ENG 298 - From Text to Screen: Adapting British Plays and Novels to the Screen

Is the book always better than the film? How does a film adaptation succeed or fail once the story leaves the page? In this course we’ll discuss various British plays and novels—as well as Australian and Canadian works–and explore the decisions made to cut and/or condense scenes, represent characters and emphasize themes. Texts-to-films that we’ll study may include Shakespeare’s Henry V; Austen’s Persuasion; Bronte’s Jane Eyre; Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, Monica Ali’s Brick Lane. Students will consider the criteria that makes a successful written text and a film text. How does “interiority” manifest onto a film adaptation? Students will keep observation journals and perhaps create story boards. Two short papers and one longer one are part of the course work as well.

Credits 1