Hello.

I am new in this forum. I am a Spanish teacher writing her thesis on shakespearean allusions in the simpsons and the muppets.
I have recollected quite a lot of them but I am still working on it.
As a Spaniard I am outside the Anglosaxon, American culture, so I guess I don´t get many references and ignore some basic details. If you like the topic I would be glad taht you participate. Thank you.

Off the top of my mind...

In the episode of Simpsons from last season where Millhouse's parents got back together, Homer said 'Methinks the lady doth protest too much', which is a Shakespeare reference...

A few years ago there was a Hamlet spoof.

In an early Halloween episode the zombie of Shakespeare shows up, and when killed says "Is this the end of zombie Shakespeare?" referring to the very long death speeches in Shakespeare plays.

There is an episode called "Much Apu About Nothing," but I don't think I remember the plot mirroring any Shakespearean themes.

There is a play you may want to check out called MacHomer written by Rick Miller. It marries Macbeth and the Simpsons together.

Thanks for your contributions. I know the Hamlet episode. I showed it to my students at highschool last year. Its great fun.

There are so many references within the Simpsons episodes. In my opinion this is what makes them become one of the greatest pop cultural icons of the 20th and 21st centuries. what do you think?

I think the fact that they've developed a legend of pop culture references(Heck, D'oh is even in Webster's dictionary), and that they're not afraid to make fun of anyone/anything and are accepted for it, makes them as immensely popular as they are now.