Adaptations of Shakespeare in Young Adult Literature by Dr. Amy Piotrowski
| Dr. Amy Piotrowski is an associate professor of English education at Utah State University. She teaches a variety of classes for future and practicing teachers including a class on teaching young adult literature. Her research focuses on digital literacies and young adult literature. Before going into teacher education, she taught middle school Language Arts, high school English, and college composition in Texas. Her work has appeared in journals such as English Education, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, and Utah English Journal. |  |
Shakespeare remains one of the most commonly taught authors in secondary English curricula. I was often impressed and sometimes surprised by my high school students’ responses to reading Shakespeare. When I taught Othello, one student was so indignant he said in exasperation, “Othello and Desdamona die? Man, I was waiting for someone to bust a cap in Iago so Othello and Desdamona could live happily ever after.” To be honest, I couldn’t entirely disagree with my student’s assessment. Desdamona especially deserves so much better than being murdered because of Iago’s lies. While I have yet to find a version of Othello where Desdamona lives, many YA authors have adapted Shakespeare’s stories into novels and short stories, making their own changes to the Shakespearean text.
Why and how have YA retold Shakespeare in new time periods and settings? Hutchinson (2012) argues that the appeal of adaptations comes from their combination of familiarity thanks to what readers know about the source material and surprise of what’s changed, removed, or added. YA adaptations often seek to critique Shakespeare’s plays by reframing these stories for today’s readers (Barber & Esther, 2011), and the more interesting retellings may be the ones that diverge the most from the source material, resisting traditional takes on canonical stories (Miskec, 2013).
Isaac (2000) notes that authors have adapted Shakespeare for younger readers since the early 19th century and encourages educators and students to critically analyze the changes contemporary authors make in their adaptations. Two issues that Issac suggests students consider as they read adaptations of Shakespeare: How is the story changed by eliminating characters and plot lines? How is the story impacted by turning a work of drama into a novel? It’s important for students to examine changes in both plot and form.
I don’t think Shakespeare would object to today’s YA adaptations of his plays. After all, he adapted Greek and Roman myths, stories from Chaucer, and English history, so it makes sense that writers today are adapting Shakespeare’s plays into novels, short stories, and films. Check out three recent YA adaptations of Shakespeare and see how these authors give us new takes on Shakespeare’s characters, plot lines, and themes.
Why and how have YA retold Shakespeare in new time periods and settings? Hutchinson (2012) argues that the appeal of adaptations comes from their combination of familiarity thanks to what readers know about the source material and surprise of what’s changed, removed, or added. YA adaptations often seek to critique Shakespeare’s plays by reframing these stories for today’s readers (Barber & Esther, 2011), and the more interesting retellings may be the ones that diverge the most from the source material, resisting traditional takes on canonical stories (Miskec, 2013).
Isaac (2000) notes that authors have adapted Shakespeare for younger readers since the early 19th century and encourages educators and students to critically analyze the changes contemporary authors make in their adaptations. Two issues that Issac suggests students consider as they read adaptations of Shakespeare: How is the story changed by eliminating characters and plot lines? How is the story impacted by turning a work of drama into a novel? It’s important for students to examine changes in both plot and form.
I don’t think Shakespeare would object to today’s YA adaptations of his plays. After all, he adapted Greek and Roman myths, stories from Chaucer, and English history, so it makes sense that writers today are adapting Shakespeare’s plays into novels, short stories, and films. Check out three recent YA adaptations of Shakespeare and see how these authors give us new takes on Shakespeare’s characters, plot lines, and themes.
| That Way Madness Lies: 15 of Shakespeare's Most Notable Works Reimagined Each short story in this collection is an adaptation of a different Shakespeare play or sonnet. The authors in this collection not only take on a variety of Shakespeare’s plays, they also use a variety of ways of retelling these stories. The retelling of Taming of the Shrew employs magical realism. Romeo and Juliet is retold entirely in text messages. Readers get A Midsummer Night’s Dream from the viewpoint of the child that Oberon and Titania fight over. These retellings take on issues of gender, race, and family relationships. Different stories may appeal to different readers, and I think the broad range of adaptations makes this collection all the more interesting. There are different kinds of retellings for different readers here. |  |
| Enter the Body A trap room underneath a stage serves as a waystation the deceased women of Shakespeare’s tragedies are sent to after their demise until they are called back up to the stage for their next performance. In this trap room, Juliet, Ophelia, and Cordelia tell their stories, debate what happened to them, and come up with alternative endings to their stories. Listening to the conversation is Lavinia, along with other women who die in the tragedies. I really liked how this book alternated between the heartbreak of tragedy and hilarious snark as Juliet, Ophelia, and Cordelia’s discussions about their respective fates get heated. While there’s plenty the three of them disagree on, they come to see the importance of telling one’s own story and reclaiming their own agency. A great read if you’ve ever thought the women in Shakespeare’s tragedies get a bad deal. |  |
| Twelfth Knight This novel sets Twelfth Night in a present-day high school. Viola, who goes by Vi, is student council vice president known for her sharp temper and disdain for the disorganized student council president she has to work with, school football star Jack “Duke” Orsino. When Jack suffers a season-ending knee injury, he starts playing an online video game, “Twelfth Knight,” to pass the time. Vi also plays “Twelfth Knight” using the pseudonym Cesario as she finds she’s taken more seriously when other gamers think she’s a boy. Jack and Cesario strike up a friendship that grows closer as they take on quests in the game together and use the game as a space to talk, but Vi doesn’t know how to tell Jack that Cesario is really her. Things get even more complicated when Jack seeks to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend, Olivia, by asking Vi to talk to Olivia for him. This novel does a great job of showing how people are complex - that we are all more than we first might seem. Which, after all, might not be that far off from what Shakespeare’s Orsino and Viola learn over the course of the play. The use of the digital space of the game as the way Viola hides her identity made for a clever contemporary version of a disguise. |  |
References
Barber, S., & Esther, H. (2011). Supplementing Shakespeare: Why young adult novelizations belong in the classroom. ALAN Review, 38(3), 52-59.
Hutchinson, L. (2012). A theory of adaptation. Routledge.
Issac, M. L. (2000). Heirs to shakespeare: Reinventing the bard in young adult literature. Heinemann.
Miskec, J. M. (2013). Young adult literary adaptations of the canon. ALAN Review, 48(3), 75-85.
Barber, S., & Esther, H. (2011). Supplementing Shakespeare: Why young adult novelizations belong in the classroom. ALAN Review, 38(3), 52-59.
Hutchinson, L. (2012). A theory of adaptation. Routledge.
Issac, M. L. (2000). Heirs to shakespeare: Reinventing the bard in young adult literature. Heinemann.
Miskec, J. M. (2013). Young adult literary adaptations of the canon. ALAN Review, 48(3), 75-85.
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