English Literature->Drama->By period->17th century/Restoration
English Literature->Drama->By period->18th century
English Literature->Drama->Theater&Film
General Resources->Cultural and Historical Contexts
English Literature->Theory & Studies->Theatre Studies
General Resources->Cultural and Historical Contexts

This website attempts to approach plays as not simply a printed text, but a dramatic performance that is seen and heard, as well as read—a “world” that exists in several dimensions. Various aspects of this “world” are looked into, and the division of sub-categories is as follows:

1. Timeline: A chronological timeline that shows the history (and development) of the London Theater, from Pre-1660 to 1800 and after.
2. Places: A map shows the streets of London in the year 1762, and various places, and their significance, are introduced in detail.
3. WWW: Electronic links to additional internet resources are given.
4. Bibliography: A bibliography of helpful written resources.
5. London Life: Quotes from texts which depict the contemporary life in London in the years 1660-1800, from topics such as the situation of women to the use of wigs.
6. People: An alphabetical list of people who influenced the London theater, either as actors/actresses, playwrights, producers, and critics, etc. Pictures are shown for visual aid.
7. Pictures: Pictures of people, costumes, theaters, advertisements, etc. Quality of pictures is not great.
8. Plays: A brief introduction of some Restoration and 18th-century plays, with links to critical discussions for some.
9. Casts: The year in which the respective plays were opened and the venue in which they were performed, along with the original cast is shown here.
10. Comments: Some comments on Wilmot, Earl of Rochester are provided.
11. Production Arts: Technical aspects, such as lighting and scenic design, that were used in the British theaters in the 18th-century are discussed here.
12. Reviews(Modern Productions): Reviews of contemporary productions and revivals can be read.

The website is generally very helpful and provides some very interesting facts and details. The user interface, however, is not exquisite, and much improvement could be made in the font, the layout, the quality of images, etc. Leaving such shortcomings aside, the website will prove to be useful for those studying the history of the British theater.

URL : http://www.nwe.ufl.edu/~pcraddoc/lonmen1.html

Keyword(s) : Theatre and drama , London theater , British Plays , London life

English Literature->Poetry->By period->18th century
English Literature->Poetry->By period->19th century

This website consists of 350 war poems chosen by Professor Betty T. Bennett, a professor at American University in Washington D.C., who first collected, edited, and published these poems in a book version in 1976. Due to its extensive coverage of British poetry written during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the examination of the continuously changing attitudes of the people amidst such a dynamic socio-political atmosphere, Bennett’s collection has been well cherished among scholars and/or people interested in British poetry. The website explains that the electronic version will prove to be more helpful to the user, both because its format is more flexible, more accessible, and more easy to search and find exactly what one needs.

The website provides the introduction written by Bennett that was published in the book, which gives the reader a sense of “the historical, political, and literary contexts in which these poems were written.” By placing the reading experience against a larger backdrop, where the conditions of the concurrent society are paid attention to, the poetry of the Romantic period can be approached in a more holistic manner. The poems themselves are categorized according to author, title, or date, and the full texts in their original form is shown here, along with some helpful footnotes. The website design is easy to the eye and visually pleasing, and navigating around the site is not difficult at all. The user will not have a hard time finding what he/she needs.

Additional resources can be accessed through this site, as it is part of “Romantic Circles,” a larger website maintained by the University of Maryland that focuses on the literature and culture of the British Romantic Period. Simply click on the links shown at the bottom of the page.

URL : http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/warpoetry/

Keyword(s) : English poetry, 18th century, 19th century , War poetry , English History and criticism

English Literature->Poetry->By period->18th century

This is an electronic version of the article of the same name that was published in the December 2000 issue of the Journal for Maritime Research by Dr. Lynda Pratt of Queen’s University, Northern Ireland. Pratt talks about the works of various English poets of the late 1790s, whose writing about the British Navy was “literally and metaphorically an act of naval contemplation in that it [was] both provoked by and provokes national self-examination.” Her argument states that, similar to the sailors who were fighting at sea during the late 18th century, these poets were fighting battles of their own, battles which concerned the identity of the nation and the best ways in which to inscribe and validate such a national identity. Poets such as Henry James Pye and Robert Southey are focused on by Pratt, and she uses their poems such as “Naucratia” and “Madoc,” respectively, to explain her viewpoint in detail. All in all, it is a helpful article which approaches poetry through the examining of the dynamic socio-cultural forces that might have been an influence to its creation/reception. It will be undoubtedly beneficial to those who are interested in late 18th century British poetry.

URL : http://www.jmr.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/ConJmrArticle.22/setPaginate/Yes

Keyword(s) : English poetry, 18th century , British Navy , Henry James Pye , Robert Southey

General Resources->Libraries
General Resources->Art Galleries/Museums
English Literature->Literary History

The full name of this virtual project is the “South Sea Bubble Resources in the Kress Collection at Baker Library,” the Baker Library being the official library used by the students of Harvard Business School. Within the Kress Collection that is kept in this library, there is said to be a large number of pamphlets, books, broadsides, prints, and ephemera related to the South Sea Bubble. The project to digitize this collection to form a new, virtual one was begun in 2005 so that the vivid visual resources could be presented to the public. In the project overview, Karen Bailey, the project manager writes, “the online guide was designed to create a dynamic Web product to inform researchers of the resources available in the South Sea Bubble Collection, to facilitate the use of the collection, to provide access to new digital content, and to build a framework for future additions to the collection.”

The website gives a short historical introduction of the South Sea Bubble, but the main aspect of this website is the collection description that is provided in detail to show what the South Sea Bubble Collection actually consists of. While the majority of these manuscripts and documents cannot yet be accessed directly through the Internet (the digital images are still in the process of being uploaded), by providing the title and contents of such resources enables this website to become a great starting point of research for those who are interested in examining this historical event. Links for related reading, in the form of books and article publications, are given as well for additional perusal.

URL : http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/ssb/index.html

Keyword(s) : 18c British History , Catalogs , Harvard Library , South Sea Bubble

English Literature->Journals
General Resources->Anthologies/Collections
English Writing->Creative Writing

“Philippine Literature Portal” describes itself as “an online resources center for Filipino Writers and Readers.” It is a website created as a joint project between the UP Institute of Creative Writing and the National Commissin for Culture and Arts. Its primary goal is “to disseminate Philippine literature online by providing a database of author’s profiles and their works.” The user can find links to various literary genres on the top side of the website, such as “Poetry,” “Fiction,” “Drama,” “Non-fiction,” “Children’s Literature,” “Criticism,” and “Folk Literature,” etc. By choosing the category of interest, the user will find the respective authors of that genre listed in alphabetical order, with the title of their works written underneath them. The full text of each work can be read directly on the computer screen with a simple click. Many of the literary works are written in Filipino, however, so they might not be so accessible to the average reader.

The website also has features such as “Writers Market” (where various job offers are posted for those who are interested) and “News and Events” (where details on upcoming activities and workshops, as well as call for papers are posted). These all aim to stimulate the writer/reader’s interest, so that they will find the motivation to participate in the Filipino literary atmosphere in whatever way they can.

URL : http://panitikan.com.ph/index.htm

Keyword(s) : Philippine literature , Creative writing , Fiction , Philippines , Philipinnes