A couple of years ago, I wrote about
this HarperTeen print of
Wuthering Heights, packaged to look like a
Twilight book. The other day I was killing some time at Borders, when this cover caught my eye. Look at how cool Hamlet looks with his tousled hair and tight pants. Even the font and colors of the title look like they are appealing to a younger audience, and the book was prominently displayed in the teen section (a different floor than the plays). At first I thought it was some updated version, but it's the original Shakespeare text.
Hamlet has that brooding damaged appeal and he was recently played on Broadway by Jude Law, so I can see where they're going with this cover. Plus, it isn't as patronizing as the
Wuthering Heights cover, which assumes that teens will only read it if it has a connection to
Twilight. I'm left wondering if repackaging classic literature does get young adults excited to read (and I have no evidence that it does or doesn't), which can only be a good thing, but I do wish publishers would give teens more credit.
A couple of years ago, I wrote about this HarperTeen print of Wuthering Heights, packaged to look like a Twilight book. The other day I was killing some time at Borders, when this cover caught my eye. Look at how cool Hamlet looks with his tousled hair and tight pants. Even the font and colors of the title look like they are appealing to a younger audience, and the book was prominently displayed in the teen section (a different floor than the plays). At first I thought it was some updated version, but it's the original Shakespeare text. 
Hamlet has that brooding damaged appeal and he was recently played on Broadway by Jude Law, so I can see where they're going with this cover. Plus, it isn't as patronizing as the Wuthering Heights cover, which assumes that teens will only read it if it has a connection to Twilight. I'm left wondering if repackaging classic literature does get young adults excited to read (and I have no evidence that it does or doesn't), which can only be a good thing, but I do wish publishers would give teens more credit.
Posts
1 comment:
Hey, who knows teen angst and confused sexuality better then Hamlet? I guess tortured brooding and wanting to make your girlfriend kill herself (aka Twilight) is the thing right now.
~Andrea
Rising Sun Performance Company
www.risingsunnyc.com
Post a Comment