Mundy, Jessica Grotesque Bodies and their Effect on Adaptations of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and The Taming of the Shrew. 2021. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
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Abstract
The purpose of this thesis was to examine particular scenes in two popular Shakespeare plays, Julius Caesar and The Taming of The Shrew, that I believe to be grotesque bodies. I define popular as frequency (how often a play is taught, bought, and performed); grotesque bodies are defined by me as moments in the text that are ambiguous and open to interpretation. Interpretation of a text is what leads to adaptations of texts, which leads to heightened popularity. Shakespeare texts are a perfect example of grotesque bodies as they are continuously adapted and feature very few stage directions. I recognize that part of the reason why Shakespeare is popular is because the literary canon was created years ago, and it was the elite few who decided for everyone else what would be taught, bought, and performed. However, I also believe that the ability to interpret literary texts in a way that continuously strives to make them engaging is another part of Shakespeare’s prevalence. In this thesis, I outline Bakhtin’s definition of a grotesque body as well as adaptation theory in order to define these two concepts in a way that makes them compatible with each other and my argument. I will then focus on Julius Caesar and The Taming of the Shrew, respectively. I have also included an epilogue in which I hope to communicate my desire to continue this research into my future teaching career.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PR English literature |
| Divisions: | Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > Department of English |
| Date Deposited: | 16 Nov 2021 01:29 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Apr 2023 19:26 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/722 |
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