Shakespeare around the Globe: A Comparative Study of Selected Plays and Adaptations

Abstract

William Shakespeare, a genius allures the enthusiasm of the public towards him and his works due to his inevitable witty statements, remarkable use of rhetoric, knotted syntax, deep insight into men’s and women’s world, understanding of human psychology, the vision of the surroundings to give multiplicity to his views and his use of allusions from past and present. It seems all the world issues are profoundly collected in his writings to consider him a universal iconic figure. Moreover, his works also reflect his self-assurance in art, and he exploits readers’ senses of the artifice of the theatre presentations and of stage acting where the role of imagination is recognized as sublime. His works have also been appropriated and adapted according to the moral and cultural concerns of the people of Pakistan and other regions. This work through the comparative method probes Shakespeare in Pakistan and other regions through his works’ adaptations and translations in different times to highlight how adaptations from time to time retain or manipulate written material/reality, and how Shakespeare has been made relevant in the context of diverse regions.