One of the most active and productive areas in the field of literary study is Shakespeare scholarship. Each year, hundreds of books and articles are written about the man, his plays, and his milieu—a tribute to the richness and universal appeal of his art—yet no comprehensive listing of these works has appeared since the Ebisch and Schucking bibliography of 1937. Thus contemporary scholars have been forced to work without precise knowledge of what others have already done.

The four volumes of A Classified Shakespeare Bibliography, in covering the period from 1936 to 1958, constitute a highly important reference work. Including works in foreign languages and many items omitted from previous compilations, they list over 20,000 books and articles plus reviews of longer works, all grouped under numerous descriptive headings.

Originally scheduled for publication in a four-volume edition, A Classified Shakespeare Bibliography is available complete in a single volume. Covering the years 1936 through 1958, it lists more than 25,000 books, articles, and reviews in all major languages.