Hag-Seed: the tempest retold

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In June 2013, Random House announced the Hogarth Shakespeare series, as part of which well-known novelists re-tell a selection of Shakespeare's plays. [6] Later that year, it was announced that Margaret Atwood's adaptation of The Tempest would join Jeanette Winterson's Winter's Tale adaptation and Anne Tyler's Taming of the Shrew adaptation as part of the project. [7] The Hogarth Shakespeare series, Hag-Seed included, was intended to launch in 2016 to coincide with the four-hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare's death. [8] Explanation of the novel's title [ edit ] Atwood reinterprets the play as a heartbreaking novel, told in gorgeous yet economical prose Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review

The daughter of Felix. She dies at age three from meningitis and maintains a ghostly presence in Felix’s life for the next 12 years. She represents the character of Ariel in The Tempest and is similarly let go by Felix once he feels vindicated at the end. Nadia This quote reflects on the efficacy of the Literacy Through Literature program and describes the actors' reactions to the final screening of their performance at the end of each class. It emphasizes the importance of creativity, performance, and imagination as elements of enriching one's life and feeling proud of oneself. Here, the narrator suggests that the inmates at Fletcher Correctional Facility are offered the opportunity to inhabit different lives for a brief period of time. The players are not initially enthused about the production, and so Felix spends a number of classes encouraging them to discuss the various characters in the play. He raises questions such as how audiences are supposed to feel about Prospero, the patriarchal protagonist of the play who was usurped as Duke of Milan by his brother Antonio, among other debates about the virtues of Ariel, Caliban, and Miranda. Soon, the men are engrossed in the play and begin taking the initiative to craft their own interpretive performances of different characters and events. Felix enlists the help of Anne-Marie Greenland, a young actress, to play the role of Miranda in the screening. Felix himself plays Prospero. An absolute triumph… Among the most intelligent and inspiring readings of The Tempest… I am sorry that the publishers didn’t ask Atwood to reimagine all 37 plays. Stuart KellyA sudden clap of thunder wakes Sal and Lonnie up and the cell’s door opens; music lures the politicians down the hall and into another room, where a bowl of grapes is waiting. Sal, Sebert, and Tony eat the grapes, which Felix has injected with psychedelic drugs; soon they are all writhing on the floor, gripped by a bad trip.

What makes the book thrilling, and hugely pleasurable, is how closely Atwood hews to Shakespeare even as she casts her own potent charms, rap-composition included. . . . Part Shakespeare, part Atwood, Hag-Seedis a most delicate monster—and that’s ‘delicate’ in the 17th-century sense. It’s delightful.” — Boston Globe Readers looking for Atwood’s wit and mastery of language will find it at work here… Atwood more than does justice to the Bard.” -Chicago Review of Books Riotous, insanely readable and just the best fun... The novel builds to a fantastic climax of dark calamity... There is so much exuberance and heart and wonder in this novel that the only thing I want to happen next is for Atwood to rewrite the whole of Shakespeare. (No offence, Will.) Viv Groskop, Observer The new novels promise an intriguing opportunity to revisit the tales we know so well and see them in a new light. The Culture Trip A triumph […] The book illuminates the breadth and depth of the whole play. The troupe’s workshops on it fizz with perception as Atwood transmits the pleasurable buzz of exploring a literary masterpiece. There won’t be a more glowing tribute to Shakespeare in his 400th anniversary year.” –Peter Kemp, Sunday TimesBut everything is ephemeral, he reminds himself. All gorgeous palaces, all cloud-capped towers. Who should know that better than he?” – Felix talking about life Felix has successfully staged three plays in the prison for the Fletcher Correctional Players. His supervisor warns him that several politicians, including Tony, will be reviewing this year’s production to determine whether or not the initiative should proceed. Felix confirms that The Tempest will be staged for this year’s production. Felix recruits an actress named Anne-Marie to play Miranda, and the remainder of the characters are played by the students in the jail. Felix will assume the role of Prospero. Part III – “These Our Actors”

Because Hag-Seed is a retelling of the Shakespearean play, the notion of revenge is crucial for understanding individual characters' motivations. Felix, like Prospero, was ousted in his role as Artistic Director; Prospero was the former King of Naples before his brother, Antonio, overthrew him and exiled him to the island where the play takes place. While the parallel between the two characters is made clear throughout the novel, their shared desire for revenge is indicative of one of the major conflicts present in both works: not merely the conflict between Felix and his usurpers, but also the internal conflict Felix himself must confront when his deft control of the environment around him faces a number of threats. For both Felix and Prospero, the desire for revenge comes to replace all other modes of motivation, and it is both their only path to salvation and their greatest obstacle to overcome. Prisons and Confinement Felix is the Artistic Director at the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival and is planning to perform a version of Shakespeare's The Tempestthat is innovative, creative, and new to audiences everywhere. During rehearsal for the play, however, he is informed by Tony Price, the fundraising manager, that his contract has been terminated and Tony will be taking over as Artistic Director. Blindsided, Felix boils with anger and frustration but eventually agrees to leave. What has he been thinking -- keeping her tethered to him all this time? Forcing her to do his bidding? How selfish he has been! Yes, he loves her: his dear one, his only child. But he knows what she truly wants, and what he owes her." NarratorEstelle: Professor at Guelph University, hires Felix for the prison position and knows his real identity. An unqualified success... an enlightening and exciting exploration of Shakespeare's themes... A wonderfully intelligent book John Harding, Daily Mail Canadian authors make long list for Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction". The Star. March 7, 2017 . Retrieved 2020-02-23. Atwood brilliantly pulls off the caper in a short novel that should be assigned to high school students as a hilarious riff on one of Shakespeare’s more mystifying plays. It’s much more than a retelling; it’s an ingenious analysis and critique rolled into one.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Not just with Caliban, he’s got his foot on Ariel too,” says 8Handz. “He threatens him with that oak tree. Permanent solitary. It’s inhuman.”