Ophelia reimagined in Taylor Swift song and other media

In light of Taylor Swift’s new album on which her song “The Fate of Ophelia” appears, Emily Rome (creator of the podcast @shakespearesshadows) has good reflections: Why in the song does Ophelia have to be rescued by a man?

Shakespeare borrowed and adapted freely, so if we’re going to revise Ophelia, why not do so in ways that imagine her having more agency?

On Instagram, Emily has a short video in which she mentions
the 2018 film, “Ophelia,” starring Daisy Ridley;
the 2006 book by Lisa Klein on which it was based;
the Lauren M. Gunderson stage play, “A Room in the Castle,”;
and the 2019 video game, “Elsinore,”
all of which adapt Ophelia’s story in creative ways.

(And yes, video games are no longer merely ping-pong, but contain complex plots and characters, with interesting original soundtracks and visual effects, as well as effective voice actors; they generate more revenue than new releases in TV and Film, so an Ophelia video game may make interesting, significant impressions on new audiences).

There are many other Young Adult adaptations of Ophelia’s story; feel free to share favorites in the comments.

Link to the Instagram page for Emily and ShakespeareShadows in the comments.

IMAGES:
From Emily’s Instagram post cited above and in comments (fair use)




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