During our lectorial, we were asked to compile together a well-known short story in the order that we thought fit – there were no rights or wrongs. Overall, the end product of what we made – though it was somewhat similar to the original – had a whole different outcome. Earlier this week, while watching Akira Kurosawa’s adapted version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, called Throne of Blood (1957), it reminded me of that exercise. The question posed to us in my Textual Crossings class was whether or not we thought it was a successful adaption? I did.
I thought of the story we looked at in the lectorial: cut up and sewn back together by a new author (me). Though the story was not the same, it did derive from the original product – and that’s how I saw Throne of Blood. Aspects of the story changed due to the different culture, time and experiences of the new author, Kurosawa, but Shakespeare’s overall idea remained the same.
Throne of Blood, 1957 (Image Source)
