English Drama: Search Fields

You can search English Drama by the following fields:

• Keyword
• Play Title
• Speaker
• Playwright
• Genre
• Period
• Gender
• Date first performed
• Date first published

You can also use Search Options to refine your search further.

Keyword

From the Search page, you can use the Keyword field to search for any word or phrase contained within a document. To enter terms into the search box:

• browse a list of keywords from which you can select terms to transfer back to the search box;

  or

• type your search terms directly into the Keyword search box. Search terms may consist of either single words or phrases.

For example:

When searching in the Keyword field, you can use truncation to retrieve documents containing variations on a term. If you choose to search for more than one term, you can also combine them using Boolean and proximity searching.

Play Title

From the Search page, you can use the Play Title field to search for any word or phrase contained in the title of a play. To enter items into the search box:

• browse a list of play titles from which you can select terms to transfer back to the search box;

  or

• type your search terms directly into the Play Title search box. Search terms may consist of either single words or phrases.

For example:

Note: Entries in the Play Title browse index include the publication date of the play.

When searching in the Play Title field, you can use truncation to retrieve documents containing variations on a term. If you choose to search for more than one term, you can also combine them using Boolean and proximity searching.

Speaker

You can limit a search to particular speakers in a play. To enter terms in the Speaker search box:

• browse a list of speakers from which you can select items to transfer back to the search box (entries will be preceded by the exact operator);

  or

• type your speaker names directly into the Speaker search box.

For example:

Note: The form in which speakers appear in the Speaker browse index is taken from the copy text: no standardisation of names has been carried out. To retrieve all the speeches of a particular speaker, you might therefore need to select several forms of the speaker's name. For example, you might need to select both 'DUK' and 'DUKE'. You might also need to select the character's name, if he or she is named in the play.

When searching in the Speaker field, you can use truncation to retrieve speeches by speakers with a common or similar name. If you choose to search for more than one speaker, you can also combine them using Boolean searching.

Playwright

You can limit a search to works written by a particular playwright or playwrights. To enter terms in the Playwright search box:

• browse a list of playwrights from which you can select items to transfer back to the search box;

  or

• type your playwright names directly into the Playwright search box.

For example:

When searching in the Playwright field, you can use truncation to retrieve works written by playwrights with a common or similar name. If you choose to search for more than one playwright, you can also combine them using Boolean searching.

Genre

You can limit a search to plays of a particular genre or genres. To enter terms in the Genre search box:

• browse a list of genres from which you can select items to transfer back to the search box;

  or

• type the required genre(s) directly into the Genre search box.

For example:

When searching in the Genre field, you can use truncation to retrieve plays of similar genres. If you choose to search for more than one genre, you can also combine them using Boolean searching.

Period

You can limit a search to a particular period ranging from the thirteenth to the early twentieth century. To restrict your search to a period, select the required term from the Period drop-down list. The default setting is All.

The periods used in English Drama follow the periods used by the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL), and playwrights have been classified in accordance with their NCBEL classifications.

Although the periods cover a defined date span, these dates should not be regarded as the precise date for each play. English Drama follows NCBEL in assigning each playwright to one period only. If a playwright's active dates cross periods, the playwright's works are classified by the period in which the majority of his or her work was written or the period with which he or she is generally associated.

Gender

You can limit a search to works written by either female or male authors.

To restrict your search to a gender, select the required term from the Gender drop-down list. The default setting is Female or Male Authors.

Date first performed/published

You can limit a search to plays performed or published during a specific year or a range of years. The default values appearing in the search boxes represent the earliest and most recent years appearing in each of the fields.

The Date first performed/published fields can be searched in several different ways:

• To search on a range of years, enter the relevant values into the from and to search boxes.

  For example:

• To search on one particular year, enter the same value into both of the search boxes.

  For example:

• To search on a given year and all subsequent years, enter the first date in the range into the From search box.

  For example:

• To search on a given year and all preceding years, enter the later date in the range into the to search box.

  For example:

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