The Digital Archive: Early Modern Drama is an
open-access repository of early modern dramatic texts, which have not been
easily to accessible scholars and students. This is, first, because the
original texts—in French, German and Yiddish—have largely been available only
in print form in selected University libraries. One primary goal of the
Archive is thus to collect these texts and upload them in two crucial and
complementary formats: as copies of the original texts; and as Word
documents, transcribed for easier reference and reading. Additionally,
these texts have not been accessible for international scholarship because of
the lack of English translations—a situation that certainly forestalls a
transnational discussion of such early modern drama. A second primary
goal of the Archive is thus to provide annotated translations of these plays in
searchable PDF format. In this manner, the Archive provides a starting point
for combinations of digital and print forms of publication. Such an
interrelated and interactive relationship provides a highly innovative way to
link scholarly, critical work with an easy availability to the texts. The creation
of the Digital Archive: Early Modern Drama has been supported by a grant
from the Israel Science Foundation, awarded to Prof. Chanita Goodblatt.
This Archive has been built and maintained with the aid of the staff of The
Zalman Aranne Central Library at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and with
the aid of Ms. Noy Sabag.
