The quotable Shakespeare : a topical dictionary /

Although several previous works have collected Shakespearean quotations (Alexander Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1971; R.W. Dent's Shakespeare's Proverbial Language, CH, Jan '82; Complete Dictionary of Shakespeare Quotations, comp. by D.C. Browning, 1986), none seems as complete as DeLoach's, whose collection does not merely concern plot, scene description, or characterization. DeLoach's 6,500 quotes contain philosophical axioms or fundamental principles, and are easily accessible and immediately clear in meaning. They are listed under some 1,000 topics in alphabetic order. A topical index helps readers develop or illustrate an idea, or find quotes through key words. This index also lists related topics, and has excellent and comprehensive cross-references. A character index helps locate quotations when only the character is remembered or when study of the development of a character is undertaken. A title index enables readers to locate all the quotes from individual plays or poems. Numbers in the indexes refer to quotation entries rather than pages, making searches easy and fast. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. -P. Kujoory, Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University