Beyond the review: HSC resource package with a focus on Hamlet by Nicki Greenberg

摘要

There is no gentle tweaking or surreptitious pushing of the literary boundaries here! With the force of a battering ram, Nicki Greenberg's 428 page vibrant, graphic novel thrusts Shakespeare's Hamlet into the 21st century. It has depth, dynamism, melancholy, mania, animosity and action that transform Shakespeare's famous revenge tragedy for the new millennium. Its comics format is appropriate in an era that is beginning to appreciate the delivery of literature in a more pluralistic manner, and at a time when, as Kevin Patrick has noted, the newfound social acceptance of `graphic novels' has given Australian authors, publishers and readers alike the cultural permission to assess the comics medium in a manner comparable with literature, cinema or music. [And that] in such enlightened circumstances, we might now justifiably anticipate the appearance of the great Australian (graphic) novel. Patrick (2012) Stunningly conceived and realised, Greenberg's adaptation of Shakespeare's 400 year old play script offers readers a depth of aesthetic and literary engagement with the play. Greenberg presents Hamlet from a personal perspective, expressing an astute understanding of the canonical play and imbuing it with elements of contemporary culture. Shifting the original drama from stage to page using the sequential art format offers a unique demonstration of how the work can be valued in a different context.