Beyond the Stage: Exploring the Transmedial Adaptation of "to be or not to be" in Hamlet on Rooftop

Abstract

Comics blend linguistic resources and semiotic signs to represent different ideas. The rise of online platforms and the ease of digital distribution has made the production and consumption of comics a common phenomenon. In storytelling, their significance is acknowledged as an effective source of visual representation of sequential art. The present study underpins different techniques and strategies employed by Eisner for blending art and literary discourse to create an adapted comic version of "Hamlet"—named "Hamlet on a Rooftop". This comic is set in urban settings, in which Eisner highlights the themes of revenge, inner conflicts, family politics, etc. Focusing on the comical adaptation of Hamlet's famous soliloquy "to be, or not to be", the current study delineates how Eisner has used visual icons, facial expressions, colours, lettering, etc., to tell a visual narrative. The study also explores how the use of sequential visual style in "Hamlet on a Rooftop" gives the narrative flow to this comic. The study's findings enlist different techniques that work as a tool kit for comic writers to represent different ideas in an exciting fashion with the help of multimodal semiotic signs.