"These Violent Delights" by Chloe Gong as a Cultural Translation of "Romeo and Juliet". How far-reaching is Shakespeare's canonicity? (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 13 Punkte, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, language: English, abstract: This term paper highlights Shakespeare's major impact on the literary world today. Not only does the fact that he is enshrined in the Western and the international canon support his incredibly high status, but also the fact that Shakespeare has experienced a great deal of both linguistic and cultural translation. On that account, the paper seeks to investigate Shakespeare's canonicity, and to what extent the retelling represents a cultural translation of Romeo and Juliet. Since the story takes place in Shanghai and because the author's background is transcultural, the novel will be treated as an Asian transcultural retelling, although it was written outside of Asia.

Shakespeare and his works are still considered significant and continue to influence various artists. Not only do his plays belong to the era of the Early Modern Age but they also belong to the present, which is continuously rediscovering and reviving them. The worldwide cultural importance of Shakespeare and his concepts are confirmed by the abundance of new adaptations and retellings that have appropriated and expanded them. The expansion of his themes creates a multitude of interpretive possibilities and retellings. Romeo and Juliet, in particular, is an exceedingly popular work that has been received and retold countless times in all sorts of variations. Romeo and Juliet's canonicity is founded on universality, timelessness, complexity, poetic language, and on a compelling story of forbidden love.

"These Violent Delights", a novel by Chinese-born New Zealand author Chloe Gong, published in 2020, is a retelling of the famous play Romeo and Juliet, in which a wealth of Shakespearean themes have been maintained and expanded by other aspects. Set in 1920s Shanghai, the novel deals with the blood feud between two Shanghai gangs. At the center of this feud are embittered ex-lovers Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov. But when a madness sweeps over the city and kills its inhabitants, Juliette and Roma must put their hatred aside to fight the madness together. This novel represents a retelling that offers an abundance of additional themes. The classic is now in a new cultural setting without losing its core themes of love, hate, and blood feud. Such a retelling raises the question of which of his concepts have been revisited and which have been altered.