Module: ALMOST SHAKESPEARE

1.                  ‘Shakespearean offshoots often come close to that least valued form of literary appreciation: character criticism.’ (C. Desmet) Discuss.

2.                  ‘It goes almost without saying that the Shakespearean texts being reworked by other writers would need to be well known, both for the interrelationships and interplay to be identifiable and for those in turn to have the required impact on readers or spectators.’ (J. Sanders) How far does knowledge of the ‘original’ text help readers to appreciate and understand an ‘offshoot’?

3.                  ‘Re-visionary texts almost invariably have a clear cultural-political thrust, demanding that past texts’ complicity in oppression be revised and re-visioned as part of the process of restoring a voice, a history and an identity to those hitherto exploited, marginalised and silenced by dominant interests and ideologies.’  (P. Widdowson) Discuss.