Module A Vocab List

To describe Shakespeare’s historical and cultural context:

 Jacobean: The Jacobean era, during which Shakespeare wrote The Tempest, was marked by a fascination with magic
and the supernatural, themes that are central to the play.
 Early Modern: Shakespeare's work epitomizes the Early Modern English literary tradition, reflecting the linguistic
richness and complex cultural dynamics of the period.
 Renaissance: The influence of Renaissance humanism is evident in The Tempest ,particularly in its exploration of nature,
art, and human potential.
 Age of Discovery: The Tempest can be interpreted within the context of the Age of Discovery, symbolizing the European
exploration and colonization of new lands.

To describe Atwood’s historical and cultural context:

 Postmodern: Margaret Atwood's 'Hag-Seed' is a postmodern reinterpretation of The Tempest, challenging traditional
narratives and playing with the conventions of storytelling through its hybridisation of novelistic narration, dramatic
script and hip-hop verse.
 Late Capitalist: Atwood's narrative reflects a late capitalist society, where themes of power, exploitation, and
commodification are prevalent.
 Neoliberal: Hag-Seed critiques neoliberal ideologies through its portrayal of prison systems and societal inequalities.
 Globalised: The globalized context of Atwood's Hag-Seed brings a contemporary relevance to the themes of
displacement and cultural identity found in The Tempest.

To describe the system of ideas and values from which a text emerges:

 Worldview: Shakespeare’s play The Tempest both represents and questions the emerging imperialist worldview of the
‘Age of Discovery’, whereby other peoples and places were seen as blank slates for European conquest and redefinition.
 Paradigm: Within the political paradigm promoted by King James, the king was said to be an absolute monarch, ruling
with the imprimatur of God himself.
 Ideology: Machiavelli’s amoral statecraft offered a bracing and scandalous challenge to the optimistic ideology of
Renaissance humanism.
 World-picture: The dominant world-picture of England in the 16th and early 17th centuries was constructed around the
philosophical ideal of a universal and harmonious order, which united apparently diverse phenomena: from the cosmic
hierarchy of the Platonic ‘music of the spheres’ to domestic relationships within a family.
 Zeitgeist: Anxieties about revolt and rebellion were an inescapable aspect of the Jacobean zeitgeist or ‘spirit of the
times.’

To describe the earlier text:

 Genesis Text: The Tempest serves as the genesis text for 'Hag-Seed,' providing the foundational narrative and themes
that Atwood creatively reimagines.
 Hypotext: Hag-Seed is a hypertext grafted onto Shakespeare’s original hypotext, The Tempest; this play provides the
novel with its underlying narrative structure and shapes its thematic concerns.
 Source Text: Shakespeare's play is the source text from which Hag-Seed derives its core plot and characters, though
Atwood introduces significant innovations and twists.
 Canonical: The Tempest is a canonical work of English literature, whose enduring themes, complex symbolism and
ambiguous characters offered Atwood fertile ground for reinterpretation in Hag-Seed.
 Classic: As a classic of the Shakespearean oeuvre, and of Western literature in general, The Tempest raises timeless
questions and provides compelling motifs that are ripe for reexploration in Atwood's Hag-Seed.
To describe the later text:

 Hypertext: Margaret Atwood's 'Hag-Seed' functions as a hypertext to Shakespeare's 'The Tempest,' building upon the
original narrative and themes while infusing them with contemporary contexts and insights, thereby enriching the
intertextual conversation between the two works.
 Proximation: Atwood’s proximation of the original text updates it to a 21st century setting in which the exotic savages or
supernatural ‘goblins’ of Shakespeare’s island are reimagined as a more contemporary version of The Other: the
dehumanised and stereotyped inmates of a penitentiary.

To describe passages in which the later text directly alludes to the earlier text:

 Appropriation: Atwood's appropriation of The Tempest in 'Hag-Seed' is not merely a slavish retelling of the original but
rather a deep critical engagement with Shakespeare's themes and characters.
 Textual Echo: The textual echo of Prospero's final soliloquy in Hag-Seed serves to bridge Atwood's contemporary
narrative with Shakespeare's original text.
 Allusion: Atwood's allusion to Ariel's ethereal nature in her portrayal of the spirit-Miranda in Hag-Seed is a nod to the
supernatural elements of The Tempest.
 Parallel (noun and verb): The parallel between Felix's exile from the theatre world and Prospero's banishment from
Milan underscores the thematic continuity between Hag-Seed and The Tempest, as each explores the ways that isolated
individuals, imprisoned by their obsessions, must be redeemed by their restoration to a fuller engagement with
communal life.
 Citation: Atwood's direct citation of specific lines from 'The Tempest' – along with her bricolage of other Elizabethan
dramas such as King Lear (‘Howl, howl, howl’) and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus (‘why, this is hell, nor am I out of it’)
enriches the intertextual dialogue between the contemporary novel and the Renaissance drama.
 Parody: Atwood parodies the archaic political discourse of Jacobean royal rule in her satirical portrayal of the narcissistic
and controlling ‘Mr Duke’ of 'Hag-Seed' who obsessively asserts his authority over his productions.
 Pastiche (verb or noun): Hag-Seed is a pastiche that blends elements of The Tempest with modern settings, styles and
concerns, creating a rich, layered narrative that deepens our understanding of the present through alerting us to echoes
of the past.
 Re-envision (verb): In Hag-Seed, Atwood re-envisions the character of Caliban, providing a more nuanced portrayal that
challenges traditional interpretations."
 Homage: Atwood's Hag-Seed pays homage to Shakespeare's The Tempest by retaining the play's core themes of revenge
and redemption, while innovatively reimagining its setting and characters for a contemporary audience.

To describe characters who are paralleled in the textual conversation:

 Archetype: In Hag-Seed, Atwood explores the archetype of the 'banished ruler' through Felix, whose plotline, despite his
diminished status, is focused on the same the universal themes of power, loss, and reconciliation inherent in this
archetypal figure.
 Avatar: 8Handz, as the modernised avatar of Shakespeare’s Ariel, is a servant-figure defined by his versatility, obedience
and surpassing technical skill.
 Analogue: Prospero’s contemporary analogue, the washed-up theatre director Felix Fisher…
 Counterpart: Although the character of Caliban has no single direct counterpart in Hag-Seed, Atwood uses the
performance of the prisoners as a group to echo his furious challenge to authority, creating a collective Caliban…
 Correlate (verb): Freely adapting Shakespeare’s original, Atwood splits the character of Miranda into two: correlating
the passive and obedient Miranda of the play with the apparition who haunts and comforts Felix, while also offering a
feminist alternative to this archetypal daughter in Felix’s foul-mouthed and self-assertive protegee, the dancer Ann-
Marie.