Abstract
This Independent Study explores the ways in which playwright Lauren Gunderson adapts classic literature in her plays Toil and Trouble, which retells William Shakespeare’s Macbeth; Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, which extends Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; and I and You, which centers Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” Though these plays are not direct adaptations, they use adaptation strategies to create new stories for the stage. Through the lens of adaptation theory—building on the work of Vincent Murphy, Linda Hutcheon, and Aristotle—I perform close-readings of the plays themselves and cross- readings alongside the original works. Through these strategies, I uncover the goals within each of Gunderson’s works and the tactics she uses to achieve them, setting me up to direct a production of I and You, and turning theory into praxis.
Advisor
Huston-Findley, Shirley
Second Advisor
Sacks, Susanna
Department
English; Theatre and Dance
Recommended Citation
Luck, Brian S., "For Every Adaptation Belonging To Me As Good Belongs To You: Analyzing Intertextuality In Lauren Gunderson's Literature-Based Plays" (2022). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 9891.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/9891
Disciplines
English Language and Literature | Theatre and Performance Studies
Publication Date
2022
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2022 Brian S. Luck