Books in Shakespeare's Heart : a display of varied sources that did inspire the pen of William Shakespeare : exhibition catalogue

Abstract

In crafting his plays, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) drew from a vast repertoire of sources. From contemporary poetry to the works of ancient playwrights, the English dramatist borrowed widely, taking inspiration from historical chronicles and biblical narratives alike. This exhibition catalogue highlights some of the books that Shakespeare is known to have used, or which scholars strongly believe he used, as sources. All of the books in this exhibition are part of the collections at W.D. Jordan Rare Books and Special Collections, Queen's University Library. The exhibition was staged to open coinciding with the 'Training the Early Modern Heart' conference, held by the Department of English Literature and Creative Writing in late July, 2025. The exhibition was curated by Brendan Edwards, with the assistance of Lucian Mussells (ARTH395 student).