The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 19.0405 Wednesday, 16 July 2008
From: Hardy M. Cook <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Monday, 14 Jul 2008 21:06:54 -0400
Subject: Shakespeare's Words Website
Comment: SHK 19.0399 Shakespeare's Words Website
A number of folks kindly pointed out that I had forgotten to include the URL for
the _Explore Shakespeare's Words_ website. So here is a list of Ben and David
Crystal websites.
_Explore Shakespeare's Words_ is here:
http://www.shakespeareswords.com/Default.aspx
Here is the portal site to Ben and David Crystal's various Shakespeare books:
http://www.theshakespeareportal.com/
There are a lot of cool tables and lists here:
http://www.thinkonmywords.com/
There are some sound recordings here:
http://www.shakespearesmiscellany.com/
There is a Meet the Author video of Ben here:
http://www.shakespeareontoast.com/meet-the-author/
Ben's website is here:
http://www.bencrystal.com/
David's website is here:
http://www.davidcrystal.com/
Perhaps best of all, David's blog:
http://david-crystal.blogspot.com/
******
When David and Ben Crystal devised the website of Shakespeare's Words in 2004,
they passed the management over to the division of a company, Crystal Reference,
which was handling the production of all David's encyclopedia publications. This
division ceased to trade this year, so they have had to institute an alternative
management system to ensure continuity with those using the Shakespeare's Words
site.
Apart from the new look, they have completely rebuilt the engine that drives the
site, in the light of their own usage of it over the past four years, and taking
into account comments and suggestions they had received from other users. It is
now faster and more user-friendly, and several new functions have been added:
*You will now be able to search the entire database at the same time -- that is,
the A-Z section, the various panels, the thematic lists of proper names at the
end of the book, and the other additional material (such as the preface and
dramatis personae). Previously, these elements were held separately on the
website and had to be searched separately. A new style of presentation clearly
distinguishes results belonging to these different elements.
*You will be able to do range searching in individual plays in Advanced Search.
For example, if you want to find whether 'good' is used in the vicinity of
'lord' in Hamlet, you can now find this combination within 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 lines.
*In addition to searching within individual plays, poems, or groups of plays and
poems, you will be able to search separately for usage within individual
characters, within all male vs female characters, within scene directions, and
within prologues and epilogues.
*Sonnets can also be searched in any combination.
*There is greater search flexibility in the Special Features tables.
The biggest change is that they have decided to eliminate the subscription for
individual users, so there will no longer be a log-in requirement. This has been
a 'fingers-crossed' decision. The new site was quite expensive to build, and
there will be annual maintenance costs, so they hope that individual users who
find the site valuable and who use it regularly will wish to make an occasional
donation to ensure that the site stays live, using the Paypal system.
*******
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