At first glance, this question seems over-simple:  Of course the two works are in different genres, centuries, etc.; but the similarities are more subtle.  First of all, they are both classics, being read and studied well past their time of composition.  The reason is that both works use their plots to discuss a much larger philosophical concept.  Secondly, both works are driven by specific, well-drawn characters.  Thirdly, both works rely on their mise-en-scenes to move the plot off the page and into the mental visualization that makes reading so stimulating.  Finally, while both works seem to have a superficial entertainment level, they stay in one’s “cabinet of metaphors” forever, once absorbed as literature.

   A good student exercise would be to make two columns of these characterizations and match them up with each other.  For example, Verona is, to Shakespeare, a fictive collection of Italian cities, serving only to endistance and romanticize the plot; Shakespeare was never there, and gives no significant geographic details.  Similarly, Orwell’s animal farm bears virtually no resemblance to a real farm (for example, the variety of animals), but only serves to give the action a place to unfold.  Comparisons of this kind can be very enlightening to the student with imagination and attention to detail.