During the three centuries between Dante and Shakespeare, Italian literature had a profound influence over English writers in all genres. This book is the first comprehensive critical comparison of English and Italian literature from this crucial period of cultural development. Robin Kirkpatrick begins by examining Chaucer's relationship with Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, and then looks at similar relationships within the area of humanist education, lyric poetry, the epic, theatrical comedy, the short story, and the pastoral drama. He concludes with an account of how Shakespeare was influenced by his Italian counterparts, using Italian material or drawing on the Elizabethan myth of an exotic and villainous Italy in no less than fifteen of his plays. The book provides a detailed comparison of major works from both traditions and includes critical readings of major Italian works. It shows why English writers valued such works and demonstrates the ways in which they departed from, or tried to outdo, the Italian original. Assuming no prior knowledge of Italy or Italian literary history, this book introduces the student and general reader to one of the most important and fascinating phases in European literary history.