As we near the end of the semester and the end of this research project, it's time to pull in all the threads of my inquiry and see what I've discovered as I've explored Shakespeare and YA literature.
Research Question and Thesis
I started this project with a question rather than a thesis. That question (as found in my Focus Project post) is "What elements of Shakespeare can be successfully translated into the young adult experience?" This served me well as I researched, and I've finally come to an actual thesis: Teen lit adaptations of Shakespeare can make the Bard more accessible to young adults, adding to--rather than detracting from--Shakespeare's original texts.
Primary sources
I wanted to read multiple books on Shakespeare, listed in my Focus Project post.
I originally planned to read multiple books based on each play as I planned in this post for The Tempest, but then I changed my plans to read one book for each play.
I reviewed Ariel and The Loser's Guide to Life and Love. I also read Dating Hamlet and The Wednesday Wars, but I didn't have the time to write up reviews.
Textual analysis
I looked in-depth at A Midsummer Night's Dream and made two posts about teen themes that could be used in YA adaptations. The first was about frustrated love and the second was about female friendship.
Scholarly Resources
I checked out a couple of books about Shakespeare and YA literature, which I overviewed here. I followed up by reviewing several articles, one comparing Hamlet to Bridge to Terabithia and another about Harry Potter and Shakespeare as a storyteller.
