TT/HS Essay 2
To what extent is Hag-Seed a re-framed and re-imagined version of The Tempest?
To a great extent, Hag-Seed is a considered, dialectic re-imagination of The Tempest, as it
re-frames the values essential to Shakespeare’s construction of the human condition, in a
manner relevant to the secular context. William Shakespeare’s final play The Tempest, 1611,
is a Renaissance hybrid tragicomedy, positing a Christian humanist perspective on certain
concerns of the human experience. A reimagining of this drama, Margaret Atwood’s Hag-
Seed, 2016, is a post-structuralist observation on similar values through a 21 century lens.
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Atwood explores the contemporary effects of colonial enterprise through marginalisation
and the inherent representation of minorities, the transformational nature of moving from
revenge to forgiveness, and the transcendent notion of isolation and imprisonment from
society. Thus, by adapting Shakespeare’s plot to a contemporary context, and re-framing
the values which are explored in The Tempest, Atwood’s Hag-Seed is a re-imaged version of
Shakespeare’s play. Very good. Remember that Atwood’s innovation brings new life (and
hence continuing relevance) to WS’s concepts, textual ideas, language. Also consider FORM.
Play = conflict (per drama of course) Novel = character
In her adaptation of The Tempest, Atwood echoes Shakespeare’s negative commentary on
colonial enterprise, and extends his divergence from the 17th century view of female
representation. Shakespeare’s progressive view of women can be seen through his crafting
Miranda to disobey her father in offering to “bear” Ferdinand’s “logs the while”. However,
as the play was written in the early 17 century, she is still seen as an object, and is
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described by Prospero as a “worthily purchased” “gift” when blessing her impending
marriage to Ferdinand. This metaphorical objectification of Miranda as a ‘gift’ highlights the
diminished value of women in Jacobean society. Atwood, a 3 wave-feminist, crafts Anne-
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Marie Greenland (AMG) as multifaceted, her character arc ranges from a “grip like a jar
opener” and an “I can take care of myself” attitude yet is seen “knitting” and cooking for
“inmates” of the Fletcher Correctional Centre as the novel progresses. The Juxtaposition
created between these two images assists Atwood in breaking the Freudian ‘angel-whore
dichotomy’ stereotype of women as seen in the 17 century. By her own admission, while
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her text is not didactic Atwood does re-imagine the role of an independent woman in Hag-
Seed, but to a greater extent compared to Shakespeare, from the perspective of a post-
structuralist audience. Further, in the Tempest, Shakespeare posits a negative commentary
on colonial enterprise, as seen through his characterisation of Caliban. An anagram for
“cannibal”, Caliban is depicted as a “savage” by Prospero, who refers to him as “my slave”.
By using possessive pronouns, Shakespeare emphasises the deterioration of the “abhorred
slave” from the King of the isle to a mere “monster”, however, Caliban’s speech signifies
nobility: his blank verse characterises some of the most beautiful and emotive lines in the
drama. Thus, Shakespeare positions the audience to sympathise for Caliban, inherently
condemning colonial enterprise. As colonialism no longer exists, Atwood extends this
criticism to its modern effects, being marginalisation of ethnic minorities, from “East Asian”
to “Vietnamese” and “First nations”, all of whom exist in a medium-security prison in her
novel. By re-imagining Caliban from The Tempest, as every prisoner in Hag-Seed, Atwood
effectively highlights the very real by-product of colonialism, as society continues to
compartmentalise the ‘problem’ into correctional facilities. Thus, Atwood’s commentary
extends and re-reframes issues Shakespeare articulates in his Jacobean context, as they are
equally as relevant and observable in contemporary society.
In her re-imagination of The Tempest, Atwood reiterates the importance of forgiveness, via
its transformation from vengeance. Prospero, the “wronged Duke of Milan”, who is usurped
and literally pushed out to sea by his “perfidious brother”, spent “12 years” crafting his
revenge until all his “enemies” lay “at [his] mercy”. The high modal language that Prospero
uses to characterise his brother, Antonio, focusses the unresolved hatred that cannot be
released unless or until he is able to forgive. This pivotal need for mercy also reflects the
contextual relevance of forgiveness to the King James Bible. Similar to Shakespeare,
Atwood’s protagonist Felix Phillips, metaphorically usurped by his “devious twisted bastard”
assistant, Tony Price, also spent “12 years chewing over his revenge”. This culinary
metaphor further distinguishes the unreserved, pathological obsession that renders him
unable to move forward, to make progress in life. Thus, by mirroring Prospero in Felix,
Atwood comments on the transcendent importance of the Jacobean value in forgiveness to
the human condition, regardless of context. With the help of the “ethereal spirit” Ariel,
Prospero recognises that "the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance", and expresses to
his “enemies”, “I do forgive thy rankest fault”. Likewise, Felix, grudgingly says “I pardon all
of you, and we’ll let bygones be bygones”. Atwood echoes the conditional nature of
forgiveness in her novel, which shifts the notion to a more achievable, and thus palatable
act. Therefore, Hag-Seed is a re-framed version of The Tempest, as it recycles and reiterates
the importance of certain values relating to the human condition, such as forgiveness,
compassion, moderation, and virtue.
Atwood ‘s dialectic interpretation, and conseuent re-framing of the notions of imprisonment
and isolation in Hag-Seed, mirrors the sense of detachment from society through a
psychological context that is more relatable to her 21st century audience. Prospero
analeptically reveals the events leading to how they “came unto this cell” by the hands of
Miranda’s “false uncle” Antonio, in a “rotten carcass of a butt…the very rats instinctively had
quit”. This metaphorical likening of the island to a ‘cell’ unmistakably emphasises the theme
of actual physical imprisonment and in turn the social isolation of Prospero and Miranda
who, as the dramatic foil of evil, translates as ‘admirable’. Atwood uses similar micro
linguistic references to describe Felix’s aligning sense of isolation as he is “lost at sea,
drifting here, drifting there. In a rotten carcass the very rats have quit”. Astutely, Atwood
employs this description metaphorically, accentuating Felix’s self-imposed segregation to his
“hovel”, thereby reimagining the context of imprisonment from a forced physical
confinement to a self-imposed psychological prison, formed of his own guilt and “self-
castigation”. Felix’s grief is his own jailer, as he exists in a state of denial, where the thought
of his deceased daughter and wife is “too painful still”, and so he “pretends it was only a
movie”. More humanised than Prospero, and therefore more immediately accessible to
contemporary the audience, through Felix’s emotional journey in confronting his grief, he
leaves their memories “locked behind the glass”, and finally, can “be (set) free”. Thus,
Atwood refashions the concept of imprisonment by considering the emotional events that
lead to isolation, allowing her to highlight its presence and significance in modern society.
Both Atwood and Shakespeare offer observations of their respective worlds, which exist
centuries apart, yet, per their dialectic connection, articulate core values that characterise
elements connecting and reflecting the human condition. The effects of colonial enterprise
and the subsequent treatment and representation of minorities are issues that Atwood
emphasises did not end with colonisation, but it continues, impliedly insidiously, in its
effects, being marginalisation. Atwood also reiterates the importance of compassion,
moderation and forgiveness to humanity, through its transformational effects in the
redemptive journey from vengeance. Lastly, Atwood’s version of The Tempest explores the
theme of imprisonment through the sense of isolation that is caused by loss, and the
inherent incarceration by one's own guilt. Therefore, to a great extent, Atwood’s Hag-Seed
is a version of The Tempest, as it restates the core values attaching to the human condition,
which are not transfixed in time nor place, through a contextually relevant scenario.
This is clear, and smart. An A
