Skip to main content

Reading list of William Shakespeare

 William Shakespeare did not leave behind a reading list, diary, or letters that explicitly list his favorite books. However, scholars have pieced together what he likely read and admired based on the texts he quoted, referenced, or borrowed plots from in his plays and poems.

Here’s a carefully researched list of books that Shakespeare likely read and drew from—his "favorites" by influence:

📚 1. Ovid – Metamorphoses

  • Most influential classical source for Shakespeare.

  • He read it in Arthur Golding’s 1567 English translation.

  • Inspired Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titus Andronicus, Venus and Adonis, etc.

📚 2. Plutarch – Parallel Lives

  • Shakespeare used Thomas North’s 1579 English translation.

  • Basis for Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Coriolanus.

📚 3. Holinshed’s Chronicles

  • Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1577, 1587 editions)

  • Shakespeare’s main source for history plays like Macbeth, King Lear, Henry IV, Henry V.

📚 4. Giovanni Boccaccio – The Decameron

  • Though indirectly, many plot elements in Shakespeare’s comedies (e.g. All’s Well That Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing) can be traced to Boccaccio’s tales.

📚 5. The Bible (Geneva Bible)

  • Shakespeare frequently quoted or alluded to the Geneva Bible, the most popular translation in Elizabethan England.

📚 6. Chaucer – The Canterbury Tales

  • Shakespeare borrows themes, character types, and style from Chaucer, especially in his early comedies.

📚 7. Seneca – Tragedies

  • Seneca's revenge tragedies (translated into English by the 1580s) shaped Shakespeare’s style in Hamlet, Titus Andronicus, and others.

📚 8. Montaigne – Essays

  • Shakespeare seems influenced by John Florio’s 1603 English translation.

  • Clear philosophical parallels appear in King Lear, Hamlet, The Tempest.

📚 9. George Gascoigne – The Supposes

  • An English adaptation of Ariosto’s I Suppositi, and a major source for The Taming of the Shrew.

📚 10. Thomas Kyd – The Spanish Tragedy

  • Shakespeare may have been influenced by this pioneering Elizabethan revenge drama when writing Hamlet.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Future of Chemical Engineering in India (2025 & Beyond)

Chemical engineering in India is entering a transformative phase, driven by technological innovation , sustainability goals , policy shifts , and global industrial demand . Here's a detailed look at its future prospects: 🔍 1. Industry Outlook a. Expanding Industrial Base India's chemical industry is projected to reach USD 300 billion by 2025 (source: Invest India). Key sectors: petrochemicals , specialty chemicals , pharmaceuticals , fertilizers , and polymers . Growth fueled by Make in India , PLI schemes , and FDI inflows . b. Sustainability & Green Chemistry Shift toward green technologies , bio-based chemicals , and zero-waste processes . Demand for engineers who can develop eco-friendly production methods . c. Rise of Specialty Chemicals Used in agriculture , automotive , electronics , personal care , etc. India is becoming a global manufacturing hub as companies diversify away from China ("China+1" strategy). 🧪 2. Emerg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Top 10 Analytics Courses in India

http://analyticsindiamag.com/top-6-analytics-courses-in-india/ The demand for trained analytics professionals has witnessed a massive growth in recent years. The dearth of skilled manpower can be overcome with serious intervention at the education level and imparting training on specific Analytical and statistical tools. This goes to say that training in Analytics is of foremost importance to match the ever growing demand and dearth in supply. Yet, there is a severe dearth of good training programs in the field. In this article, Analytics India Magazine investigates nine courses on Analytics being offered by premier institutes of India. Certificate Programme in Business Analytics – ISB, Hyderabad ISB is offering a one year Certification in Business Analytics with an aim to create Next generation Data Management Scientists. The programme is designed on a schedule that minimizes disruption of work and personal pursuits. The program is a combination of classroom and Technology...
13 comments
Read more

Spirits of Estonia

  http://www.inyourpocket.com/estonia/tallinn/Spirits-of-Estonia_56060f 1 For some of our readers, vodka might just be some colorless liquid that tastes like rubbing alcohol but goes great mixed in a cocktail. In Estonia however, hard liquor is pretty serious stuff.  Spirits can be made from many raw materials including grapes, potato, and grain. These days in Estonia the vast majority of vodka is made using high quality rye grain. First the raw material is fermented using yeast, which creates a weak alcohol or mash. Next this product is distilled creating a much stronger alcohol. Finally the impurities are filtered off, and water is added to bring the percentage from about 96 to about 40.And that is how you make vodka! Of course there is much to be said about quality and it certainly varies from brand to brand. The world’s best vodkas are made from the finest grains, the purest waters, multiple distillation & special filtration techniques.    A little h...
Post a Comment
Read more