Sonnets, Concordance, Character Search and
Advanced Search. Concordance search can be made by ‘Exact Spelling’, “First part of the word’ or ‘Any
part of the word’
The plays are displayed according to their genre, by the number of words, by number of speeches, by
character list and by character search.
Regarding the Sonnets and Poems, individual sonnets as well as sonnets compared side-by-side are
portrayed. Added to this all sonnets and all poems are also included. Every Play is given scene by scene,
act by act, so that the reader does not have to browse the entire play for the required purpose. Each
character is portrayed with every speech of his - cue speech, truncated speech and complete speech.
Open Source Shakespeare is more than just a collection of texts. It attempts to be the best free Web site
containing Shakespeare's complete works. It is intended for scholars, thespians, and Shakespeare lovers of
every kind. OSS includes the 1864 Globe Edition of the complete works, which was the definitive singlevolume Shakespeare edition for over a half-century.
The limitation of the website is that it does not provide other features like Reviews, Discussion Forums
or Extended Reading suggestions.
3.3. www.absolute Shakespeare.org[7]
William Shakespeare: Shakespeare is renowned as the English playwright and poet whose body of
works is considered the greatest in history of English literature.
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Patricia Robin and Dr. P. Joshi George
Shakespeare Plays: All the plays from 'All's Well That Ends Well' to 'Twelfth Night' in the complete
original texts with summaries. Divided into comedies, histories and tragedies.
Sonnets All of the Bard's 154 sonnets including the much acclaimed sonnet 18: "Shall I compare thee
to a summer's day..."
Pictures: Engraving of paintings of William Shakespeare and those inspired by his famous plays.
Indexed by play and accompanied by the text inspiring the painting.
Bard Facts: Trivia about the world's most famous bard from words coined by the bard to his
marriage.
Biography: Everything you would ever want to know about the immortal Bard's life and more.
Authorship Debate: The controversial debate on who really wrote the complete works continues to
rages unabated to this very day.
Quiz: Test knowledge regarding the bard by taking agrueling quiz, answers include
Summaries: Shakespeare summaries provide a quick and easy guide to Shakespeare's most famous
plays. Divided by act, the summaries make an ideal introduction.
Poems: The complete collection of the Bard's poetry in the original text including A lover's complaint
and Venus and Adonis.
Quotes: Over 130 of the most famous quotes from the Bard's complete works indexed by play.
Globe Theatre: The story of how the Bard created one of the greatest theatres of all time, the playhouse
is also where he first performed many of his greatest plays.
Films: The ultimate list of all film adaptations of the complete works, there are well over 250 movies
to date.
Bibliography: The complete list of the plays, poems and sonnets attributed as written by the Bard.
Timeline: Describes the many chapters in the immortal Bard's colorful life from birth, his
disappearance, marriage, his death and ending in the printing of the First Folio in 1623.
3.4. www.williamshakespeare.info[8]
The main inclusions of this website are the following
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
William Shakespeare Plays
William Shakespeare
Bubonic Plague
Shakespeare Plays
Macbeth Shakespeare
Shakespeare 'S Globe Theatre
Shakespeare’s Sonnets
William Shakespeare Quotes
Shakespeare
Of this ‘William Shakespeare’ gives detailed information on
•
•
•
•
•
List of Shakespeare’s Plays
Shakespeare’s Comedies
Shakespeare’s Histories
Shakespeare’s Sources
Shakespeare’s Problem Plays
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Analysis of Free Websites Supporting the Learning of Shakespearean Literature
Under Shakespeare’s Sonnets’, we have the sonnets analysed to the various approach of Shakespearean
sonnets. The difference between the Shakespearean sonnet and the Petrarchan sonnet is also described.
3.5. Shakespeare Resource Centre (SRC)[9]
Shakespeare Resource Centre offers the following Shakespeare's Biography: A brief biography of William
Shakespeare, from his baptism to the inscription on his tomb at Holy Trinity in Stratford. Also includes a
link to the full text of Shakespeare's very own last will and testament.
Shakespeare's Works: A summary overview of the four periods of Shakespeare's works, including links
to online editions of the plays and Shakespearean criticism. See also the SRC's play synopses, poetry page,
and Scenes and Monologues page for acting resources.
Shakespeare News: Selected sources from around the Web so that SRC visitors can keep on top of the
latest news and topics about William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare's Language: Links and a Shakespeare Resource Center guide to the Bard's English
including a searchable glossary. Also includes a Speech Analysis: Selected Readings section exclusive to
the SRC.
Authorship Debate: Who wrote the works of Shakespeare? Edward de Vere? Francis Bacon?
Christopher Marlowe? Information about and links to the opposing points of view.
The Globe Theatre: A brief history of Shakespeare's Globe from its construction in 1598 to the New
Globe, completed in 1996 in Southwark.
Elizabethan England: Because you have to understand England and the times in which Shakespeare
lived to appreciate fully the literature.
SRC Features: An at-a-glance guide to all the original content compiled for the Shakespeare Resource
Center.
Shakespearean Study: The most valuable online resources you'll find about Shakespeare (besides this
site, of course).
Reading List: For further reading about Shakespeare, because most of the best research resources are
still only available in print (something or the other about copyright law).
Theatre Companies: Links to selected theatre companies specializing in Shakespeare, because nothing
beats seeing a play live.
4. INSTITUTIONS SELECTED FOR STUDY
The top five Institutions offering Shakespearean Literature for study was opted.
To rank these websites, the method adopted is to take up the syllabus of the Post-graduate course and
Under-graduate courses of the top institutions of India offering English Literature learning. The contents of
the five free websites supporting learning of Shakespeare, are analysed by finding out to what extent they
can be made use of in learning the syllabus prescribed.
The following (Table:2) shows the Institutions taken up for study.
Table 2
Sl.No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Name of the Institution
English and Foreign Languages University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Delhi University
Loyola College
Mumbai University
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45
Place
Hyderabad
Delhi
Delhi
Chennai
Mumbai
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Patricia Robin and Dr. P. Joshi George
4.1. Syllabus of the Institutions taken up for Study
The Shakespeare part of the syllabus of the respective Institutions prescribed for study is (Table: 3)
Table 3
Sl.No.
1.
2.
3.
Name of the
University
English and
Foreign
Languages
University
Jawaharlal
Nehru
University
Delhi
University
4.
Loyola
College
5.
Mumbai
University
Shakespeare Syllabus
In PG Course
Shakespeare Syllabus
In UG Course
Othello
Sonnets: 30,65
Hamlet
Othello, Macbeth
King Lear
The Comedy of Errors Cymbeline
Measure for Measure
Pericles - Prince of Tyre
The Taming of the Shrew
Troilus and Cressida
King Lear
Tempest
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Hamlet
Sonnets: 18,29, 73, 94,110, 116, 129,
130,138.
Julius Caesar
Merchant of Venice
Othello
Twelfth Night
Richard II
Midsummer Nights Dream
Sonnet: 116
Macbeth
Twelfth Night
Sonnet: 116
Macbeth
Twelfth Night
Sonnets: 57,67,75
Twelfth Night
Antony and Cleopatra
Hamlet
As You Like It
The Taming of the Shrew
Romeo and Juliet
Henry IV (Part One)
King Lear
The Tempest
Midsummer Nights Dream
Romeo and Juliet
The proportion of Shakespeare prescribed by each university is as follows (Table:4)
Table 4
Sl.No.
Name of the Institution
1.
English and Foreign Languages
University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Delhi University
Loyola College
Mumbai University
2.
3.
4.
5.
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No. of Plays No. of Sonnets
11
2
4
4
15
2
1
12
0
1
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Analysis of Free Websites Supporting
Supporting the Learning of Shakespearean Literature
No. of Plays
English and Foreign Languages
University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Delhi University
Loyola College
Mumbai University
Figure 1 Proportion of plays prescribed by each university
No. of Sonnets
English and Foreign Language University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Delhi University
Loyola College
Mumbai University
Figure 2 Proportion of sonnets prescribed
ribed by each university
4.2. Analysis of the Syllabus
On analyzing the syllabus, what we find is that, these 5 Institutions offering Post graduate and under
graduate courses for English, taken for sample study reveals that “Shakespeare’s Works’, is still included
in the curriculum. (These works were written in
i the 15th century, but the quality they hold has helped them
to stand the test of time). That part of the syllabus highlighting Shakespeare is tabulated above. On
consolidation of the particular excerpt of the syllabus offered by different universities and
an institutions
under study is that the following are still relevant in the latest syllabus too. They are of his 154 sonnets
most of them are in large number or lesser number prescribed for study in the above universities.
The next step in the study is to analyse
analyse which of the free websites taken up for sample study supports
the learning of the Shakespeare syllabus prescribed by the stipulated universities under study
For the purpose of this study, a list of five websites catering
catering to the study of Shakespeare taken for
analysis follows.
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47
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Patricia Robin and Dr. P. Joshi George
5. CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE WEBSITES
The websites under study are the following and for easy plotting of graphs, websites are given the
following corresponding alphabetical representation. (Table:5)
Table 5
Sl.No
Name of the Website
Alphabetical Representation
1.
www.playshakespeare.com
A
2.
www.opensourceshakespeare.org
B
3.
www.shakespeare.mit.edu
C
4.
www.williamshakespeare.info
D
5.
www.bardweb.net
E
Table: 6 shows the attributes in the 16 point scale possessed (tick mark) by each website to study
Shakespeare, and the attributes which are absent is denoted by the ‘x’ mark. To calculate the total value
each ‘tick’ is given ‘one’ point score
Table 6
Sl.No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Attributes
Website A Website B Website C Website D Website E
Complete Plays
Synopsis
Characters
Scenes/Acts
Folio
Criticism
Related Essays
Sonnets
Poems
Review
Documents
Source Material
Study Guide
Reading List
Commentary
Shakespeare’s life/biography
Total
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x
x
x
x
x
x
x
10
48
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
5
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
6
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
8
11
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Analysis of Free Websites Supporting
Supporting the Learning of Shakespearean Literature
Attributes
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Attributes
Figure 3 Percentage contribution of each website
5.1. Percentage contribution of each website
Each website was analysed to find out, what percentage of contribution each website makes towards the
syllabus’ prescribed by the institutions under study. (Table:7)
Table 7
Sl.No.
Name of the Website
Percentage Value
1.
www.playshakespeare.com
62.5
2.
www.opensourceshakespeare.org
31.25
3.
www.shakespeare.mit.edu
37.5
4.
www.williamshakespeare.info
5.
www.bardweb.net
50
68.75
Percentage Value
www.playshakespeare.com
www.opensourceshakespeare.org
www.shakespeare.mit.edu
www.williamshakespeare.info
www.bardweb.net
Figure 4 Percentage value of each website
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Patricia Robin and Dr. P. Joshi George
6. CONCLUSIONS
Of the five websites, the website www.bardweb.com caters best to the syllabus prescribed by the
institutions taken up for study. It satisfies 68.75 % of the requirement of the syllabus prescribed for study.
Of the sixteen point scale this website scores 11 points. The second in position is
websitewww.playshakespeare.com (62.5%). What makes it retract to the second position is that, when
compared to www.bardweb.com it does not provide attributes like ‘criticism’ and ’reading list’. Websites
www.william shakespeare.info, www.shakespeare.mit.edu.and www.opensourceshakespeare takes the 3rd,
4th, and 5th positions respectively. The percentage value of the other websites are 50%, 37.5%,31.25% .
From the above study made it can be concluded that, for studying Shakespeare, all the 5 wesites
pertaining to Shakespeare can be made use of, but the recommended one would be www.bard.com to be
followed by www.playshakespeare.com.
7. SUGGESTIONS
Websites www.william shakespeare.info, www.shakespeare.mit.edu. and www.opensourceshakespeare
can be improved by incorporating synopsis, characters, scenes/acts, folios, reviews, source materials, study
guide, reading list etc. In comparison to the other websites www.opensource Shakespeare caters least to the
learning of Shakespeare literature. It does not comply to many of the features extended by other websites
under study. The website can cater better if the features are altered accordingly.
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Nim Park, Chan, and Jeong-Bae Son. "Implementing computer-assisted language learning in the EFL
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[2]
Boklaschuk, Kelli, and Kevin Caisse. "Evaluation of educational
Communications and Technology, Univertisty of Saskatchewan (2001).
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Yang, Y. T. C., & Chan, C. Y. (2008). Comprehensive evaluation criteria for English learning websites
using expert validity surveys. Computers & Education, 51(1), 403-422
[4]
Susser, B., & Robb, T. N. (2004). Evaluation of ESL/EFL instructional web sites. New perspectives on
CALL for second language classrooms, 279-296.
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[6]
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[9]
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websites." Educational
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