Exploring Shakespeare is an authoritative, curriculum‐driven multimedia package on William Shakespeare’s life and times and his plays that are most studied in high school and college. Full‐text plots and summaries are provided for Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. For example, the student doing a report on Hamlet will find: an introduction to the play; a list of themes in Hamlet and essays on those themes; plot synopsis by act; critical essays on the main characters; descriptions of all the characters in the play; full text of the play from the 2nd edition of the Arden Shakespeare; notes explaining the text; an essay on historical context to give perspective on the times in which Hamlet is set; research/study topics; and sources for further study.
Other features available include: a lengthy biography of William Shakespeare; more than 100 character descriptions; over 108 critical essays, 48 thematic essays, 30 character essays, one on Elizabethan theater and the Globe Theater; a timeline of approximately 150 literary and world events to place Shakespeare and the plays within their proper context; primary documents, including Shakespeare’s will; a 32‐page teacher’s guide; and the Merriam Webster’s 10th Collegiate Edition Dictionary.
System requirements include: 80386 or higher IBM/IBM compatible computer; DOS 5.0 or higher; MS‐DOS CD‐ROM extensions (MSCDEX) version 2.2 or higher; 8 megabytes of RAM; 5 megabytes of free hard disk space; SVGA graphics card and monitor (256 color display); 8‐bit (or higher) Sound‐Blaster‐compatible sound card with Windows 3.1‐compatible drivers and speakers or headphones (optional); CD‐ROM player; Windows compatible mouse or pointing device.
Installation is easy, and is explained in a very user‐friendly User’s Manual. The documentation provided with this resource is excellent. The user’s manual has illustrations from the software to guide the user through the information. There is also a 1‐sheet HelpCard for Windows provided for quick searching. The teacher’s guide is an excellent resource.
In viewing this resource, the only problem I had was with some of the primary material that is included in the software. For instance, a visual image of Shakespeare’s original will, as well as a letter, were unintelligible and unreadable. The scanned images were not of a good quality. Otherwise, I would highly recommend this software as a resource for English teachers of high school to college‐age students. I think that the $300 cost is reasonable; and there are options available for multiusers at an additional cost. Norman Desmarais Acquisitions Librarian Providence College Providence, RI 02918 401‐865‐2241 401‐865‐2823 fax.
