The Succession And Subversion To The Canon: On Hamlet's Modern Parodies

By close reading five contemporary novel adaptations of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the present study demonstrates that the parodies of Hamlet are succeed as well as subvert to the canonic literature. There exists both burlesque and intertextuality in modern parodies. The authors' efforts to reproduce, adapt or even contradict Shakespeare's classic play participate to a great extent the maintenance of the canonicity to Hamlet. Furthermore, the re-reading re-discussing of the classic literature in these parodies enables us to provide new interpretation on Hamlet and oppugn its traditional authority. Test, author and the value of parody are the main emphasis in this article. There exists between the classic text of Hamlet and the contemporary parodies symbiosis as well as opposition, intertextuality as well as communication, the canonicity of Hamlet can thus be exploited in parody——the more vivid and more creative way.