ABSTRACT
The process of adaptation, where a piece of work originally created in one medium is represented in a different medium, is highly appropriate as a conclusion to this study. Examining how and why artistic material is altered and remoulded into new forms provides children with a unique opportunity to develop their critical understanding of narrative elements across a range of media and reinforce what they have learned about each individual medium. Adaptation is by no means a recent phenomenon – some of the most famous pieces of literature and drama are in fact adaptations. Many of Shakespeare’s most famous works are dramatisations of earlier poems or stories, including Romeo and Juliet (an adaptation of Arthur Brooke’s ‘The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet’) and Twelfth Night (based on a tale in Barnabe Riche’s Farewell to Military Profession) (Wells 1998). The tradition is also evident in other media: Mozart’s famous operas The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni are based on existing plays and some of the most famous paintings in history are illustrations or ‘adaptations’ of other media, such as John Everett Millais’s Ophelia (1851-2) and Mariana (1851), both of which depict incidents and characters from Shakespeare’s plays. Therefore, some of the greatest artists, writers, composers and dramatists of all time have actively engaged in the process of adapting material with incredibly successful results.
