Annotated Bibliography

Title: Wherefore art thou, bae Romeo?

Thesis:

Because [Shakespeare’s] text is considered as some of the finest English work, changes to the text are widely discouraged. Modernizing the text is recent trend that has been growing as the millennial generation has begun discovering Shakespeare. When changes to the text with the intent of modernizing it occur, they are often critiqued as simplifying timeless classics for the lazy readers of today. However, I argue that 21st century adaptations of Shakespeare that translate the text into modern terms include our changing, growing millennial vocabulary, similar to Shakespeare’s invention and inclusion of many then-new words and phrases.

Delabastita, Dirk. There's a Double Tongue: An Investigation into the Translation of Shakespeare's Wordplay, with Special Reference to Hamlet. Atlanta: Rodopi, 1993. Print.

This book has helped me ground my argument that modernizing Shakespeare’s text with millennial vocabulary isn't as foreign as it sounds. Translating Shakespeare into other languages presents the dilemma— must the text sacrifice its poetic rhythm or pun-based wordplay in order to convey enough of the plot in the new language? Showing that translations of Shakespeare retain their universal appeal and value without retaining the exact language allows me to then argue that the millennial adaptations of Shakespeare’s text are no worse than translations into languages other than the original English.

Halio, Jay L. Romeo and Juliet: A Guide to the Play. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood, 1998. Print.

I haven’t read this in its entirety, but I skimmed it in the library and decided this is a useful resource for my discussion of Romeo and Juliet. It discusses the changes between folios and the context for the play.

Hope, Jonathan. Shakespeare And Language : Reason, Eloquence And Artifice In The Renaissance. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 2 Dec. 2015.

This book begins with a chapter discussing the conventions of language in the Renaissance and then follows up with a chapter about Shakespeare using that Renaissance language— gold for my paper! This will help me give context for Shakespeare’s flights of wit.

Hunt, Maurice. "Poetry vs. Plot in The Winter's Tale: Modernity and Morality in M. M. Mahood's Shakespeare's Wordplay." Connotations: A Journal for Critical Debate 6.1 (1996): 8-18. Print.

This article draws from a chapter in the book I skimmed, mentioned a citation below. I appreciated being able to read a condensed version of the argument and an extension of the wordplay discussion in regards to “The Winter’s Tale.” Though that won’t be the play I focus on primarily in my discussion, I will draw on some of the witty bits of information from this article to establish how much Shakespeare played around with English when writing these plays.

Mahood, M. M. "Romeo and Juliet." Shakespeare's Wordplay. 2nd ed. London: Routlege, 1958. 56-73. Print.

This entire book discusses Shakespeare’s innovative wordplay— puns, the creation of new words. I skimmed the beginning, but jumped straight to the Romeo and Juliet chapter because that it the play I’m using as the center of my paper since it’s the one that most people have come in contact with. It’s helping me demonstrate Shakespeare’s unprecedented wordplay (something we’re used to and attribute to him) in the hopes of later making the link that it’s just as radical as adapting his texts to the modern generation. With his wordplay, Shakespeare makes old stories and themes accessible to his generation, of all classes.