Romeo And Juliet In Baghdad: An Intertextual Study From A Contemporary Iraqi Perspective
Abstract
Literature is not concerned with certain nation. It is a product of experiences, philosophies and human trends towards best ways to understand life and ulti- mately to live peacefully. Global human issues are usually processed by differ- ent literary works that excite authors to assess certain values and beliefs among their communities. Ultimately, these assessments reflect what type of culture certain community has. By approaching to such human issues and studying the circumstances around them in the selected text, reasonable answers come simultaneously to understand the above mentioned experiences and human trends. By means of intertextuality, adaptation and appropriation, this study attempts to probe Monadhil Daoud Albayati’s Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad (2012) as an intertextual text of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1596). In terms of structure and theme, the study reveals how the Shakespearean details framed Albayati’s play. Some similarities and differences are valuable due to social and cultural points of view each plot has. Such plays confront the au- dience with universal truths: conflict persists across mankind and it must be addressed before it spirals out of control. But most of all, the ambition to love and be loved is present in all times and places, whether in Baghdad or Verona, for lovers like Romeo and Juliet, or for brothers like Montague and Capulet.References
Abdel Hameed, Sami. An Article in Attaakhi Journal. http://altaakhipress. com/viewart.php?art=13070 .
Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7th ed. Boston: Heinle &Heinle, a Division of Thomason Learning, Inc., 1999.
Al-Azraki, A. & James Al-Shamma ed. & trans. Contemporary Plays from Iraq. Bloomsbury, Great Britain. 2017.
Alsameraee, Fayhaa. Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad: A debatable Play. An interview in
Arabic with the director Monadhil Daoud, on 3062012. http://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid=313805&r=0.
Barthes, Ronald. Image- Music- Text. Trans. Stephen Heath. London: Fon- tana Press, 1977.
Halio, Jay. Romeo and Juliet: A Guide to the Play. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-
-30089-5, 1998.
Hutcheon, Linda. A Theory of Adaptation. New York: Routledge, 2006. Kristeva, Julia. “Nous Deux or a (Hi)story of Intertextuality.” Romantic Review (2002).
-------. The Kristeva Reader. ed. Toril Moi. New York: Columbia UP, 1986. Sanders, Julie. Adaptation and Appropriation. London: Routledge, 2006. Simon, William. Glossary. 2004. PDF File
Taylor, Gary. “Shakespeare plays on Renaissance Stages”. In Wells, Stan- ley; Stanton,
Sarah (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. 2002.
Verrone, William. Adaptation and the Avant-Grade: Alternative Perspec- tives on Adaptation Theory and Practice. New York: Continuum Group, 2011.
Young, O. James. Cultural Appropriation and the Arts. London: Wil- ly-Blackwell, 2010.