Our Policy on Quality Content

Today's digital environment presents many challenges and questions for scholars, students, and teachers seeking a reliable and multi-layered resource that they can use. The ISE has from the beginning had the highest standards of academic development in mind—and these standards are overseen and maintained by a distinguished editorial board from around the world.

The Internet Shakespeare Editions publishes only high-quality materials. Our aim is to provide our world-wide audience with the best in Shakespeare scholarship and performance on a site that is freely available. The ISE is a non-profit corporation affiliated with the University of Victoria, British Columbia.

Items published on the site are subject to differing levels of review, depending on their location: the Library, the Annex, and the Theater. The menu at the top of each page indicates which section of the site that page is in. 

What will you find in the Library?

All materials published in the Library of the site have been fully peer-reviewed, to the same standard expected of traditional scholarly presses. Under the leadership of our General Textual Editor, Eric Rasmussen, our Editorial Board recommends senior scholars in the field to review all work before it is published in the Library.

What will you find in the Annex?

At the same time, we take advantage of the flexibility of the digital medium and publish works in progress so that our audience can access materials that have not yet been fully reviewed. All materials published in the Annex have been approved by the Coordinating Editor, Michael Best, and are judged to be of sufficient academic quality for them to appear on the site.

Note: the comments contained in the Discussion area of the Annex are not reviewed. This area, under construction, will allow visitors to the site to participate by commenting on the published materials, and on other topics of interest to readers of Shakespeare. The Internet Shakespeare Editions takes no responsibility for items posted in the Discussion area.

What will you find in the Theater?

The database of Shakespeare in Performance records productions of Shakespeare from reputable theaters, festivals, and theater departments from around the world. It also records historical materials that provide information about the performance and reception of Shakespeare in earlier periods.

What will you find in the Foyer?

The Foyer outlines the aims and administrative structures of the ISE. No scholarly work is published in this section of the site.