William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (1599) Reworked in McKelle George’s Speak Easy, Speak Love (2017): A Dialogic Perspective
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Date
2025
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Publisher
Université Mouloud Mammeri Tizi Ouzou
Abstract
This dissertation examines McKelle George’s Speak Easy, Speak Love (2017) as a dialogic
transformation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (1599), arguing that
George’s novel actively enters into a critical conversation with its source text rather than merely
reproducing it. Grounded in a synthesis of dialogic and intertextual theory, the study draws
primarily on Bakhtin’s concepts of stylization, hidden polemic, and overt polemic, alongside
Gérard Genette’s notion of pastiche, to analyse the novel’s adaptive strategies. By relocating
Shakespeare’s comedy to 1920’s America, George reshapes narrative structures, character
relationships and modes of speech in order to question traditional views of honour, love, social
controls, and gendered authority. The analysis shows that stylization operates through
transformed dialogue and behaviour, reflecting a shift in cultural norms and power relations,
while hidden polemic subtly challenges Shakespeare’s treatment of female reputation and moral
judgement. Overt polemic becomes more visible through revised character roles and altered
narrative outcomes, specifically in relation to authority and romantic resolution. This
dissertation demonstrates that Speak Easy, Speak Love engages in a sustained relationship with
Much Ado About Nothing, revealing how adaptation can both revise earlier texts in response to
shifting cultural and ideological contexts.
Description
53p. ; (+CD-Rom)
Keywords
Dialogism, William Shakespeare, Adaptation, Much Ado About Nothing, Gérard Genette, Mikhail Bakhtin, hidden polemic, overt polemic, Speak Easy Speak Love
Citation
General and Comparative Literature