A Review of Digital Humanities Approaches in Shakespeare Studies

Abstract

Digital Humanities (DH) has transformed Shakespeare studies by integrating computational tools with traditional literary analysis, enabling new insights into textual variants, authorship, networks of characters, and performance dynamics. This review synthesizes key DH methodologies applied to Shakespeare's works, including corpus linguistics, network visualization, authorship attribution via machine learning, and digital editions like the Internet Shakespeare Editions (ISE) and Folger Digital Texts. Drawing from major projects and tools such as Voyant Tools, LEME, and EEBO-TCP, the paper examines how these approaches bridge text and performance while addressing challenges like data encoding and interpretive divergence. Findings highlight DH's role in democratizing access to Shakespeare's corpus and fostering interdisciplinary convergence, though gaps persist in integrating micro-linguistic and macro-textual analyses. Future directions emphasize AI-driven methods and collaborative platforms.