Open Source Shakespeare is a phenomenal resource for actors, directors, scholars, or anyone else who needs to know anything about Shakespeare’s works.

More than just a collection of the plays and sonnets, the website has the most amazing search functions and tools for examining the text.

I recommend starting with the stats page. Which character has the most lines? If you guessed Hamlet, you’d be wrong. It’s Falstaff (he appears in four plays). The longest play? Antony and Cleopatra. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the shortest.

Let’s dive further, shall we?

How about a list of every time Shakespeare uses the word “parrot”. No problem.

Need an alphabetical list of every character from every play. Here you go.

Want to compare sonnets 18 and 116 side-by-side? Easy peasy.

Want to read all of Hubert de Burgh’s lines from King John? Umm, I don’t know why’d you want to do that but… 

Check out Open Source Shakespeare and mine away!