Shakespeare Everywhere
Foster says if you’re unsure about the source of a reference in literature, it’s often from this famous playwright.
William Shakespeare
This is the term for when an author references another literary work without directly naming it.
Allusion
Shakespeare’s influence is so strong that his themes, characters, and plots are often called this in literary terms.
timeless
West Side Story is a modern retelling of this Shakespeare play.
Romeo and Juliet
“To be, or not to be, that is the ______.”
question
The reason so many authors borrow from Shakespeare is because his stories are this—meaning they work in any time or place.
Universal
This is the term for a story type or idea that repeats across cultures and eras.
Motif
In Foster’s view, spotting a Shakespeare reference can unlock this in the story.
deeper layer of meaning
The Lion King borrows heavily from this tragedy.
Hamlet
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely ______.”
players
In modern works, Shakespearean references can be direct quotations or these—indirect nods to plots, characters, or themes.
Allusions
The literary term for changing or modernizing an old story to fit a new audience.
Adaptation
Foster suggests Shakespearean allusions add this, giving stories more depth and richness.
meaning (or resonance)
Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres is based on this Shakespeare tragedy.
King Lear
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks” is from this play.
Hamlet
Recognizing Shakespeare in a story can reveal whether the author is honoring, updating, or doing this to the original work.
Subverting it
Shakespeare wrote during this English historical period.
Elizabethan era
Shakespeare’s characters and situations are often called this because they reappear in countless retellings.
archetypes
Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood is inspired by this play.
Macbeth
“Something wicked this way comes” is spoken in this tragedy.
Macbeth
Foster points out that Shakespeare’s works are part of this kind of cultural “language” that writers and readers share.
literary canon
The number of plays traditionally attributed to Shakespeare.
Will be given is it's around the range of 37 (33 and below + 41 and above don't count, bro shut up)
Writers use Shakespeare to connect their work to this broad, centuries-long thing of storytelling.
literary tradition
The teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You is adapted from this Shakespeare play.
The Taming of the Shrew
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves” comes from this play.
Julius Caesar