VISUAL TO VIRTUAL: THE MEDIA TRANSFORMATIONS OF SHAKESPEARE

Abstract

The paper examines the presence of Shakespeare’s work in media. Since the reception of his opus has transcended close reading and stage productions, Shakespearean studies have expanded into film, television and the Internet. What makes popular culture exploit motifs and quotations from Shakespeare and why does the American colective unconscious gets exposed by the means of recycling Shakespeare in the mass culture and entertainment industry? The paper surveys some recent media transformations of Shakespeare’s work.