Adaptation and Appropriation
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ADAPTATION AND APPROPRIATION From the apparently simple adaptation of a text into film, theatre or a new literary work, to the more complex appropriation of style or meaning, it is arguable that all texts are somehow connected to a network of existing texts and art forms. In this new edition Adaptation and Appropriation explores: multiple definitions and practices of adaptation and appropriation the cultural and aesthetic politics behind the impulse to adapt the global and local dimensions of adaptation the impact of new digital technologies on ideas of making, originality and customization diverse ways in which contemporary literature, theatre, television and film adapt, revise and reimagine other works of art the impact on adaptation and appropriation of theoretical move- ments, including structuralism, post-structuralism, postcolonialism, postmodernism, feminism and gender studies the appropriation across time and across cultures of specific canonical texts, by Shakespeare, Dickens and others, but also of literary archetypes such as myth or fairy tale. Ranging across genres and harnessing concepts from fields as diverse as musicology and the natural sciences, this volume brings clarity to the com- plex debates around adaptation and appropriation, offering a much-needed resource for those studying literature, film, media or culture. Julie Sanders is Professor of English and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Humanities and Social Sciences at Newcastle University, UK. THE NEW CRITICAL IDIOM SERIES EDITOR: JOHN DRAKAKIS, UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING The New Critical Idiom is an invaluable series of introductory guides to today’scritical terminology. Each book: provides a handy, explanatory guide to the use (and abuse) of the term; offers an original and distinctive overview by a leading literary and cultural critic; relates the term to the larger field of cultural representation. With a strong emphasis on clarity, lively debate and the widest possible breadth of examples, The New Critical Idiom is an indispensable approach to key topics in literary studies. Also available in this series: Adaptation and Appropriation – second edition by Julie Sanders Allegory by Jeremy Tambling The Author by Andrew Bennett Autobiography – second edition by Linda Anderson Class by Gary Day Colonialism/Postcolonialism – third edition by Ania Loomba Comedy – second edition by Andrew Stott Crime Fiction by John Scaggs Culture/Metaculture by Francis Mulhern Dialogue by Peter Womack Difference by Mark Currie Discourse – second edition by Sara Mills Drama/Theatre/Performance by Simon Shepherd and Mick Wallis Dramatic Monologue by Glennis Byron Ecocriticism – second edition by Greg Garrard Elegy by David Kennedy Epic by Paul Innes Fairy Tale by Andrew Teverson Genders – second edition by David Glover and Cora Kaplan Genre – second edition by John Frow Gothic – second edition by Fred Botting Grotesque by Justin D Edwards and Rune Graulund The Historical Novel by Jerome de Groot Historicism – second edition by Paul Hamilton Humanism – second edition by Tony Davies Ideology – second edition by David Hawkes Interdisciplinarity – second edition by Joe Moran Intertextuality – second edition by Graham Allen Irony by Claire Colebrook Literature by Peter Widdowson Lyric by Scott Brewster Magic(al) Realism by Maggie Ann Bowers Memory by Anne Whitehead Metaphor by David Punter Metre, Rhythm and Verse Form by Philip Hobsbaum Mimesis by Matthew Potolsky Modernism – second edition by Peter Childs Myth – second edition by Laurence Coupe Narrative – second edition by Paul Cobley Parody by Simon Dentith Pastoral by Terry Gifford Performativity by James Loxley The Postmodern by Simon Malpas Realism by Pam Morris Rhetoric by Jennifer Richards Romance by Barbara Fuchs Romanticism – second edition by Aidan Day Science Fiction – second edition by Adam Roberts Sexuality – second edition by Joseph Bristow Spatiality by Robert T. Tally Jr Stylistics by Richard Bradford Subjectivity by Donald E. Hall The Sublime by Philip Shaw Temporalities by Russell West-Pavlov Translation by Susan Bassnett Travel Writing by Carl Thompson The Unconscious by Antony Easthope This page intentionally left blank ADAPTATION AND APPROPRIATION Second edition Julie Sanders Add Add Add Add Add AddAdd AddAdd AddAdd First published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2006, 2016 Julie Sanders The right of Julie Sanders to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Sanders, Julie, 1968- Adaptation and appropriation / Julie Sanders. -- 2nd edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Literature--Adaptations. I. Title. PN171.A33S26 2015 801--dc23 2015023188 ISBN: 978-1-138-82898-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-82899-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-73794-2 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Taylor & Francis Books For Gaynor Macfarlane, again, still, always. This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Series editor’s preface xi Acknowledgements xii Introduction: Going on (and on) 1 PART I Defining terms 19 1 What is adaptation? 21 2 What is appropriation? 35 PART II Literary archetypes 55 3 ‘Here’s a strange alteration’: Shakespearean appropriations 57 4 ‘It’s a very old story’: Myth and metamorphosis 80 5 ‘Other versions’ of fairy tale and folklore 105 PART III Alternative perspectives 121 6 Constructing alternative points of view 123 7 ‘We “other Victorians”’: Or, rethinking the nineteenth century 151 8 Stretching history: Or, appropriating the facts 176 x CONTENTS 9 Customized narratives: Copyright and the work of art in the age of technological reproducability 190 Afterword: Different versions 204 Glossary 213 Bibliography 216 Index 233 SERIES EDITOR’S PREFACE The New Critical Idiom is a series of introductory books which seeks to extend the lexicon of literary terms, in order to address the radical changes which have taken place in the study of literature during the last decades of the twentieth century. The aim is to provide clear, well-illustrated accounts of the full range of termi- nology currently in use and to evolve histories of its changing usage. The current state of the discipline of literary studies is one where there is considerable debate concerning basic questions of terminology. This involves, among other things, the boundaries which distinguish the literary from the non-literary; the position of literature within the larger sphere of culture; the relationship between literatures of different cultures; and questions concerning the relation of literary to other cultural forms within the context of interdisciplinary studies. It is clear that the field of literary criticism and theory is a dynamic and heterogeneous one. The present need is for individual volumes on terms which combine clarity of exposition with an adventurousness of perspective and a breadth of application. Each volume will contain as part of its apparatus some indication of the direction in which the definition of particular terms is likely to move, as well as expanding the disciplinary boundaries within which some of these terms have been traditionally contained. This will involve some re-situation of terms within the larger field of cultural representation, and will introduce examples from the area of film and the modern media in addition to examples from a variety of literary texts. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FIRST EDITION As this volume evidences, few stories or books ever stand alone and with that in mind I would like to acknowledge those who have contributed to this volume. Fred Botting read and commented on the original proposal with great insight and made the final outline much stronger. Many others have offered help and ideas along the way; special thanks to Kate Chedgzoy, Davina Cooper, Mark Dooley, Finn Fordham, Daniel Grimley, Dominic Head, Barbra Kelly, Máire ní Fhlathúin, Mark Robson, Kiernan Ryan, Michael Sanders, Lauren Shohet and Tory Young, as well as all the students at Keele and Nottingham who have offered their various perspec- tives and enthusiasms on this topic. The University of Teesside provided a valuable audience for some of this work in its earliest stages and I am grateful to all who attended on that occasion. I underwent my own process of professional adaptation while writing this volume and I thank my new colleagues at the University of Nottingham for making me feel so very welcome. Though they will probably never know it, the Quadriga Consort and the virtuoso musicianship of Andrew Manze were my joint inspiration for the baroque musical theories deployed in these pages and I am end- lessly indebted both to the intelligence of their sleeve-notes and the beauty of their playing. Richard Powers’s