 First edition | |
| Author | Margaret Atwood |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Hogarth Shakespeare |
| Genre | Theatre-fiction |
| Publisher |
|
| Publication place | Great Britain |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 289 |
| ISBN | 978-0-099-59402-4 |
Hag-Seed is a novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, published in October 2016. A modern retelling of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, the novel was commissioned by Random House as part of its Hogarth Shakespeare series.[1]
The novel centres on theatre director Felix who loses his job with Makeshiweg Theatre, and is exiled from his position in society, following his betrayal by a trusted colleague. Having suffered in isolation, Felix is granted the position of teaching in a prison literacy program in the Fletcher County Correctional Institute. Thus begins his plot of revenge against those who wronged him.[2]
The novel had varying reception among critics and audiences. A witty, dark and imaginative adaptation of Shakespeare's play, Hag-Seed manages to convincingly create a vengeful Duke Prospero[citation needed] from the slightly ridiculous, and certainly more sympathetic, director Felix. Dealing with themes of loss, revenge, a life of imprisonment and the concept of closure, Atwood uses Felix's lessons on The Tempest to the actor-inmates to demonstrate the parallels between her text and the original play.
The story culminates with a "fantastic climax of dark calamity"[3] in a metaphorical and literal storm.
Atwood's Hag-Seed can be considered an example of what Graham Wolfe calls theatre-fiction: "referring to novels and stories that engage in concrete and sustained ways with theatre as artistic practice and industry".[4]
- ^ Groskop, Viv (2016-10-16). "Hag-Seed review – Margaret Atwood turns The Tempest into a perfect storm". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
- ^ Atwood, Margaret (August 2017). Hag-Seed : The Tempest Retold. Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. London. ISBN 9780099594024. OCLC 1001957163.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Groskop, Viv (2016-10-16). "Hag-Seed review – Margaret Atwood turns The Tempest into a perfect storm". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
- ^ Wolfe, Graham. Theatre-Fiction in Britain from Henry James to Doris Lessing: Writing in the Wings. Routledge, 2019. 2.