Rewriting Shakespeare

The boundary between creative writing and critical thinking is not always a clear one. Novelists, poets, and playwrights respond to other creative writers in their own work, borrowing elements of plot, character, and theme as they reshape existing material. Shakespeare borrowed from prior writers, and recent writers have woven aspects of his works into their own, occasionally with great success. In this seminar we will read, discuss, and write about three plays by Shakespeare in conjunction with three literary texts that respond to or “rewrite” them. Hamlet will be paired with Tom Stoppard’s Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, King Lear with Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres, and The Tempest with Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day.