10.13125/2039-6597/3237
As one of the pillars of the Western canon, Shakespeare has been a source of inspiration for many forms of popular culture: comics make no exception, having often used Shakespearean plays as a base for adaptations whose degree of fidelity to the source text may vary considerably (Kill Shakespeare is a recent example).The trans-medial operation which turns Shakespeare’s plays into comics is complicated by the form of the plays themselves, by the theatrical tradition embedded in and shaping the source text:  the textual and spatial norms of comics are certainly challenged by the three-dimensionality of the theatrical performance and by the use of dramatic words, essential to evoke the spaces of the plot but excessively abundant for a comic balloon.Space, however, can also play an important role in shaping a comic narrative which interprets Shakespeare’s plays in innovative ways, devising unexpected approaches to the target medium. Analyzing versions from Classics Illustrated, Topolino, as well as Zarate’s and DeLuca’s adaptations of Shakespearean plays, this contribution aims at disclosing the way comics combine the space of the page and the space of the stage, embracing the theatrical nature of Shakespeare’s plays without forgetting the requirement of the target medium.
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Eleonora Fois
Between
transmediality
'A king of infinite space’: Shakespearean Spaces in Theatre and Comics
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8
Essay
2018-07-10
2018-02-16
2018-07-10
2018-07-10
1
Eleonora Fois
2018/07/10
10.13125/2039-6597/3237
2039-6597
15
transmediality
en
'A king of infinite space’: Shakespearean Spaces in Theatre and Comics
https://ojs.unica.it/index.php/between/article/download/3237/2927
8
             ‘A King of Infinite Space’:
               Shakespearian Spaces
             between Stage and Comics
                                Eleonora Fois


                       Shakespeare and Comics
     As Gilbert Seldes noticed, «Of all the lively arts the comic strip is
the most despised, and with the exception of the movies is the most
popular» (Seldes: 1924, 213): such popularity was exploited by comics
such as Crazy Cat to tackle social and moral issues. While there is little
doubt as to the readers’ appreciation, comics fought against a persistent
skepticism (concerning their quality and their artistic value) which
became particularly harsh when they dared to embrace and interpret
revered artists and pillars of the Western canon like Shakespeare. Such
inspiration in particular has been fueling the conflict between popular
and high culture, whose core probably lies in interpreting the term
‘popular’ as a simplified rendition of an artistic work (Shaughnessy
2007). A ‘popular’ work reaches the highest and indiscriminate number
of people, and the term ‘popular culture’ itself seems to imply mass
consumption (Gillespie and Rhodes 2006: 1) and loss of quality.
     It is worth remembering, however, that Shakespeare thrived by
challenging with ease the two-tier, stiff classification between high and
low contents (Henderson 2007: 15). Moreover, Shakespeare’s cultural
endurance is closely connected to the popular interest; hence, inter-
semiotic translations of his plays are vital, and their analysis should be
encouraged.




Between, vol. VIII, n. 15 (Maggio/ May 2018)
Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



     For instance, the trans-medial transfer of Shakespearean plays into
comics leads to many stimulating reflections not only on the ways
through which the source material is shaped and enriched by the target
medium, but also on the possible alternative solutions to interpret and
embrace the source medium itself.
     A skilful exploitation of the visual specificity and peculiarity of the
comic book page allows for groundbreaking renditions of Shakespeare’s
theatre. Moreover, the challenge of facing a canonical author stimulates
the creation of visual solutions worthy of the source text, with a
beneficial impulse on the aesthetic evolution of the target medium itself.

     Trans-medial operations involving Shakespeare’s plays are
generally labeled ‘offshoots’, indicating the rough Shakespearean
inspiration for the plot and the involvement of media other than theatre.
Inside this broad category we first have appropriation, which entails «a
[…] decisive journey away from the informing text into a wholly new
cultural product» (Sanders: 2015, 35). The reader’s curiosity is triggered
by some background Shakespearean references while the main plot
follows independent trajectories: a good example is “A Midsummer
Night's Dream”, by Neil Gaiman (DC Comics, 1990), whose premise of
the third section draws upon Shakespeare's eponymous play, combining
fantasy with mythology and drama1.


1 Issue 19 of The Sandman: Dream country begins with Gaiman teasing the
reader with a long shot of wagons travelling on the road: it is a troupe of weary
actors, the youngest of whom, Hamnet, longs to find shelter and rest. The
destination is known only to the man who seems to be in charge, whom an
actor calls Will. Waiting for Will on the top of a hill is the dark and mysterious
Dream: it is he who commissioned the mysterious man - the reader will have
by now understood his identity - to write a play. Little does Shakespeare know
that the play will be staged for its very characters: Titania, Auberon, Puck and
many other fairy figures. As Dream recalls, ‘we came to… an arrangement,
four years back (in Sandman #13, “Men of Good Fortune,”): I’d give him what
he thinks he most desires…and in return he’s write [sic] two plays for me’.
Shakespeare longed to possess the adequate skills to outshine his rival


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      A more recent appropriation is Kill Shakespeare: evident homage to
Tarantino’s Kill Bill, it is a twelve-issue comic book limited series
released by IDW Publishing from 2010 to 2014. The characters of this
awarded comic series are popular Shakespearean tragic characters,
fighting in two (rather predictable) teams of villain and heroes who
struggle to get the quill that will set them free from their creator’s chains.
Kill Shakespeare does not deeply engage with the features of
Shakespeare’s characters, nor does it require a deep knowledge of the
plays to which they originally belonged to follow the plot: due to that,
critical reviews of this comics perfectly exemplify the recalcitrance in
dealing with popular adaptations of Shakespeare, especially when they
do not commit to the source text2.
      The second category of offshoots includes «adaptation,
characterized by ‘substantial cuts of scenes and speech assignments;
much alteration of language; and at least one and usually several
important additions» (Cohn 2015: 3) but also a general degree of
faithfulness; these adaptations3, which embrace the plot and the



Marlowe and ‘spur the minds of men’. In exchange, he wrote two plays, the
second of which appears in the final issue #75, "The Tempest’. «The effect on
the reader is as seamless and simultaneous as watching a live performance of
the play itself» (Mortimore-Smith: 2012, 86).
2 Shakespearean scholar Kimberly Cox used rather strong negative adjectives

to criticize not only the lack of attempt to recreate the language, claiming that
‘It’s not so difficult once you study enough of the text’, but also the overall idea
of the comic, which has been defined ‘insipid and anti-intellectual’, ‘an
embarrassment for those who know Elizabethan and Jacobean drama’
(http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/04/12/shakespearan-scholar-and-frank-
millers-girlfriend-blasts-kill-shakespeare/).
3 The term ‘comics’ covers the language but also the medium and the subgenre

of the comic book: Shakespeare’s graphic adaptations are uniformly labeled as
graphic novels. A neat critical distinction between graphic novel and comic
book is still in progress. The first graphic novel appeared in 1978 with A
Contract with God by Will Eisner, who employed the term coined by Richard
Kyle around 1964 (Gravett 2005: 8) to define and distinguish his work from the


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Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



theatrical nature of the plays using them as a definite reference, are ideal
to study how the many dimensions of the theatrical stage challenge and
empower the spatial design of the comic panel. Attempts had been made
to squeeze the stage inside a strip: Copi, playwright and comic writer
who published in Le Nouvel Observateur, Linus and Evergreen, recreated
the theatrical atmosphere on his strips by combining the silence, the
delays and the dilated time of the stage with an essentialist scenario (a
lady sitting on a chair and a series of improbable interlocutors: kids,
chickens, snails, elephants, ants and many more. Origa: 1977, 169).
Adapting plays written for and solidly rooted in precise theatrical
conventions from the past, however, is a far more complex task:

         The challenge of the artist is constantly to balance the basic
      requirement of the medium [comics] to condense and clarify
      against the obligation to convey as fully as possible the play's
      complexity and depth by suggesting more than is shown or said.
      (Perret 2004: 74).

     The source play (along with its theatrical nature) needs to be
converted into a new narrative which does not betray the requirements
of the target medium (Vanhaesebrouck 2004).

         Medium specificity is the view that the media associated with a
      given art form (both its material components and the processes by


previous comic-book production. Some critics state that the opposition is
nonexistent, like «the difference between movies, films and cinema» (Wolk
2007: 61), or it is «a matter of labels», not having «anything to do with content
or with any other feature» (Saraceni 2004: 4). Others distinguish between the
two in terms of length (Rothschild 1995: xiv) or characters’ evolution (Weiner
2005: vii). According to Romero-Jódar, both are defined as narrative iconical
subgenres (2013: 122), graphic novels being a derivative evolution of the comic
book. While they share the same iconic language, they differ in the use of
narrative time, which in turn affects both the evolution of the characters and
the time progression of the narration (132).



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     which they are exploited) (1) entail specific possibilities for and
     constraints on representation and expression, and (2) this provides
     a normative framework for what artists working in that art form
     ought to attend. (Pratt 2009: 97)

     Hence, criticism of Shakespearean comic adaptations based on the
differences between the source and the target text unmasks the implicit
tendency to perceive the former as superior and to ignore the relevance
of the target medium and its peculiarities in the inter-semiotic
translation. Since every translation process is a mediation, the
mediator’s contribution (in this case, the comic writer or illustrator)
cannot be passively limited to a mere reproduction of contents: «Comic
book versions of Shakespeare's plays are not just illustrated digests of
plots and sketches of character: inescapably, they interpret as well as
inform» (Perret 2004: 73).
     Spatial elements can then play a key role in Shakespearean
adaptations: the following case studies demonstrate that the spatial
distribution of panels on the comic book page and an original rendition
of the space inside the panel are particularly suitable to reinterpret
Shakespearean theatrical spaces as well as translating the key moments
of the source plays in visually intriguing solutions.

         Theatrical Spaces on the Elizabethan Stage
      Drama is a multi-medial narrative with a strong focus on action,
which, in turn, needs to be supported and enhanced by words: for this
reason, showing on stage proves more efficient than telling. Drama is
also based on the here and now of the performance, where the visual
element finds its core.
      Theatrical space is the union of the dramatic space (intended as the
fictional space), the stage space (occupied by the actors), and the gestural
space (described by the actors’ movements): the audience becomes in
turn part of the space and of the performance as well. A powerful
instrument to communicate via spatial references is proxemics: the




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Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



change in space (on stage) might then reveal clues on the development
of the action without uttering a line.
     As Styan underlines, «silence and space are the two aspects of
Shakespeare’s art which have been generally neglected» (Styan 1977: 20).
The Elizabethan spatial network involved various kinds of spaces4, the
most relevant of which were the stage space and the setting, the hardest
to reproduce on comic adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. Being both
real and virtual spaces of the theatre, they framed the actors and gave
concrete evocativeness also to imaginary places. Moreover, the actors’
position on the stage, the stage design, the scenery and the spatial
indicators in the text were all elements which contributed to the message
and to the performance: the foregrounding technique of making
something or someone prominent in an immediate space proved that the
position in the space was significant (West 2002).
     The theatrical tendency to focus on action might lead to think that
translating Shakespearean theatre into comics is quite an immediate
operation: since action needs to be visualized, it appears particularly
suitable to be visually represented in a panel. The Elizabethan theatre5,
however, was evocative, not representative (Bernardi-Susa 2005: 172),
and ignored the perspective which, for instance, characterized the Italian
scenography. When the chorus of Henry V asks «Can this cockpit hold /
The vasty fields of France? Or may we cram / Within this wooden O the


4 The classification of spaces in Shakespeare’s and Elizabethan theatre includes
the structural / topological space as the space whose crossing pushes the plot
forward; the space in the single scene, which often is clarified or reinforced by
deixis; linguistic/poetic space, as in the ‘spacious’ blank verse (which gives
space to operate on psychology and to describe social interactions); social
space, which produces and motivates social interactions, and space as
indicator of power; finally, early modern geography, or the geographical space
as it was known in Shakespeare’s time (Habermann-Witen 2016: 4).
5 The playhouse is commonly known as Elizabethan theatre, to indicate the

period in which the theatrical exploit of Shakespeare and Burbage developed,
but there was not a perfect chronological overlapping (Sinisi – Innamorati
2003: 99).


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very casques / That did affright the air at Agincourt? (Act I, Prologue,
vv. 12-15) the answer is certainly negative, so the audience’s «imaginary
forces» (v. 19) had to be supported by a «verbal scenography» (Baldini
2001: 113): while a limited number of objects helped establish the scene,
the space of the action was evoked through words. Verbal descriptions
were a consequence of the structure of the playhouse, which, far from
being a mere frame, heavily contributed to the meaning of the play 6
itself: for instance, the presence of gallants (people who could afford to
see the performance from the galleries or even from the stage) turned
the nature of Shakespeare’s asides from monologues to actual dialogues
(ibid.: 115).
      The Elizabethan stage did not try to portrait a precise room or
space: «it was an unlocalized, neutral area, available to be split into two,
three, or more parts» (Styan 1977: 24). The dramatic action took place in
four different parts of the stage: the front stage (beyond the roof) and the
back stage (behind the roof) were used for scenes set in the open, while
the inner stage and the upper stage were reserved for scenes in indoor
or elevated space, such as a bedroom or a balcony. The stage could
support and even boost the meaning of a scene: the space – or the lack
thereof – between the characters could improve the quality of a
duologue, as the distance between the two young lovers justified the
lyricism of the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet. Furthermore, the
placement on stage influenced the audience’s predilection for one
character or the other: the closer the character was to the audience, the
warmer they would respond to him/her. Finally, a void around the actor,
who then remains alone on the stage, further highlighted the sense of
isolation of monologues.
      Spectators were able to focus on the fight between Tybald and
Benvolio but also on the crowd among them, fully understanding the



6
 A change of space could also determine a change of audience and of plays to
be performed, as it happened with the new indoor theatre built by the King’s
men in Blackfriars, which could allow for performances even in the winter
season and for this reason attracted a new kind of audience (Baldini 2011: 111).


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Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



complexity of the scene, or they could observe Hamlet uttering his ‘to be
or not to be’ soliloquy while noticing other characters in the background
as well: unless the comic artist is able to develop innovative solutions,
such an extensive control of spatial relations dangerously translates on
the page into a monotonous frontal perspective and a wide panoramic
frame, at the expense of visual variety and narrative rhythm. The main
challenge of the theatrical space is connected to the audience’s
individual contribution and personal vision: «the spectator in the theatre
controls his own spatial relationships as he answers the needs of his
perception» (Styan 1977: 21), while space in comics follows different
rules.

                                  Space in Comics
     Character, action, and environment are the three fixed elements,
related to each other and always simultaneously present, of comic
narration (Moro 1991: 32). Visual narration also includes the time of the
story, the time where the story is set and the time as the duration of the
reading process. This is why space and time are linked: the panel
symbolically represents a space which acquires a temporal dimension as
the reading proceeds. It is the reader who assigns a time and a duration
to the action represented in the panel, and the length of dialogues in the
balloons reinforces the expression of time through space (Gubern 1976:
35). Far from being a mere background, the comic space selects the
perspective which will dominate the panel: space is an «open sign»
(Krafft 1982: 54), limited only by the borders of the panel. By imposing
a specific gaze, space can help shape the reader’s perception, as when
blurred and undefined spatial elements – mere profiles, for instance –
may signal the need to focus on the figures in the foreground. Thus,
analyzing the space and its function in the panel is to understand if it
has a mere function of background or if it controls the understanding of
situations or characters’ psychology.
     It is the continuous tension between the story and the panel which
drives comics forward: by absorbing the image in a stream of frames, the
story tends to make the reader forget the individual images, whereas the


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panel isolates the image and forces the reader to focus on it (Peeters 2000:
39). Space in comics, however, involves more than the setting or the
background of a panel: it also includes the disposition of the panels on
the page and the space they occupy as well. Panels are distributed and
combined into a narrative across the gutter, but the reader makes them
a whole in the process of closure, as Mc Cloud called it: the ability to
observe the part and to perceive the whole (Pratt 2009: 111), so that,
bridging the temporal and spatial gap symbolized by the gutter, the
reader transforms two panels into a uniformed and unified image and
idea. Finally, space functions as a cohesive element: the narrative is
strengthened by characters occupying a certain location one panel after
the other (Mikkonen 2011: 641).

        Comics combine the arts of drawing and painting (in all their
     various forms from caricature to abstraction to photorealism), the
     layout elements of print media, the verbal tropes of literature, the
     visual narrative language of film, and the storytelling of serials, and
     then they transform these shared elements into something different
     from their uses in other media (Smith 2011: 112).

     What acquires importance on the stage, then, might not be equally
relevant on the page. Comics engaging with theatrical adaptations are
constantly confronted with the image of the actor and his/her
performance on the stage. The bi-dimensional images in the panel, static
by nature, are challenged by the actors’ dynamicity. When trying to
define how the theatrical space is translated into comics, the question is
not only to see ‘what is shown’, but, retracing the theatrical perspective,
‘how it is shown’: this is why space can be pivotal in adapting
Shakespeare for comics, as an element which can contribute to a
successful translation.
     The main criterion which determined the choice of the case studies
included in the following analysis is their innovative artistic approach
to the play, which, in turn, reflects on the spatial dimension.
     Classics Illustrated, Topolino and Il Giornalino (which published
Amleto and Romeo and Juliet illustrated by DeLuca) are ideally (but not


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Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



exclusively or rigidly) addressed to young readers, while Zarate’s
adaptation belongs to a collection explicitly intended for young
students. While the target audience appears to be homogeneous, the
styles and the artistic vision are diversified and enriched by one more
key feature: all the case studies are adaptations, not general offsprings7.
Their bond with theatre being willingly stronger but not constraining,
these adaptations move freely around their play of reference, offering a
diversified scenario. The following case studies, then, approach,
reinterpret and depict Shakespeare’s theatrical space in different ways,
as a demonstration not only of the mediator’s importance in interpreting
the play and in representing it in a unique style, but also of the way the
spatial organization of the panels, their sequence and their distribution
on the page might stand out from the usual representation and
contribute to innovating the medium.

                    Shakespearean Spaces in Comics
                                  Classics Illustrated
      Classics Ilustrated (CI), originally known as Classic Comics and
published by Gilberton Company from 1941 to 1971, was the first
attempt to merge comics and literature: having noticed that children
were more interested in comics than books, CI creator Albert Kanter
introduced them to literature in a pleasing way, as suggested by the
message at the end of each issue: «now that you have read the Classics
Illustrated edition, don’t miss the added enjoyment of reading the
original, obtainable at your school or public library».



7
 Among the graphic adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays (without considering
the offsprings) are also The Manga Shakespeare series, which started in 2007 by
Self Made Hero, and the No Fear Shakespeare series (Spark Publishing, 2008,
which features Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth), a hybrid of the actual
Shakespeare’s language and the modernized versions from the No Fear
Shakespeare translations freely available online.



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      Among the Shakespearean tragedies adapted in CI are Julius Caesar,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet. The CI series was
labeled as spurious, due to the absence of superheroes, and, as a
confirmation of the prejudice towards popular cultural expressions,
deemed unworthy of dealing with the classics of Western canon. It was
guilty of polluting classic literature and subverting high culture (Jones
2002: 6). Despise such strict critical evaluation, a closer look allows to see
that, in dealing with Shakespeare, CI actually sacrificed on the altar of
the reverence to the classic more than one feature of comic-book art.
Shakespeare’s Early-Modern language (with the exception of the
captions which are in contemporary English) is carefully preserved: his
language was certainly abridged, but never rewritten. Given the
audience of reference, it appears quite a rigorous approach: however, «a
student of popular culture can learn much from Classics Illustrated about
postwar America’s assumptions about the interests and capacities of its
children» (Jones 2002: 4). This might also have been related to the desire
to elevate the status of the work or to compensate the inevitable loss of
some features by leaving at least one intact. It surely must not have been
an easy task for the illustrator: «the Bard elicited what was perhaps
Blum’s greatest single effort» (ibid.: 85), but the main consequence of
such a rigorous linguistic perspective was to forsake some essential
features of comic storytelling, as the balance between words and space
of the panel. In CI, long and dense balloons expand on the panel, forcing
the reader to dilate the reading time at the expense of the overall rhythm.
The time span of the single panel is dependent on the words in the
balloons, for one infers the probable duration of the lines from one’s own
experience (Pratt 2009: 109): in 1952 Hamlet, the difference between the
scene preceding the ghost’s appearance, where the lines are quick and
there is space for at least three panels in one page, and Hamlet’s
soliloquy, where a bulky balloon leaves very little freedom to the spatial
development and forces the panel to expand, is directly related to the
amount of words used, which, in turn, translated into a slower pace and
a hesitant rhythm.




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Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics




          Classics Illustrated # 99 Hamlet, New York, Gilberton Publications, 1952: 4; 15


     In this Hamlet, «the storytelling duties fall completely to the text»
(Jones 2002: 85), and so does the space of the panel: the characters are
not dynamically perceived because of the length of the monologues, and
Hamlet’s intellectual action does not find a dynamic graphic
representation.
     While the target medium suffered because of the loss of one
important component, a certain attention to the theatrical dimension of
the source text can still be detected, for characters are drawn in poses
which recall and are inspired by actors on stage: «characters and settings
were drawn in such a way that the reader might sense he was viewing
an artistic rendering of an actual performance of Hamlet» (Wetmore
2006: 176) 8.


8
 In the 1990 edition of Hamlet, however (Varnum – Gibbons 2007: 140) space
in the panel contributes to building the atmosphere, as when columns and
arches frame Hamlet as if he was in a cage; the landscape is far from evoking
calmness: the towers casting shadows and the waves symbolize fear and
anxiety. There is also a different representation of monologues: a chain of
balloons divides the thread of thoughts into three neat moments, clarifying it


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      Classics Illustrated # 99 Hamlet, New York, Gilberton Publications, 1952: 21


      The lesson which can be drawn from CI attempt to preserve the
Shakespearean text whenever possible is that comics entail a different
approach to the text, regardless of its dramatic and literary canonicity:
while one of the reasons for the lavish language of Elizabethan theatre
was to compensate the lack of visual reference, such problem does not
concern comics, where the balance between image and words is crucial
in terms of rhythm and panel design.

         Othello by Oscar Zarate: Space as Impression
     Together with a King Lear illustrated by Ian Pollock, Othello is part
of the ‘Cartoon Shakespeare’ series published by Oval Projects in 1984.
Just as CI, Othello greatly preserves the original language, providing an
unabridged version of the play and presenting brief captions which only
features the act and the characters. Readers are nonetheless guided by a




for the reader. Moreover, the dialogue is still represented as spoken, so the
character addresses the reader as the actor the audience.


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Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



brief summary of the plot and an introductory guide to frame the
character of Othello in Elizabethan times.
      Oscar Zarate’s Othello, whose rendition visually experiments with
varying angles, shifting perspectives and panel shapes but also with the
use of color, is characterized by a vivid non-mimetic inspiration. Zarate’s
solutions for spatial organization of panels do not seek realism and are
all the more interesting and visually captivating because of the original
exploitation of the medium potential. Some recurring symbolic elements
contribute to adding coherence and further guiding the reader. In the
following panels, the eagle initially stands out as a black shadow against
a white background, then it is recalled by Iago’s hands, like claws on
Othello’s shoulder, and finally it flies around Othello and smashes a
mirror, signaling the victory of Iago’s persuasion.




     Othello- the Complete Play Illustrated by Oscar Zarate, London, The Can of Worms
                                       Press, 2005: 65; 67


     In Zarate’s illustrations, the key to express the emotion of the
tragedy and translate it into images also lies in the way the space of each
panel is shaped and organized on the page, so that the ensemble is
coherent with the character portrayed: panels resembling shattered


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pieces of glass, showing only fragments of Othello’s figure, are
functional to the visual translation of Othello’s shattered mind.




  Othello- the Complete Play Illustrated by Oscar Zarate, London, The Can of Worms
                                      Press, 2005: 68


     Even in regular rectangular panels, a space progressively deformed
in shape and surreal in color helps identifying Othello’s descent into
madness: panels filled with electric blues and greens and Iago’s
unnaturally elongated figure project the reader into Othello’s
perspective.




  Othello- the Complete Play Illustrated by Oscar Zarate, London, The Can of Worms
                                      Press, 2005: 85




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Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



     Among the high experimental design of panel space, the presence
of an (apparently) ordinary space certainly attracts attention and alerts
the reader: the bed scene, in fact, is the focus, the space where the
tragedy truly happens, and it is not imaginary but real, physical,
relatable. The bed scene is a crucial theatrical moment as well: by clearly
focusing on Desdemona’s murder, it challenges the norm which
establishes what can be shown on stage. Zarate at the same time allows
and forces the reader to go beyond the curtain of the four-poster bed and
witness Desdemona’s death by Othello’s hand, to see the murder and
the madness, something forbidden to a theatrical audience.




     Othello- the Complete Play Illustrated by Oscar Zarate, London, The Can of Worms
                                        Press, 2005: 117


    Given the intensity of the scene, there is only one small pause
granted, when a change of perspective projects the reader outside the
room, following the maid knocking incessantly at the door. Once again,
a careful palette of colors highlights the bed: the pale yellow of
Desdemona’s hair and the purple of the curtains contrast with the
dominant black, associated to death (Finlayson 2015: 55). After the



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violence is consumed, the purple curtain mercifully closes, only a white
hand emerging.




  Othello- the Complete Play Illustrated by Oscar Zarate, London, The Can of Worms
                                     Press, 2005: 129


     A tribute to the theatrical dimension of the tragedy is paid at the
end: the curtains of the bed, this time revealing a black hand over a black
one, become the curtain of the stage, which now can fall on the tragedy.

                            Il Principe Duckleto
      Il Principe Duckleto was published in ‘Topolino’, a comic book with
a strong tradition of stories adapted from literary masterpieces.
      This recent adaptation (November 2016) from Disney Italia stands
out from previous Disney parodies thanks to a renovated commitment
to reproducing the various features of the tragedy as closely as the
Disney’s ‘canone di liceità’ (Argiolas et al. 2013) allows. A careful
selection of atmosphere and settings, in fact, can communicate the
character’s feelings without necessarily relying on those words which
were so essential in Elizabethan theatre but not in this adaptation.
However, a predictable amount of rewriting coexists with skillfully


                                                                                     17
Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



conjured references to the original lines. Giorgio Salati, the author of the
script, claims to have devised a fairly faithful adaptation in terms of plot
and language (Topolino #3184 2016: 43), without forgetting the typical
parodic and surreal humor which is the distinctive feature of Topolino:
for instance, Paperofelia in her madness sings some verses which closely
remind of ‘Io Vagabondo’, a classic Italian song from the late Seventies
(ibid.: 53).
      In a space (mainly, the castle) generally free from menacing
features, the melancholy and the sense of desolation of some particular
panels counterbalance the comic aspects, however present, and show the
will to work on an emotional response as well as the attempt to recreate
that mixture of tragic and comic which was one of the features of
Shakespeare’s theatre.
      The cover is then eloquent: Donald Duck (in a black medieval
outfit, as Hamlet is usually portrayed) holding a pumpkin (reminiscent
of the traditional skeleton) in a typical theatrical pose already signals a
greater regard for the theatrical roots of the text9 .




9
 The story is divided into acts and the first caption reproduces the typical stage
direction at the beginning of an act: ‘enter the king, the queen’. References to
the performance and its mechanisms are scattered throughout the story: in the
second panel of page 23 Scrooge is aware of the importance of a good exit:
«Sgrunt! Non rovinarmi l’uscita di scena!» («Don’t ruin my exit!», translation
mine).


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                                         Between, vol. VIII, n. 15 (Maggio/May 2018)




                      Topolino #3184, the cover (2016)

     There is nothing truly menacing in the way the castle is drawn, with
a predominance of reassuring rounded lines, but the details set the tone
and visually establish the difference from the previous Hamlet-inspired
parody, Paperino principe di Dunimarca: the cliff, the mist and the night
sky convey the idea of gloominess and darkness.
     Hints at the theatrical origin of the story are scattered throughout
the comics from the beginning: in the opening page the drapes at the
bottom corners remind of a curtain which has just opened, making the
panel ambiguous: is it representing the wide hall of a castle or is it
revealing a theatrical stage?




                          Topolino #3184 2016: 14.




                                                                                 19
Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



     In Il Principe Duckleto space is a device which truly boost the scene.
The solemnity of Duckleto’s promise of avenging the King/Scrooge is
empowered by the angle chosen for the last panel on page 22. After a
series of shots and reverse shots, the angle rises, emphasizing how small
the two characters are in comparison to the surroundings. The same
projection reappears later, where the upward angle, highlighting the
starred sky, is perfectly integrated with the lines.




                                      Topolino #3184 2016: 26


     Space sometimes becomes the sole protagonist of some panels,
characterized by an unusual exploitation of silence, as when a central
panel embraces a panoramic view, with the snow evoking silence and
cold, completed by bare trees in the foreground. The chosen perspective
almost forces the reader to spy on Duckleto, a small figure surrounded
by the magnificence of the sea and by a menacing cliff. It certainly
contrasts with the panel immediately above, with its clear comic
atmosphere.




20
                                          Between, vol. VIII, n. 15 (Maggio/May 2018)




                          Topolino #3184 (2016) p. 29


        «Silence has the effect of removing a panel from a particular span
     of time […] without the implicit time stamp which words provide,
     a silent panel doesn’t end quite as crisply and the effect of it can
     linger throughout the page» (Mc Cloud 2006: 164).

     This panel, in principle, closely recreates the perception of an actor
on stage lingering in silence to convey a certain emotion. The same
device is reprised when silence emphasizes the dramatic thoughts which
precede the ‘tessere o non tessere’ dilemma, and, later, when a pumpkin
triggers Duckleto’s memory of Yorick.




                             Topolino #3184 (2016) p. 36




                                                                                  21
Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics




                                   Topolino #3184 2016: 60


     The choice of translating ‘to be or not to be’ with ‘tessere o non
tessere’ represents a complex intertextual game, nonetheless respectful
of the Shakespearean linguistic essence. Few translators would tamper
with probably the most iconic line from Shakespeare’s production.
Given the nature of this adaptation, however, Giorgio Salati transforms
‘essere o non essere’ (the literal Italian translation) into ‘tessere o non
tessere’ (to weave or not to weave) with an initial consonant change
reminiscent of Gino Patroni’s style10. Such choice, however, impacts on


10
  Italian writer and journalist (1920-1992), who wrote mainly aphorisms and
epigram parodies based on puns and paradoxical word play. Duckleto is also
rich in reprises of lines from the original play, recognizable to theatre lovers
but less detectable by younger readers, who are not supposed to be familiar
with Shakespeare yet. In the last panel of this sequence, Duckleto’s line «Dove
saranno ora tutte quelle zucche sogghignanti, i pupazzi, i giochi… quelle burle
che facevano scoppiare d’allegria le tavolate?» is clearly taken from V.1, v. 166-
68: «Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of
merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar?».



22
                                         Between, vol. VIII, n. 15 (Maggio/May 2018)



the overall setting of the scene, where space and words need to be
harmonious: the reference to weaving imposes the presence of a loom,
reducing the alternatives in the panel design. This is a case where the
words determine the way the space and the panel are organized, also
deviating decisively from the traditional stage tradition.
     The end of the characters’ adventures and the conclusion of the
story (however unusually contemplative, to call it tragedy would be
inappropriate) mark a visible shift also in the tones used to represent
space, with brighter and more vivid colors; the final panel pays once
more homage to the theatrical roots of the play (although not with
historical accuracy), with the characters gathered together for a final
curtain call, the last setting of the previous panel still visible as
background scenography and an eloquent caption: ‘E così si conclude la
storia di Duckleto e Paperone, Paperofelia e tutti i personaggi della corte
di Danimarca che hanno messo in scena per voi questo dramma!’11.

       Amleto and Romeo e Giulietta by Gianni DeLuca
      The Shakespeare-inspired comics published by ‘Il Giornalino’ were
illustrated by Gianni De Luca and written by Raoul Traverso (Amleto,
Romeo e Giulietta and La Tempesta were published between 1975 and
1976). Raoul Traverso (known as Sigma) writes a basic script, where the
monologues are reduced, some episodes are cut, and the language is
simplified. It is a true rewriting operation which, in order to be fully
understood, needs to be contextualized into the catholic framework of
‘Il Giornalino’12.
      The verbal code suffers while the iconic one thrives: De Luca
managed to explore theatricality by transforming the space of the panel


11
   «And so ends the story of Duckleto and Scrooge, DaisyOphelia and all the
characters of the Court of Denmark who staged this drama for you!»;
(translation mine).
12 In Amleto, doubts on suicide and afterlife and the graveyard scene are

avoided, while in Romeo e Giulietta minor but colorful characters such as the
Nurse are toned down so as not to clash with Catholic sensibility.


                                                                                 23
Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



into the space of the stage and by recreating a spatial and temporal
perception closer to the theatrical one. «Gianni De Luca è stato un
anticipatore. […] Se le storie fossero state più trasgressive, avrebbe forse
avuto il rilievo internazionale che meritava» (Rotundo – Vignati: 2011,
67)13.
      Far from promoting a simplistic or superficial idea of comics, De
Luca wanted his work to be an authentic form of art, as the use of the so-
called «formato d’autore» (Raffaelli 1997: 93), ideal to experiment with
different styles, suggests. Further motivation to pursue such goals came
from the model reader of ‘Il Giornalino’:

         Soddisferò anche l’attesa principale, quella che il ragazzino di
      borgata non sa nemmeno di avere, che è l’attesa del bello, della sua
      educazione e conoscenza, che è un’attesa che c’è in chiunque, anche
      se non lo sa, anche se la prende per fame di bignè o di altro, ma che
      invece è quello che lo fa uomo14




13
    ‘De Luca was a pioneer.[…] Had his stories been more transgressive he
would have had the international praise he deserved’ (translation mine).
14 ‘I will satisfy also the main hunger, the one the average boy does not even

know he has. The hunger for beauty, for its education and knowledge. It is a
hunger everyone has without even knowing it, mistaken for desire of sweets
or     else,     but     that   is  what     makes     the    boy     a    man’.
(http://www.fumettologica.it/2015/01/gianni-de-luca-intervista/, translation
mine). Deluca was extremely aware of the opposing forces at work in the
editorial policy related to the audience and the purpose of comics in the
cultural market: «Una politica editoriale che si rispetti è quella che riuscendo
a vendere, educa. Vedi, il Fumetto nasce con questa contraddizione addosso.
È espressione tipica della cultura di massa, e lo è nel bene e nel male. Da un
lato esprime la voglia e la capacità della gente (di tutta la gente) di
impossessarsi di questa cultura. Dall’altro, e proprio per questo, è industria,
profitto, sottomissione bieca alle leggi di mercato» (A worthy editorial policy
is the one which educates while selling. Comics are born with this inherent
contradiction. They are, for better or worse, a typical expression of mass
culture. On the one hand, they express the will and ability of people (of all


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                                        Between, vol. VIII, n. 15 (Maggio/May 2018)



     This contribution will focus on Romeo e Giulietta and on Amleto, as
examples of DeLuca’s renovation. In comics, the usual expression of
space involves sequenced panels of varying dimension through which
the narrative develops: different panels host different spaces (or
portions of space) and different scenes (Pratt 2009: 112), so that a change
in background indicates a spatial relocation. Moreover, «any substantial
amount of movement, whether it takes place across different
backgrounds and scenes or consists of multiple movements inside the
same scene, requires multiple panels» (ibid.). DeLuca renovates such
practices: in Romeo e Giulietta two spaces, sometimes even three, coexist
in the same wide panel, in a geometrical, precise and wide perspective
which occupies the whole page. For instance, three different spaces are
represented here below: the city square on the left, Juliet’s room in the
middle, and the street adjacent to the Capulet’s house on the right. The
balance and the geometry of the panel is ensured by placing the scene
with Juliet, her mother and the Nurse in the middle, as the focus of the
reader’s attention, and by having the walls of the room symbolizing the
walls of the house, along which walk the young Montecchi and his
friends.




people) to appropriate such culture. On the other hand, they are profit,
industry, blind submission to market rules. All translations mine).


                                                                                25
Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics




     Romeo e Giulietta dall'opera di William Shakespeare, Firenze, Blackvelvet, 2012: 7-8


     Amleto further perfects such new organization, with wide panels on
each page showing one unified space, in which the characters move
freely.




          Amleto: dall'opera di William Shakespeare, Firenze, Blackvelvet, 2012: 25



26
                                             Between, vol. VIII, n. 15 (Maggio/May 2018)



     De Luca subverts the habit of portraying movement through
multiple panels: borrowing from the futuristic approach to
photography, he reproduces the impression of motion by showing a
succession of characters’ poses, by fixating all the micro-movements
which constitute the action, so that the characters appear fluid and active
but always inside the same panel/page. Such technique is a creative
alternative to the usual representation of monologues: the multiple
impressions erase the stillness of the character and give life to the panel,
as on page 32 of Amleto, where Hamlet’s spiraling and circular patterns
of motion create a virtually endless walk.




      Amleto: dall'opera di William Shakespeare, Firenze, Blackvelvet, 2012: 32


     In comics, the rhythm of the narration depends on the inner trace
imposed by the chain of panels, whose construction can either dilate or
compress the flow (Raffaelli 1997: 16): in DeLuca’s panels, the rhythm
becomes more and more similar in intention to that of a performance.
Moreover, the reader is forced to follow the character as the audience
follows the actors: if the unique characteristic of comics lies in the
subjectivity (ibid.: 17), which depends on the reader, DeLuca has found
a way to challenge it by playing with the dilation of the reading time and


                                                                                     27
Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics



the parallel dilation of the space of the panel. Implications of such artistic
choice go even further. The reader’s imagination usually links the
panels, filling the gaps between what is shown in the panel and what is
omitted (Moro 1991: 2). DeLuca’s adaptations overthrow this basic
principle by showing the sequence of actions inside one panel which
represents the unified space in which the actions take place. The constant
presence of spatial references in Romeo and Giulietta and in Amleto breaks
the general rule according to which space is omitted when not
important: De Luca wants the reader to be fully aware of the space the
characters are moving in, and sparingly adopts close ups borrowed from
cinematic shots which usually drive all the attention to the character
(ibid: 51). One of these few exceptions is found in particularly dramatic
panels when Juliet’s desperation in learning of Romeo’s exile is mirrored
and empowered by the loss of setting and spatial reference; the same
choice is replicated in the panel where Juliet drinks the deadly potion.
      Finally, DeLuca’s Amleto is markedly characterized by references to
the theatrical dimension, especially to the performance: not only do the
panels aim at reproducing for the reader the perspective of the audience
looking at the stage, they actually become a stage where characters enter
and exit as actors:




       Amleto: dall'opera di William Shakespeare, Firenze, Blackvelvet, 2012: 32-33




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                                        Between, vol. VIII, n. 15 (Maggio/May 2018)



     Significantly, in DeLuca’s Amleto the rare references to the ‘classic’
traditional narrative of comic art are preserved for actions happening
outside of the stage, as the flashback where the ghost reveals the details
of his assassination, rendered with two strips whose drawing style is
reminiscent of polychrome windows.

                             Conclusions
     This paper aimed at underlining how comics have dealt with the
inevitable link to Shakespeare’s theatre. Instead of focusing on a literal
and rather cumbersome reproduction of the language, the case studies
prove that successful reinterpretations of Shakespeare find a powerful
ally in the multiple possibilities of comics space and in an original
approach to the target medium: the red thread of the most convincing
adaptations lies in the renovated spatial organization of the panels and
in the exploitation of spatial details as a means to complete and fulfill
the interpretation of the play. From the rigorous approach in CI to the
impressionistic interpretation of Zarate’s adaptations, the case studies
traced a chronological demonstration of the evolution of the medium
and the increasing confidence in its possibilities, a proof that
Shakespeare’s survival in popular imagination can benefit from new
approaches established by different media, which can challenge, refresh,
and renew a consolidated success.




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Eleonora Fois, ‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between Stage and Comics




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                              Sitography
http://www.fumettologica.it/2015/01/gianni-de-luca-intervista/
    (16/02/2018)
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/04/12/shakespearan-scholar-and-
    frank-millers-girlfriend-blasts-kill-shakespeare/ (16/02/2018)



                              The author
      Eleonora Fois
      PhD in Philological and Literary Studies at the University of
Cagliari. Her interest pivots on the translation of the dramatic text, with
great attention to the performability of the target text. Further areas of
research involve Shakespearean adaptations, Italian translations of
Shakespearean plays and female translation.
      Email: eleonora.fois@libero.it



                              The paper
Date sent: 15/03/2018
Date accepted: 30/04/2018
Date published: 30/05/2018



                     How to quote this paper
Fois, Eleonora, “‘A King of Infinite Space’: Shakespearian Spaces between
Stage and Comics”, Spazi tra le nuvole. Lo spazio nel fumetto, Eds. G.V.
Distefano, M. Guglielmi, L. Quaquarelli, Between, VIII.15 (2018),
http://www.betweenjournal.it




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