Wikipedia:WikiProject Shakespeare/Manual of Style

NOTE: This is a draft of a project guideline for a standardized outline and layout for articles within the scope of the Shakespeare WikiProject. It should not be used in its current form!

Standardisation of play articles
At present, Shakespearean articles, particularly those on the plays, are not standardised. The following is a proposed guideline to achieve standardisation in the writing and copyediting of articles pertaining to the plays of William Shakespeare. (Note: All play articles should use British spelling. See WP:ENGVAR.)


 * 1) Intro paragraph with graphic to the right (as recommended in the MOS). — The title of the play should be given in full, bold, modernized spelling, in its most commonly used form. Follow WP:LEAD.
 * 2) Characters — Very brief, NPOV description. Should not attempt to analyze characters in this section but give, briefly, who they are and their relationship with a protagonist.  No spoiler details should be added here just the character as described at the start of the play or in the first scene.  Characters in need of a more in-depth analysis should have their own article.
 * 3) Synopsis — Accuracy and a lucid style.
 * Wikipedia asks for plot synopses to stay within 500-700 words, with a ceiling of 900 words in special circumstances only. The summary is not to be subdivided in further Acts and scenes. Acts and scene divisions do not exist in the earliest Shakespeare texts and were probably added by later editors. Furthermore, sub-dividing synopses into acts and scenes could make this section too long.
 * Key idea here: synopsis means to summarize the vital plot points of the play, not to re-tell the entire plot in your own words.
 * 1) Sources — What works influenced the play or poem?
 * 2) Date and Text — The play as it survives to us. Are there Quarto versions?  What is its relationship with the Folio text? What other titles (if any) were attached to the play, and under what circumstances?
 * 3) Analysis and criticism
 * 4) Critical History - How have scholars' views about the play changed over time?
 * 5) Structure - What have scholars said about the plot structure?
 * 6) Language - ...about language and style?
 * 7) Themes and motifs — ...about themes and motifs in the play?
 * 8) Other interpretations - Add a bit about Feminist, Psychoanalytic, Queer, and other readings.
 * 9) Performance history — What is the first known recorded performance?
 * 10) Influences — Literary and cultural
 * 11) Adaptations and cultural references — What the world has done with it...
 * 12) Musical adaptations — and music, including opera and musicals
 * 13) Screen versions:
 * Where there are numerous versions, there should be a separate article, e.g. Macbeth on screen, which will allow fuller coverage. That should have a {main article} tag and a brief prose summary on the play's article, and a {main article} tag and a brief list summary at Shakespeare on screen.
 * Where there are only a handful of versions, these should be covered in a prose section on the page, and in list form at Shakespeare on screen.
 * 1) References
 * 2) External links
 * 1) Adaptations and cultural references — What the world has done with it...
 * 2) Musical adaptations — and music, including opera and musicals
 * 3) Screen versions:
 * Where there are numerous versions, there should be a separate article, e.g. Macbeth on screen, which will allow fuller coverage. That should have a {main article} tag and a brief prose summary on the play's article, and a {main article} tag and a brief list summary at Shakespeare on screen.
 * Where there are only a handful of versions, these should be covered in a prose section on the page, and in list form at Shakespeare on screen.
 * 1) References
 * 2) External links
 * 1) References
 * 2) External links
 * 1) External links

Character article expansion
Because of Shakespeare's prominence, nearly all of his characters have enough scholarly information on them to qualify under wikipedia's notability guidelines (with a few exceptions). Several of his characters have been represented in later works of fiction. The below is not intended as a standard as much as a guideline for character article expansion. Look here for ideas on how to expand a character-stub article to a B-or-higher class article:


 * 1) Intro - Of course, summarize the rest of the article as per WP:LEAD, as with any other article. Add a picture of the character to the right (see King Hamlet), or, if you can't find one, consider adding a quotebox with one of the character's more famous quotes or descriptions (See Sycorax (Shakespeare)).
 * 2) Origins - Where does the character's name come from and what does it mean? Did Shakespeare borrow this character from another story? What was his source?
 * 3) Role in the play - Describe the character's role in the play. Avoid providing analysis or interpretations of the text in this section. Leave that to later sections.
 * 4) Analysis - Summarize the scholarly opinion surrounding this character. Use sources from academic books and journals only.
 * 5) Performance history - Outline the development of the role by different actors or actresses over time.