Transforming Shakespeare Contemporary Women's Re-Visions in Literature and Performance

A surprisingly large number of women writers, directors, and performers have created works that talk back to Shakespeare, or to most earlier and more traditional interpretations of his plays, in the late 20th century. For example, Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres , which rewrites King Lear , and Marina Warner's Indigo , which rewrites The Tempest , protest biases against women and racist and imperialist attitudes that Shakespeare's plays have come to symbolize. In this collection, feminist critics--and Jane Smiley herself--explore a range of such rewritings, as well as recent Shakespeare performances directed by women.

Marianne Novy is Professor of English and former Director of Women’s Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the author ofLove’s Argument: Gender Relations in Shakespeare and the editor of Women’s Re-Visions of Shakespeare.