1. Ancient Greek Mythology:
- _The Iliad_ and _The Odyssey_ by Homer
2. Roman Literature:
- _Metamorphoses_ by Ovid
- _Histories_ by Livy
- _Parallel Lives_ by Plutarch
3. Italian Literature:
- _The Divine Comedy_ by Dante Alighieri
- _Decameron_ by Giovanni Boccaccio
4. English Chronicles and Histories:
- _Holinshed's Chronicles_
- _Hall's Chronicle_
- _Historie of Britain_ by Geoffrey of Monmouth
5. Old and Middle English Poetry:
- _Beowulf_
- _The Canterbury Tales_ by Geoffrey Chaucer
- Ballads and Folk Tales
6. Classical Roman Dramatists:
- Plautus
- Terence
- Seneca the Younger
7. Elizabethan and Jacobean Dramatists:
- Christopher Marlowe
- Ben Jonson
- Thomas Kyd
Additionally, Shakespeare was well-versed in classical learning, including knowledge of ancient philosophers and medieval theologians. He often interweaved these classical and literary influences into his own plays, creating complex and multilayered narratives.