When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary Sources
- Jorge de Montemay, or Diana Enamorada (published in English 1598)
- Anonymous, The History of Felix and Philomela (a lost play)
- Thomas Elyot, Book 2, Chapter 12 of The Book Named the Governor (1531)
Major Literary Influences
- John Lyly, Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit (1578)
- Arthur Brookes, The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet (1562)
Mythology, Legends, and Biblical Allusions
- The character Proteus shares his name with the shape-shifting sea god.
- The character Valentine shares his name with the patron saint of lovers.
- Myth of Hero and Leander (1.1)
- Cupid (2.4)
- Greek myth of Phaëton, who set the world on fire driving his dad's chariot (3.1)
- The Temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden (3.1)
- Greek myth of Ariadne, who killed herself when Theseus broke up with her (4.4)
- Greek myth of Tereus's rape of Philomela (5.4)