I've been blogging about how to make one's writing more literary. The backbone of Western literature, in terms of allusion, structure, story line, and so many other things, include Shakespeare and the Bible. One cannot count the influences these texts have had on most of what we read. Shakespearean turns of phrase and biblical allusion have become so entrenched in the culture that people don't even realize they're using them anymore. When you talk about your character on a "wild goose chase," having "the green-eyed monster" of jealousy, or "being pure as the driven snow," you don't even realize you've just quoted Shakespeare. When your female character offers your male character an apple, when innocent characters stand naked and vulnerable before temptation, when brother betrays brother with the question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" you may not even think about the Bible. Whether you're religious or not, ultra educated or not, or even very interested in either, it's a good idea to be familiar with both of these sources. If you are, you can consciously call on the literary strength and cultural depth of an allusion or quotation or story arc.
Someone I know wrote a script that was supposed to be about the Christmas story, but because he didn't know the source material, it ended up being pure fiction that did not carry the emotional depth of the original. He also wanted to write about angels without knowing what any biblical scholar could tell you about the stories. I couldn't get this person to see the importance of knowing the original source material to tap the depth and power of the original into his works. He could still make the stories his own, use his own creativity and ingenuity to craft his stories, without ignoring the original.
Anyone who reads great literary works like Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Inferno knows these authors immersed themselves in the subject matter in order to spin it into something new. Shakespeare, himself, drew on the Bible frequently. He may question it and philosophize about it through the words of Hamlet. But he was able to spin it into his own creations because he knew the subject matter.
Whether Shakespeare seems like gibberish to you, or the Bible is just not your thing, much of great literature, modern and older works, draw on these mainstays. You don't have to read these works to draw on the stories; however, reading sections before you rewrite or allude to them would give you more ideas, more strength, more specificity in your writing. One way or another, keep these two sources in mind as you pursue your literary masterpieces.
