re: A hazy shade of winter
Coming from Italy I had a different upbringing so since you mentioned Shakespeare, I will mention an Italian (one of the first real Europeeans) Francesco Petrarca and his incommensurable work named: The Triumphs (I Trionfi)
namely:
The Triumph of Love
The Triumph of Chastity
The Triumph of Death
The Triumph of Fame
The Triumph of Time
The Triumph of Eternity
In that order.
