Notes: Hamlet Text Set Presentation
SLIDE TWO
1. Source From Essay
a. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or as it is more commonly
called, Hamlet, is often referenced as one of the most powerful and influential
tragedies in English literature. Written between 1599 and 1601, Hamlet is still a
large part of the literary cannon and is one of Shakespeare’s most famous works. In
Shakespeare’s time it was one of his most popular works as well as the most
performed. Due to the breath and depth of it’s complex plot, it contains a story
line that Arden Shakespeare writers Thompson and Taylor believe is rich enough
for “seemingly endless retelling and adaptations by others” (Thompson and Taylor,
74). Hence, the play has been subject to many adaptations, retellings and revisions
by various writers since its creation in the early 17th century. Two most
prominent adaptations include Walt Disney The Lion King and Dragon
Dynasty’s Legend of the Black Scorpion. While both works take a dramatic
departure from the original source text that Shakespeare presents, analyzing the
three works together proves beneficial as we consider the relationship that stories
from the larger literary canon have to their inevitable adaptations.”
2. Key Points
a. Hamlet has a rich history in the world of film adapation
b. Such a huge part of the larger literary that different cultures and generations have
taken different steps to adapt it to fit their specific audience.
c. Almost as if Hamlet is the “grandfather” source text of the future of film adaptation
SLIDE THREE
1. Source from Essay
a. “As our text set considers the relationships between various adaptations and their
original source text, it is important to bring film adaptation analysis into our
discussion. In “Adaptation Studies at a Crossroads,” Thomas Leitch goes to great
lengths to reframe the way that critics and readers alike might look at analyzing
film adaptations. Leitch asserts that rather than viewing film adaptations as just
recreations of original texts, viewers should accept “the possibility that literary
adaptations are at once cinema and literature” (Leitch, 63). In other words,
instead of going to a film and simply questioning how accurate the adaptation
reflects the original work, viewers should consider the film adaptation literature in
its own right and with its own purpose. Leitch views film adaptations as owning
“duel citizenship” in the world of cinema as well as the world of literature (Leitch,
64). He desires the field to move out of the “notion that adaptations ought to be
faithful to their ostensible source texts” (Leitch, 64). Leitch’s discussion becomes
fruitful as we consider the deeper meanings of the three film adaptations of
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. While Lawrence Oliver’s rendition of Hamlet stays close to
the original source text, making it a good candidate for what Leitch describes as
traditional film adaptation analysis, The Lion King and Legend of the Black
Scorpion extend far beyond the plot that Shakespeare presents. This makes the
latter two works not less significant, but rather good works to consider as Leitch
and others reinvent the field of film adaptation analysis.”
2. Key Points
a. Leitch as key to leading our discussion and the ultimate thesis of our paper
Notes: Hamlet Text Set Presentation
b. Sets up the idea that adaptations can be both cinematic and literature: what does
this mean?
c. Encourage the class to consider why we consider an adaption to be a failure if it
doesn’t stay faithful to the source text, why do we think like that?
SLIDE FOUR
1. Source from Essay
a. “Standing on the shoulders of fellow film adaption scholar Julie Sanders, Leitch
discusses the dichotomy that Sanders presents between film adaptation and film
appropriation. Unlike adaptation, which “signals a relationship with an informing
source text or original,” film appropriation “frequently affects a more decisive
journey away from the informing source into a wholly new cultural product and
domain that may or may not involve a generic shift” (Sanders, 26).
Thus, according to Sanders, The Lion King and Legend of the Black Scorpion are
not film adaptations, but rather film appropriations as the viewer leaves
Shakespeare’s world of Elizabethan society and enters Walt Disney’s world of
animation and the strict hierarchal world of imperialistic China. With this
distinction in mind, of our text set will hold greater meaning, as we are not solely
concerned with how closely a work replicates Shakespeare, but rather how the
work becomes a comment on the culture it represents. Film appropriation analysis
forces the viewer to employ his or her own knowledge of culture to fully
understand the text under consideration. When considering each work in our text
set through this lens, the viewer becomes more aware of not only the significance
of Hamlet, The Lion King and Legend of the Black Scorpion, but also the
significance of cultural differences as each protagonist explores revenge and the
usurping of his rightful throne.”
2. Key Points
a. Adaptation vs. appropriation
b. Discuss how each serves a specific purpose in terms of what the artist wants to
achieve with its work
c. What’s a better model? How do we define better?
SLIDE FIVE
1. Source from Essay
a. While the dichotomy that Sanders presents to her readers seems to be a black and
white distinction, we would like to assert that there are many works that must be
analyzed under the old tenets of film adaptation as well as the new rubric of film
appropriation. While The Lion King and Legend of the Black Scorpion are both
departures from the original source text of Hamlet, they have scenes that are
directly taken from Shakespeare’s original work. Thus, it is not enough to stay
strictly close to the source text in analysis nor is it enough to disregard the source
text entirely. To explore the full meaning of each work, analysts must both consult
the source text as well as critique the work in its own right.
2. Key Points
a. Present out thesis
b. Why our film adaptations serve as both adaptations and appropriations
c. How can this be so? Asset Leitch’s dichotomy is partially artificially constructed
SLIDE SIX
1. Source from Essay
Notes: Hamlet Text Set Presentation
a. “The scene where Hamlet demonstrates his knowledge of how his uncle was
murdered by presenting a play for Claudius is present in all three of our texts.
While it is taken directly from Shakespeare’s original work, the details of how each
scene plays out vary. However, each work uses the scene to depict the past action
that the protagonist wishes to avenge by the end of the narrative. Thus, the play
within the play, as it is referenced by literary critics, becomes the vehicle for the
revenge that drives the plot forward. As we further analyze these scenes, Saunders
appropriation paradigm reveals reflections of the “wholly new cultural product”
that each text presents.
b. For our purposes, the play within the play holds great significance as it serves as a
vehicle for Hamlet's desire for revenge as acted out in front of his father's
murderer. In Hamlet, the play within the play allows the prince to reenact the
death of his father in front of his father’s murderer, Claudius. Hamlet wishes to
provoke his uncle as well as make clear that he knows the truth of his father’s
death. In The Lion King, it is not until Simba is on the brink of death, holding on
for his life, that Scar confesses to Mufassa’s murder. The scene becomes nearly
identical to the moment in which Scar murders Mufassa. In this way, it becomes a
play within the play, a re-enactment of the father’s death, much like the plays put
on by the protagonists in the other works. Finally in Legend of the Black Scorpion,
the play is a dramatic dance between two characters, one representing the king and
the other his murderous brother.For Hamlet, Prince Wu Laung, and Simba, the
only action that will effectively put their fathers’ deaths in the past is to reclaim the
throne by killing their murderous uncles. While each protagonist arrives at this
conclusion differently, the “obliterated reality” that they seek consists of a life
without their uncle and a life in which they take rightful ownership over the
throne.”
2. Key Points
a. Lightly touch on the importance of the play within the play for others to expan on
later
b. The idea that revenge is the adapting factor as each artist changes the original
source text to adapt for his/her specific audience