The Shakespeare Stealer

Widge is sent to steal Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Watch this 5-minute video about Hamlet and think about why Blackwood chose this play. What is the relationship between Shakespeare’s play and Blackwood’s novel? Consider the following questions as you develop your ideas:

• What is similar about the protagonists’ situations?
• How are Simon Bass’s actions similar to those of Hamlet’s father?
• What role does theater play in Hamlet?
• What role does friendship play in Hamlet?
• Why does Hamlet’s story end in tragedy, while Widge’s story does not?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt asks students to consider the role of intertextuality in The Shakespeare Stealer. To facilitate accurate discussion, you might introduce the term “reference” and “allusion” and guide students to an understanding of which Blackwood is employing in this case. If the bulleted sub-questions introduce more material than is practical for your students or the time allowed, you might break students into small groups and ask each one to investigate a different sub-question. A class wide discussion would be one way students could share their findings. You can extend this discussion by asking students how the differing outcomes of Hamlet’s and Widge’s “big decisions” support the novel’s thematic concern with The Importance of Honor.