A "Faithful Adaptation" of Shakespeare?

The obsession and consequent problem with creating a “faithful adaptation of Shakespeare” is not totally unique to Shakespeare. The playwright has become a “cultural idol” and his texts “sacred” (194). As with most sacred texts, such as the Bible and the Quran, there are innumerable editions and translations, each one differing from another. Every worshipper, like every scholar, undoubtedly has his or her favorite that he or she thinks best denotes the author’s intentions. Holy texts, just like Shakespearean texts, have been subject to the hands of many others and the idea of authority and authorship must be called into question in each case. Doubts about the perfect text, however, “remind us that the words before us . . . are unstable and open to question” (204). Because Shakespeare’s work is meant to be seen and not read, the problems faced in determining the authority of an edition of one of his plays is complex and subject to shifting definitions of authors and authorship.

The concept “faithful adaptation of Shakespeare” is problematic because the “perfect” version of any of his plays does not exist. The nature of drama is that it is collaborative and the playwright himself is only one component of any production; thus, the definition of authorship must be reformed. None of the Shakespearean plays that we read today are Shakespeare’s original work. As McDonald states, Shakespeare most likely reworked his plays throughout their theatrical lives; this, coupled with the fact that each time the play was performed, it was reinterpreted and altered by actors, directors, and scribes, makes it “naïve to fetishize a single text” (204). Furthermore, Shakespeare never meant for his plays to be read as they are today, so perhaps the concern for a “perfect” edition of his plays is trivial. Each time one of his plays is performed, the acting company will interact with Shakespeare’s script and the play will be different every time it’s performed. The beauty of drama is that it’s timeless. Shakespeare’s plays are able to move people four hundred years later because we can still interact with them and draw new meanings and interpretations based on our own culture and worldview. The ability to stir emotion and thought, regardless of authorial intentions, is what makes a version “perfect.”