Adapting Shakespeare – Converting Shylock in Michael Radford’s the Merchant of Venice
This article aims to explore the extension and evolution of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice through Michael Radford’s 2004 cinematic adaptation. By investigating the concept of adaptation and the significance of intertextuality, Shakespeare’s source text is considered alongside Radford’s twenty...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava
2016-08-01
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| Series: | Messages, Sages and Ages |
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| Online Access: | http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/msas.2016.3.issue-1/msas-2016-0003/msas-2016-0003.xml?format=INT |
| _version_ | 1828319997245521920 |
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| author | Oakes Luke |
| author_facet | Oakes Luke |
| author_sort | Oakes Luke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article aims to explore the extension and evolution of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice through Michael Radford’s 2004 cinematic adaptation. By investigating the concept of adaptation and the significance of intertextuality, Shakespeare’s source text is considered alongside Radford’s twenty-first century recreation to reimagine and redefine the construction of Shylock as both a comic and tragic device utilized across film and play. Issues of racial and religious prejudices alongside anti- Semitic views were particularly prominent in Elizabethan England and, by concentrating on recontextualisation, this article looks to expose Shakespeare’s characterization as a reflective commentary concerning societal discriminations at the time of the play’s performance. By focusing primarily on Shakespeare’s Jewish Usurer, Radford is able to reconstruct and reestablish the dramatic devices and characters within the cinematic version, metaphorically converting Shylock from comic villain to tragic victim. Finally, it argues that this dynamic shift inevitably metamorphoses Shylock from a spectator’s perspective and provides Michael Radford with an opportunity to offer a social commentary on social inequality in the twenty-first century. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:05:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-635ee574039544fe8e80cb159bc34996 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1844-8836 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:05:26Z |
| publishDate | 2016-08-01 |
| publisher | Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Messages, Sages and Ages |
| spelling | doaj.art-635ee574039544fe8e80cb159bc349962022-12-22T02:36:05ZengStefan cel Mare University of SuceavaMessages, Sages and Ages1844-88362016-08-0131283710.1515/msas-2016-0003msas-2016-0003Adapting Shakespeare – Converting Shylock in Michael Radford’s the Merchant of VeniceOakes Luke0Halesowen College Whittingham Road, Halesowen West Midlands, B63 3NA, UKThis article aims to explore the extension and evolution of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice through Michael Radford’s 2004 cinematic adaptation. By investigating the concept of adaptation and the significance of intertextuality, Shakespeare’s source text is considered alongside Radford’s twenty-first century recreation to reimagine and redefine the construction of Shylock as both a comic and tragic device utilized across film and play. Issues of racial and religious prejudices alongside anti- Semitic views were particularly prominent in Elizabethan England and, by concentrating on recontextualisation, this article looks to expose Shakespeare’s characterization as a reflective commentary concerning societal discriminations at the time of the play’s performance. By focusing primarily on Shakespeare’s Jewish Usurer, Radford is able to reconstruct and reestablish the dramatic devices and characters within the cinematic version, metaphorically converting Shylock from comic villain to tragic victim. Finally, it argues that this dynamic shift inevitably metamorphoses Shylock from a spectator’s perspective and provides Michael Radford with an opportunity to offer a social commentary on social inequality in the twenty-first century.http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/msas.2016.3.issue-1/msas-2016-0003/msas-2016-0003.xml?format=INTThe Merchant of VeniceadaptationrecontextualisationintertextualityShylockcomic villaintragic victim |
| spellingShingle | Oakes Luke Adapting Shakespeare – Converting Shylock in Michael Radford’s the Merchant of Venice Messages, Sages and Ages The Merchant of Venice adaptation recontextualisation intertextuality Shylock comic villain tragic victim |
| title | Adapting Shakespeare – Converting Shylock in Michael Radford’s the Merchant of Venice |
| title_full | Adapting Shakespeare – Converting Shylock in Michael Radford’s the Merchant of Venice |
| title_fullStr | Adapting Shakespeare – Converting Shylock in Michael Radford’s the Merchant of Venice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adapting Shakespeare – Converting Shylock in Michael Radford’s the Merchant of Venice |
| title_short | Adapting Shakespeare – Converting Shylock in Michael Radford’s the Merchant of Venice |
| title_sort | adapting shakespeare converting shylock in michael radford s the merchant of venice |
| topic | The Merchant of Venice adaptation recontextualisation intertextuality Shylock comic villain tragic victim |
| url | http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/msas.2016.3.issue-1/msas-2016-0003/msas-2016-0003.xml?format=INT |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT oakesluke adaptingshakespeareconvertingshylockinmichaelradfordsthemerchantofvenice |