Characters and their transformation

Characters and their transformation

We’re going to talk about “Characters and their transformation”. More precisely about Shakespeare’s characters like Lady Mc Beth and Hamlet. I will try to answer the question: Exploring or exploding the canon? First I will explain in what rewriting explores the characters a little more and secondly in what authors move away characters’ identity of departure.

The writings which I am going to study are The tragedy of Macbeth writes by Shakespeare in 1623 and the Girlhood of Shakespeare’s heroines writes by Mary Cowder Clarke in 1880, for the characters of Lady Mc Beth. And the second writings which I am going to study are The tragical history of Hamlet writes by Shakespeare in 1603 and the book Good bones and simple murders writes by Margaret Atwood in 1994, who I’m going to compares the two characters of Hamlet.

In the text of Clarke and Shakespeare the scenes take place in castle. The two texts bear some resemblances in term of place and general period of time. The two characters of Lady Mcbeth seem have the same appearance because the twice are determinate, strong-willed, bold and ect… As well, in the texts about Hamlet there are the same number of characters that is Gertrude and Hamlet and the relationship between the characters are the same, Hamlet is the son of Gertrude and King Hamlet, and Claudius is Hamlet’s uncle and the new husband of Gertrude. The characters seem different but not King Claudius, he seems to be the same, it’s has say that he is odious, that he is a murderer and ect…

But on the contrary, many elements show differences between these two same characters of differences authors. For this purpose, in the text of Shakespeare, Lady Mc Beth is an adult and in Clarke’s text she is a child. And their portrait and personality, in spite of some resemblances, they are in opposition. Lady Mc Beth as a child is curious, intrepid, fearless, and ect… She is curious because in the text it says in line 5 to 7 “finding her way all over the castle in the spirit of inquisitiveness, and childish love of investigation, and thirst for novelty.” But Lady Mc Beth as an adult is more different: she’s authoritative, violent. She hasn’t got any feeling of compassion, for example in the text it says: “That my knife see not the wound it makes.” in line 15. Also, in the text of Shakespeare and Atwood, the characters of Hamlet and Gertrude are really different. In Atwood’s text, Gertrude is very calm, authoritative, she’s proud of her head, she says “It was me.” line 31. By the way, in the play, Gertrude is not the same, she’s not assured. Hamlet, in Good bones and simple murders is treated like a little boy, he doesn’t speak while in Shakespeare’s play he does a long monologue. Among others, the topics of their discussion are different, in Atwood’s text it’s an accusation of Claudius for the murder of King Hamlet and the discussion between the two characters is chaotic. In the other text of Shakespeare, they speak about the revelation of Gertrude’s guilt and the discussion is calm, Gertrude is ironic.

Clarke’s prequel seems to explore the canon: it contains all the germs of the mature character in Shakespeare’s play. Clarke tries to adapt to the canon and not change it. Yet she explodes the canon in a way: by giving the heroine a

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