MOD A QUOTES

INTRO SAMPLE
Margaret Atwood’s postmodern novel Hag Seed (2016) is a pastiche of Shakespeare’s canonical text, The Tempest (1611), that alters the
ideas and values of this play to a certain extent, by both diverging and aligning to Shakespeare’s work. Atwood “reinterprets” Shakespeare’s
exploration of the idea of external forgiveness/means of freedom from others, an assumption derived from the highly rigid Jacobean
society that held social validation as paramount, to the idea of internal forgiveness of ‘self’ in order to elucidate the increased notion of
individualism that relates with the 21st-century context. Regardless of this collision, however, Atwood similarly echos Shakespeare’s
illumination of the compassion within societal outcasts/imprisonment/the treatment of “the other”, both conversing a criticism of
colonialist and contemporary assumptions that disregard and stigmatise such minorities. Thus, as a reader exposed to these resonating
and dissonating perspectives, I find the textual conversation between Hag-Seed and The Tempest reveals how Atwood alters the ideas and
values of the original to only a certain extent.

CONCLUSION SAMPLE
A concurrent study of The Tempest and Hag-Seed has created a heightened understanding of the textual discourse that illustrates how
values and assumptions concerning the means of forgiveness have changed significantly from Shakespeare’s time, as portrayed by Atwood
to reach her modern-day audience. Although, simultaneous to this conflicting perspective, Shakespeare’s work has proved to be
foundational to Atwood’s pivotal novel, in that they have exposed the continued flaw of the human morale to appreciate the compassion
within societal outcasts. Thus, through resonating and dissonating perspectives.

FORGIVENESS → LINKS TO FREEDOM → LINKS TO PERFORMANCE

DISSONANCE
Atwood’s representation of internal forgiveness of ‘self,’ rather than external forgiveness from the greater society is exemplified by the
death of Felix’s daughter, reflecting the postmodern focus on individual subjectivity and consciousness.

THESIS TEMP = Impelled by the 17th century Jacobean society that was dependent on the rigid structure of the social hierarchy,
Shakespeare presents the notion that receiving external forgiveness from others holds more importance than self-forgiveness, conflicting
with Atwood’s Hag-Seed.
HAG SEED TEMP = Atwood has reinterpreted the objective of forgiveness within The Tempest, affirming the pertinence of self-forgiveness to
enhance the relationship between Hag-Seed and the modern audience, conveying how she has altered the ideas and values of the original
text. In a society where there is increased secularism, individualism and awareness of the human psyche, the desire for forgiveness is no
longer fuelled by social validation as it was in Shakespeare’s context, but rather is a journey driven by an individual’s own agency for
intrinsic healing via the release of self-imposed guilt.

TEXT QUOTE TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS CONTEXT

Temp Prospero “Gentle Epilogue The epilogue encompasses Prospero directly In this way, “the playwright is in the
breath of yours engaging with the audience, breaking the service of the audience, a slave to the
my sails must Imagery fourth wall in a bid to receive their validation audience “(Lowenthal), signifying
Diction
fill, or else my Shakespeare’s value of amnesty from
project fails, The imagery of the audience’s “breath” that will the harsh, collective Elizabethian
Which was to result in his ultimate freedom creates a sense society, supporting his concept that
please.” of final absolution, in conjunction with the forgiveness is an “owing to others,”
alliteration and diction of “fill” and “fail” that rather than the disparate concept of
facilitates the fine line between Prospero an owing to “self” that Atwood
reconciling or not. portrays in her modern prose novel.

Temp Prospero, “Let Epilogue Metaphorically symbolises the audience’s

your indulgence Metaphor applause as the vehicle of Prospero’s
set me free” forgiveness, employing them with a higher
position of control as he is relying solely on
their participation in order for the play to have
a resolved ending.

Hag Atwood presents Symbolism The symbolism of Miranda as Felix’s shadowy Thus, Atwood alters the ideas and
this dissonating figure metaphorically reflects his own values of the original by modernising
concept when subconscious, and in adding such dimension, the rigid societal beliefs that underpin
stating, “All this Atwood adopts a sense of psychological the value of forgiveness prominent in
 time Miranda realism that allows the modern audience to Shakespeare’s context, rather arguing
has been comprehend the need for inner-forgiveness. for a postmodern celebration of
hovering behind individualism in order to access her
him - a shadow, secular modern-day audience.
a wavering of
light.”

Hag Felix states, “To Intertextuality Although inter textualising Prospero, Atwood
the elements be reinterpreted has directly “reinterpreted” his reliance on the
free..and finally, audience, to Felix’s reliance on his own
she is.”
capacity to reconcile with his inner guilt,
showing personal mercy by “freeing” his the
burden of his daughter’s memory in order to
be liberated.

IMPRISONMENT → LINKS TO POST COLONIALISM → LINKS TO SUPPRESSION OF SOCIETY → LINKS TO EXPLOITATION OF

GENDERED OTHERS → “the other”

RESONANCE
The didactic message of Shakespeare and Atwood is to elevate our capacity to embrace a more harmonious community by acknowledging
the humanity of racial and gendered societal outcasts.

THESIS TEMP = Despite Atwood’s reinterpretation of the idea of forgiveness to align with her contemporary audience, she has paralleled
with Shakespeare’s concept of the humanity within racial and gendered societal outcasts, that has been overlooked as a result of
prejudices against such groups, hence exhibiting how she alters the ideas of the original text to only a certain extent

THESIS HAG SEED = Atwood has been influenced by Shakespeare’s accentuation of the shunned humanity within societal outcasts,
mirroring how this stigmatisation of minorities remains relevant in her context. The incarceration system in the 21st century is centred
around retribution rather than rehabilitation, foregrounding the assumption that aligns to the colonial view of Indigenous people that
prisoners are inherently “evil” so cannot be salvaged.

TEXT QUOTE TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS CONTEXT

Temp Prospero’s Repetition of Emphasises the degrading attitudes prevalent RESONANCE

reference to negative in the 17th century, that painted such Shakespeare has elucidated his
Caliban as a connotations marginalised people as lacking any form of colonial context whereby Indigenous
“lying humanity. people of the land were perceived as
slave/appaud “savages” by their conquerors.
slave/poisonous However, Shakespeare has subverted
slave.” this stereotype by providing Caliban
with the most poetic vocabulary that
Temp Caliban dreaming Alliteration Manifest’s Caliban’s deep appreciation and exposes the audience to his
of “Sounds and Intricate understanding of the true beauty that suppressed, compassionate nature.
sweet airs/A auditory surrounds him amongst the harshness of his (form). Through this, Shakespeare’s
imagery
thousand reality. His ability to express raw emotions own critique of British imperialism is
twangling pushes the audience to be cognizant of and ignited, proving to be the influencing
instruments.” consider that the reason why this human foundation of Atwood’s concurrent
nature is neglected is a result of the questioning of the contemporary
predisposed rough exterior that they are in fact human morale, emphasising how The
responsible for creating. Tempest and Hag-Seed share a
conversation that explores the
neglected compassion within societal
outcasts.

Hag Postcolonial Beastial Create an aggressive tone, reinforcing the Hence, Atwood’s audience is able to
attitude imagery dehumanising ideology of the absence of reassess the way they view the
encapsulated by compassion in societal outcasts. humanity of marginalised prisoner’s,
High modality,
 politician Sal violent just as Shakespeare allowed his
O’Nally, a exclamatory audience to reassess Caliban’s
modern-day words humanity, conveying the dependent
Machiavelli who nature of the textual discourse that
regards the has led to my raised awareness of the
inmates as, compassion that lies within societal
“animals...they outcasts. Therefore, by exposing this
should all be in continued stigmatisation of the
cages! They marginalised from the 17th century to
should all be the 21st century, fostered further by
fucking dead!” employing Caliabn into the 15
different inmates to show the diverse
Hag 8Handz during Sibilance The sibilance of “scared shitless” in conjunction range of the “other,” Atwood clearly
the Temp Ellipses with the ellipses and soft tone of the question resonates to the ideas and values of
reenactment in Soft tone demonstrates the intensity of the suffering the original.
front of the 8Handz is able to pity for, even though it
overpowered concerns the very people who portray him as
politicians incapable of commiseration.
empathetically
comments,
“They’re scared
shitless...Don’t
you feel sorry for
them?