“Are you so barbarous to set iron nipples/Upon the breast
that gave you suck?” (Gratiana, Act 4, Scene 4)
As the quote above suggests, The Revenger’s Tragedy
is very much a work of its time, and its language and allegorical characters
might confuse or disturb modern audiences. And yet, the revenge tragedy has
many contemporary cousins (The Godfather, etc.) and would not be out
place in any movie or TV show. The trick is to restage it in such a way that we
could see the universal themes and ideas, without getting lost in the trickier
innuendos or conventions of 17th century society.
PROMPT: With this in mind, how could you translate the play
into a modern genre and/or setting to help audiences appreciate the dark humor
and vicious satire of the play? I want you to write a short paper that suggests
a modern way to stage this play that would help people go, “oh, I see what this
is about,” or “oh, I know that character!” Middleton made his characters
allegorical, each one representing a specific vice or virtue; consider how you
might do the same with characters or setting we immediately respond to. Could
you set The Revenger’s Tragedy in space—a new version of Alien or
Terminator? Or is this a modern hip hop musical? (the rhymes might
work!). Or perhaps it’s the latest Bravo reality show (The Housewives of Venice
County)?
APPROACH: Choose TWO PASSAGES to briefly close read as a way
of illustrating your basic approach. So, for example, if you decide that The
Revenger’s Tragedy would make sense as a prequel to Star Wars, show
us how you would stage two specific passages: how does your staging/genre help
us understand the characters, the action, the satire/humor, and the lines
themselves. You don’t have to do much, but give us a few details that suggest
your general approach. Pretend that you’re making a case for this staging to
potential investors: why would this work and make money and not be simply nuts?
You might also want to explain what a revenge tragedy is to help justify your
approach—so use Chapter 6 from Hackett as your secondary source.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 4-5
pages, double spaced
- Close
reading from two specific scenes
- Use of
Hackett as a secondary source, either Ch.6 or other (quote!)
- Quote
and cite using MLA format throughout
- Due Thursday,
April 6th by 5pm (we do have
class that day!)
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