Playfulness in Shakespearean Adaptations

Aidan Norrie editor Marina Gerzic editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:6th May '22

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Playfulness in Shakespearean Adaptations cover

Four hundred years after William Shakespeare’s death, his works continue to not only fill playhouses around the world, but also be adapted in various forms for consumption in popular culture, including in film, television, comics and graphic novels, and digital media. Drawing on theories of play and adaptation, Playfulness in Shakespearean Adaptations demonstrates how the practices of Shakespearean adaptations are frequently products of playful, and sometimes irreverent, engagements that allow new ‘Shakespeares’ to emerge, revealing Shakespeare’s ongoing impact in popular culture. Significantly, this collection explores the role of play in the construction of meaning in Shakespearean adaptations—adaptations of both the works of Shakespeare, and of Shakespeare the man—and contributes to the growing scholarly interest in playfulness both past and present. The chapters in Playfulness in Shakespearean Adaptations engage with the diverse ways that play is used in Shakespearean adaptations on stage, screen, and page, examining how these adaptations draw out existing humour in Shakespeare’s works, the ways that play is used as a pedagogical aid to help explain complex language, themes, and emotions found in Shakespeare’s works, and more generally how play and playfulness can make Shakespeare ‘relatable,’ ‘relevant,’ and entertaining for successive generations of audiences and readers.

"From Victorian burlesque to contemporary graphic novels, this collection provides a range of material for the reader interested in Shakespearean adaptation of drama…the range covered in this collection is extensive. Overall, the collection offers thoughtful and wide-ranging new insights into the concepts of play and irreverence in Shakespearean adaptations for readers old and new."

-- Jennifer E. Nicholson, The University of Sydney, Parergon 38.2 (2021)

Playfulness in Shakespearean Adaptations introduces a range of both mediums and methods of adaptation, many of which have received relatively little critical attention… Overall, the book successfully provides a wide-ranging overview of the role of play and playfulness in adaptations of Shakespeare, giving examples that vary in scope, period, and medium.

-- Anna Quercia-Thomas, The University of Western Australia, Limina: a Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies 27.2 (2022)

ISBN: 9780367504649

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 362g

254 pages