Shakespeare’s Sources and Influences

Introduction

Shakespeare rarely invented plots from scratch. Instead, he reimagined stories drawn from many traditions: ancient Rome, medieval chronicles, Italian novellas, folktales, and even the work of fellow playwrights. What makes his writing extraordinary is not the originality of his sources but the brilliance with which he transforms them.

Shakespeare deepens characters, sharpens conflicts, enriches language, and adds psychological insight. Understanding his sources reveals how he worked as both an artist and a storyteller, weaving old tales into plays that feel timeless.

Shakespeare’s Sources and Influences

Shakespeare drew from an extraordinary range of stories, traditions, and writers. His plays and poems rework ancient myths, historical chronicles, Italian romances, and popular folklore, transforming familiar material into something richer, deeper, and distinctly his own. Understanding these influences reveals how Shakespeare shaped old narratives into enduring works of art.

Classical Literature: Rome and Greece

Much of Shakespeare’s inspiration came from ancient texts.
He borrowed plots, character types, and themes from writers like:

• Ovid – especially Metamorphoses (a major influence on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Titus Andronicus).
• Plutarch – whose Lives inspired Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Coriolanus.
• Seneca – whose tragedies influenced Shakespeare’s use of revenge, ghosts, violence, and psychological torment in plays like Hamlet and King Lear.

These classical writers shaped Shakespeare’s sense of drama, myth, and moral complexity.

Italian Novellas and Romance Stories

Many of the comedies and romances come from Italian tales popular during the Renaissance. Writers such as Matteo Bandello, Giovanni Boccaccio, and Masuccio Salernitano supplied stories that Shakespeare reinvented:

• Romeo and Juliet traces back to Bandello’s tragic romance.
• Much Ado About Nothing borrows elements from Italian gossip stories.
• Othello is based on Cinthio’s tale of jealousy and betrayal.
• All’s Well That Ends Well echoes themes from Boccaccio’s Decameron.

Shakespeare took these narratives and transformed them with richer characterization and sharper emotional stakes.

English History and Chronicles

For the history plays, Shakespeare relied heavily on Holinshed’s Chronicles, a sweeping historical record of England, Scotland, and Ireland. From Holinshed he drew the raw material for:

• Macbeth
• King Lear
• Richard III
• Henry IV and Henry V

He also used earlier medieval sources, like Chaucer, whose storytelling rhythms echo through Shakespeare’s language.

Folklore, Legends, and Oral Tradition

Shakespeare drew from popular English folklore, fairy lore, and traditional storytelling:

• The fairy world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream reflects English woodland mythology.
• The trickster figure Falstaff mirrors folk characters known for mischief and wit.
• Ghost stories, superstition, and moral tales permeate plays like Hamlet and Macbeth.

Folklore offered Shakespeare a sense of communal imagination, allowing him to create characters that felt familiar yet fresh.

The Bible

Though not a religious playwright, Shakespeare was deeply influenced by the cadence, imagery, and moral questions of the Bible. Its echoes appear in:

• the language of mercy and forgiveness in The Merchant of Venice
• the themes of sin, repentance, and redemption in Hamlet
• the reflections on suffering and providence in King Lear

The Bible provided symbolic depth and resonant themes recognizable to Elizabethan audiences.

Contemporary Writers and the Theatre Scene

Shakespeare lived in a highly competitive theater world. He borrowed from and responded to the work of his contemporaries:

• Christopher Marlowe’s blank verse and ambitious heroes shaped Shakespeare’s early style.
• Thomas Kyd, author of The Spanish Tragedy, influenced Shakespeare’s revenge plots.
• Thomas Nashe and Robert Greene inspired elements of satire and comedy.

At the same time, Shakespeare influenced them in return, pushing theater in new directions.

Analysis

Shakespeare’s genius lies not in inventing new stories but in reinventing old ones with extraordinary insight. His sources gave him structure, but his imagination transformed them into something rich and human. He expanded thin characters into fully realized people, added psychological depth, and created dialogue that vibrates with emotion and intelligence.

By drawing from so many traditions — classical epics, Italian romances, English folklore, history chronicles, biblical language, and contemporary drama — Shakespeare created a theatrical world that felt both familiar and unprecedented. His plays stand at the crossroads of many cultures and literary traditions, blending them into works that continue to feel fresh centuries later.

Shakespeare’s influences show us that great art often begins with borrowing. What matters is the transformation: how an artist reshapes old stories into new expressions of human experience. Shakespeare’s plays endure because he infused every borrowed story with renewed life.