Reading William Shakespeare often opens doors to other writers from his time and beyond. His plays and poems echo in the works of contemporaries and successors who explored similar ideas about life, love, power, and society.
Here are some authors whose writings share certain qualities with Shakespeare’s work, whether it’s the style of drama, the use of language, or the exploration of human nature.
Marlowe was a playwright in the Elizabethan era, just before Shakespeare’s peak fame. His plays contain dramatic situations and poetry that resonate with Shakespeare’s style.
Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” tells the story of Dr. John Faustus, a scholar hungry for knowledge beyond human reach. He makes a deal with the devil. As Faustus experiences the abilities of dark magic, he encounters temptation and ambition.
Eventually, he faces the consequences of his choices. Marlowe examines human limits, desire, and the possibility of redemption through poetic dialogue and stage intensity.
Ben Jonson, another playwright and poet from the English Renaissance, was one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries. He is known for comedies with a satirical edge. In his play “Volpone,” Jonson presents a comedy about greed and deception in seventeenth-century Venice.
The title character, Volpone, is a rich Venetian nobleman. He pretends to be deathly ill to fool several characters, Mosca, Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino, who hope to be his heir. Jonson populates the play with lively characters and quick dialogue.
He satirizes human greed and vanity directly. Jonson’s “Volpone” shows a type of sharp comedy and wordplay also found in Shakespeare.
Thomas Kyd’s play “The Spanish Tragedy” is an example of Elizabethan revenge tragedy, a genre Shakespeare also explored. Kyd was a playwright who influenced Shakespeare. “The Spanish Tragedy” introduces Hieronimo, a father who seeks revenge after his son is murdered.
The play looks into themes of justice, madness, and grief. Its language is heightened, and its dramatic scenes create suspense. The focus on revenge and justice in Kyd’s work connects to themes in plays such as Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
John Webster wrote plays in England during the early 17th century. He is noted for tragedies that portray darker aspects of human behavior. Webster’s “The Duchess of Malfi” is a tragedy centered on the Duchess.
She defies her brothers, who hold power over her, and secretly marries a man below her social station. Webster investigates ambition, betrayal, and revenge.
His characters possess depth, and the dramatic force of the plot reveals intense human passions, a feature also prominent in Shakespeare’s tragedies.
Lope de Vega was a Spanish playwright with an enormous output of work. People sometimes compare his status in Spanish literature to Shakespeare’s in English literature. One of his well-known plays is “Fuenteovejuna.”
It dramatizes actual events from a Spanish village in the 15th century. The play shows the villagers uniting against a tyrannical commander who abuses his power.
Lope de Vega creates characters defined by their courage, sense of honor, and collective action against the injustice of a nobleman. Themes of rebellion, honor, and group drama in Lope de Vega’s writing echo some situations in Shakespeare’s plays.
Thomas Middleton, an English playwright active during Shakespeare’s time, wrote dramas often set in London that expose moral corruption. His play “The Changeling,” co-written with William Rowley, is a tragedy involving deception, lust, and murder.
It concerns Beatrice-Joanna, a noblewoman. Her desire for a forbidden love leads her into a spiral of betrayal and violence. Middleton creates characters with noticeable flaws and complexities, similar to many found in Shakespeare’s plays.
The atmosphere of suspicion and psychological tension contributes to the tragic outcome.
Edmund Spenser was a prominent poet of the Elizabethan era. His use of language and storytelling through verse offers connections to Shakespeare’s poetic side. Spenser’s major work, “The Faerie Queene,” is a long allegorical poem.
It features knights, magic, and quests within a detailed fantasy landscape. Spenser relates the adventures of several knights. Each knight represents a specific virtue and undertakes tasks for Gloriana, the fairy queen.
The poem explores ideas of bravery, love, honor, and holiness. Symbolism, character arcs, and poetic expression fill the work.
Francesco Petrarch, an Italian poet from the fourteenth century, explored human emotions and relationships in his poetry, particularly in sonnet form. His most recognized work is the “Canzoniere,” a sequence of poems primarily about his feelings for a woman named Laura.
The poems document an emotional landscape of love, desire, sorrow, and self-reflection. Petrarch expresses longing and admiration through structured verse that contains direct emotion and clear images.
His focus on introspection and his use of the sonnet form connect to Shakespeare’s own sonnets.
Miguel de Cervantes, a Spanish writer, created one of the foundational novels of Western literature, “Don Quixote.” His work shares with Shakespeare a blend of complex characterization, dialogue that reveals personality, and humor derived from human situations.
The novel follows Alonso Quijano, an older gentleman who becomes inspired by chivalric romances. He takes the name Don Quixote, puts on old armor, and sets out to be a knight-errant with his practical neighbor, Sancho Panza, as his squire.
Their travels lead to humorous and sometimes sad encounters that examine ideals, reality, sanity, and the human condition. Cervantes combines comedy with observations about life and human nature.
George Chapman was an English playwright and poet who worked in London at the same time as Shakespeare. Chapman’s play, “Bussy D’Ambois,” presents a drama full of political maneuvering, ambition, and bold characters. The story follows Bussy, a brave but self-important courtier.
His rapid rise at the French court attracts both praise and jealousy. His assertive nature, along with notable dialogue and tense political situations, creates a mood found in some of Shakespeare’s tragedies.
Chapman shows the dynamics of ambition and rivalry, illustrating the dangers faced by those seeking power among the nobility.
Pierre Corneille was a French playwright from the 17th century. His tragedies often center on conflicts between honor, duty, and personal desires. One of his famous plays, “Le Cid,” tells the story of Rodrigue.
Rodrigue is a young nobleman caught between his love for Chimène and his duty to avenge his father’s honor, an act that puts him in direct conflict with Chimène’s family. The story looks into heroism, sacrifice, and loyalty.
Its central dramatic conflicts between love and duty are themes also explored in Shakespeare’s plays.
Jean Racine, another French dramatist of the 17th century, wrote tragedies known for their emotional focus and psychological exploration, rendered in structured verse. One of Racine’s significant plays is “Phèdre,” which draws from Greek mythology.
The drama depicts Phèdre, the wife of King Theseus. She experiences an overwhelming and forbidden love for her stepson, Hippolyte. As secrets, accusations, and misunderstandings unfold, the characters find themselves in difficult moral positions leading to tragic ends.
Racine emphasizes human vulnerability and passion through controlled yet expressive language. The portrayal of tragic figures and emotional depth connects with aspects of Shakespearean tragedy.
Molière, a French playwright contemporary with Racine, wrote comedies that use wit, well-structured plots, and satire to comment on society. These qualities appear in many of Shakespeare’s comedies. In his play “Tartuffe,” Molière satirizes religious hypocrisy.
The story follows Orgon, a wealthy man completely taken in by Tartuffe’s outward display of piety. Tartuffe integrates himself into Orgon’s household. He convinces Orgon of his sincerity while planning to take the family’s money and undermine their relationships.
The quick dialogue, comedic situations based on misunderstanding, and distinct character types in “Tartuffe” relate to the humor and social observation found in Shakespeare’s comedies.
Aphra Behn was an English playwright and novelist in the late 17th century. Her work features attention-grabbing characters and dramatic situations. Behn is recognized today for her pioneering role as a professional woman writer.
Her novel “Oroonoko” presents the story of an African prince who is tricked and sold into slavery in Surinam. The narrative explores love, honor, betrayal, and injustice.
It includes strong emotional content and descriptions of both Oroonoko’s royal life in Africa and his enslavement in the New World. Aphra Behn’s narrative style, character focus, and exploration of moral questions offer connections to Shakespeare’s dramatic storytelling.
Philip Massinger, an English playwright who sometimes collaborated with others, wrote plays in the early 17th century featuring clear plots and defined characters. His drama “A New Way to Pay Old Debts” looks into ambition, greed, and retribution.
The play features Sir Giles Overreach, a character driven by a desire for wealth and social standing, who manipulates and ruins others. The plot includes betrayal, plotting, and reversals of fortune. It examines human drives and moral conflicts that Shakespeare also depicted.
Massinger’s dialogue serves the plot and character development effectively.