[goto11]

Shakespeare have a lot of references to biblical and classical mythology which was common shared knowledge at the time but less known today. I wonder what would be an appropriate translation to a modern context. WWII? Start Wars or Lord of the Rings references?

(I'm not being sarcastic, I think it is a genuinely interesting question.)

But in general the strength of Shakespeare is the language and poetry, so it will be difficult to modernize without losing what makes him great in the first place.

[billfruit]

That is the express reason with which Thomas Bulfinch wrote his "Mythologies", because his pupils were having trouble understanding English poems because they couldn't figure out allusions to mythology. Reading that small book could "unlock" a lot of English literature for one.

[JJMcJ]

This is true of much English writing before the 19th Century, and poetry even to a later date. No knowledge of the Bible or mythology and a lot of the writing loses its punch, even if you understand it in the literal sense.