<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<p>Ever since it was published, Margaret Atwood’s <italic>Hag-Seed </italic>(2016) has been scrutinized for its peculiar engagements with the Shakespearean pre-text  at  the  cross-section  of  various  discourses,  from  literary  and media studies, through drama pedagogy, even to prison studies. Drawing on the prison metaphor from the original and recontextualizing it as a contemporary prison performance is just one of the multitudinous forms and ways in which <italic>The Tempest</italic> is incorporated into Atwood’s novel. Thus, though it is quite difficult to designate a sole term for what she (un)does with the classic, one striking issue anyone may encounter is its intertwining metatextuality which encapsulates many of its core interpretations as a <italic>rewriting </italic>and/or <italic>adaptation</italic>. The present paper aims at unravelling the many layers, means and functions of this particular type of metatextuality and/or metatheatricality found in the novel. We look at the polyphonic nexus of texts and contexts that defines Atwood’s novel as an experiment that reconsiders, with a gesture of metatextual homage, the prospects of rewriting – a practice Shakespeare himself was highly familiar with – in the contemporary age. Nested in the Genettean structuralist framework (Genette 1997 [1982]), our approach is meant to expand its applicability taking into consideration  Deleuze  and  Guattari’s  concept  of  rhizome  to  investigate Atwood’s rewriting as an instance of “rhizomatic metatextuality” as well as the strategies of interpretation, appropriation, and reconstruction in fan fiction rewriting (see Jenkins 1992). Placing metatextuality as the central interpretive key of the novel, we shall discuss the roles of theatre (and art, in general) represented in <italic>Hag-Seed</italic> as an aesthetic and art history account, as well as the status of the interpreter or the intended audience of both the novel and the play within.</p>
</abstract>

Ever since it was published, Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed (2016) has been scrutinized for its peculiar engagements with the Shakespearean pre-text  at  the  cross-section  of  various  discourses,  from  literary  and media studies, through drama pedagogy, even to prison studies. Drawing on the prison metaphor from the original and recontextualizing it as a contemporary prison performance is just one of the multitudinous forms and ways in which The Tempest is incorporated into Atwood’s novel. Thus, though it is quite difficult to designate a sole term for what she (un)does with the classic, one striking issue anyone may encounter is its intertwining metatextuality which encapsulates many of its core interpretations as a rewriting and/or adaptation. The present paper aims at unravelling the many layers, means and functions of this particular type of metatextuality and/or metatheatricality found in the novel. We look at the polyphonic nexus of texts and contexts that defines Atwood’s novel as an experiment that reconsiders, with a gesture of metatextual homage, the prospects of rewriting – a practice Shakespeare himself was highly familiar with – in the contemporary age. Nested in the Genettean structuralist framework (Genette 1997 [1982]), our approach is meant to expand its applicability taking into consideration  Deleuze  and  Guattari’s  concept  of  rhizome  to  investigate Atwood’s rewriting as an instance of “rhizomatic metatextuality” as well as the strategies of interpretation, appropriation, and reconstruction in fan fiction rewriting (see Jenkins 1992). Placing metatextuality as the central interpretive key of the novel, we shall discuss the roles of theatre (and art, in general) represented in Hag-Seed as an aesthetic and art history account, as well as the status of the interpreter or the intended audience of both the novel and the play within.

“A Sea Change into Something Rich and Strange.”  Margaret Atwood’s <italic>Hag-Seed:  </italic>A Metatextual Approach

Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

“A Sea Change into Something Rich and Strange.”  Margaret Atwood’s A Metatextual Approach

Ever since it was published, Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed (2016) has been scrutinized for its peculiar engagements with the Shakespearean pre-text  at  the ...

“A Sea Change into Something Rich and Strange.” Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed: A Metatextual Approach

Published Online: Nov 15, 2023

Page range: 17 - 36

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausp-2023-0002

Keywords
Shakespeare, adaptation, metatextuality, metatheatricality

© 2023 Enikő Pál, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

“A Sea Change into Something Rich and Strange.” Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed: A Metatextual Approach

Published Online: Nov 15, 2023

Page range: 17 - 36

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausp-2023-0002

KeywordsShakespeare, adaptation, metatextuality, metatheatricality

© 2023 Enikő Pál, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Shakespeare, adaptation, metatextuality, metatheatricality