Thursday, September 18, 2008

William Shakespeare lives

Whether you like it or not, Shakespeare's English and the King James Version of the Bible are still the most influential source works for all poetry in English that has come since.  Add to that the Oxford English Dictionary, and you've got the literary trinity of the English Language.

You can access them all on-line:
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (free from MIT)
Oxford English Dictionary (for a fee from OED) or free if you have access through your library, such as users of ENS, Paris).  The Compact Oxford English Dictionary gives much less detail (free from AskOxford.com).

The Bible is available on-line in many versions and translations.  This is a limited selection (all listed here are free):
King James Version (from the University of Virginia) and a data base allowing you to search for keywords and phrases (from the University of Michigan).
Revised Standard Version (from the University of Michigan).
New American Bible (from United States States Conference of Catholic Bishops & Catechism for Adults).

Further your general knowledge of the Torah, Bible and Coran using a virtual exhibit (from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France) and visit the Online Gallery of Sacred Texts (from the British Library).