Scotland with a Pinch of Westeros? The Case of Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth Cover Image

Scotland with a Pinch of Westeros? The Case of Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth
Scotland with a Pinch of Westeros? The Case of Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth

The Case of Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth

Author(s): Agnieszka Piskorska
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Instytut Anglistyki Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: cinematic adaptation; interpretant; intersemiotic translation; relevance theory; resemblance

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the resemblance between Shakespeare’s play Macbeth and its cin- ematic adaptation directed by Justin Kurzel (2015) with respect to the image of Scotland in the geographical and historical sense. To this end, tools derived from translation studies are employed, such as the notion of intersemiotic translation, interpretive resemblance and interpretants. It is argued that alterations introduced in the adaptation are motivated by psychological reality and coherence of the plot, making the representation of medieval Scotland believable. In this respect, Kurzel’s production differs from many other cinematic versions of Macbeth, exploiting mostly the universality of the crime and madness motifs.

  • Issue Year: 29/2020
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 135-143
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: English