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Open research questions in Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism

45 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 2,209 Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The paper does not suggest specific future research directions. Further studies could explore the impact of soap operas on viewer behavior and attitudes.

    The Soap Opera Audience Speaks: A Preliminary Report · 1983 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of the soap opera audience and their viewing habits. The study aims to fill this gap by exploring the emotional payoffs viewers receive from watching soap operas.

    The Soap Opera Audience Speaks: A Preliminary Report · 1983 · DOI

  • The history of censorship in the American theatre is a significant area of study. The impact of moral standards and religious groups on the American theatre is not well understood.

    Watchdogs of the American Theatre 1910‐1940 · 1983 · DOI

  • The complexity of the play's language and historical context. The limited attention paid to the rhinoceros's symbolism in prior work. The challenge of interpreting the play's themes and meaning in relation to the rhinoceros's symbolism.

    “Macbeth among the Animals: Or, How the Rhinoceros Lost Its Horn” · 2026 · DOI

  • Further study of the cultural and historical context of the play's use of the rhinoceros. Analysis of the symbolism of other exotic beasts in the play. Exploration of the play's themes and meaning in relation to the rhinoceros's symbolism.

    “Macbeth among the Animals: Or, How the Rhinoceros Lost Its Horn” · 2026 · DOI

  • Traditional understandings of adaptation and remediation are insufficient to capture the subtle, pervasive, and often spectral ways in which media forms interact and transform. The relationship between different media in the post-digital era is not fully understood.

    The Kinetic Palimpsest: Intermedial Ghosting and the Ontological Transmutation of Narrative in the Post-Digital Cinematic Era · 2026 · DOI

  • The portrayal of women in theater was limited and stereotypical before Shakespeare's time. Women were forbidden to perform onstage and were instead relegated to backstage roles or private performances.

    Shakespeare’s influence to theater: The evolving portrayal of women characters · 2026 · DOI

  • Contrary to earlier theater forms, Shakespeare broke these constraints by creating female characters who were bold, intelligent, and brave. When society depicted women as vain, pretentious, and ignorant, Shakespeare’s works showed that women can be strong, witty, powerful, and independent. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth defied gender norms, demanding “Unsex me here.”.8 She threw away “feminine qualities” to commit a murder, being braver than Macbeth, and even mocked his cowardice. Independent and fierce female characters were rare back then, and Lady Macbeth defied the traditional idea of women. Similarly, Juliet from Romeo and Juliet displayed courage in defying social norms. Women in early centuries were expected to serve their family, their education was not advocated, and they could not speak out against the patriarchal system.7 But Juliet’s bravery was in the pursuit of her own will — to be with Romeo. Her will was strong enough that she faked her death and tried to run away from her own family. She refused to go on the established path that her family had decided for her. Juliet’s actions challenged the low social status of women at that time. These two characters by Shakespeare did not follow the common portrayal of women, the nubile woman or old hag,3 but instead showcased women as leaders and strategic fighters. Shakespeare’s portrayals demonstrated that women could drive narratives, not just serve as plot development. After the English Civil War and King Charles II’s exile to France, the Puritans banned theater, specifically in London.9 They believed it would spread evil thoughts and lead to events that would disrupt social order. Part of the reason is that the Puritans believed plays promote sinful behaviors as levity and prostitution, and distract from their religious duties to God.10 Once the exile of King Charles II was over, one of his first acts was to oppose the theater ban in England.10 Being deeply influenced by French theater, he wanted England to be able to produce good arts just like France. He issued royal patents to Thomas Killigrew and William Darwin, playwrights in the early centuries, to open theaters — the King’s Company and the Duke’s Company.9 He also announced a new policy that women were allowed to participate and perform in theaters. This decision was also likely influenced by his mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, who came from France. She had performed in masques such as The Shepherd’s Paradise, a play that shows female strength, autonomy, and confidence, like the works of Shakespeare.15 Eventually on December 8,1660, Margaret Hughes became the first woman to perform professionally onstage.

    Shakespeare’s influence to theater: The evolving portrayal of women characters · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in understanding how cinematic violence functions as a mirror for identity construction and moral reflection. It highlights the need for further research on the impact of on-screen violence across diverse cultural and demographic contexts.

    Reflections of Violence: The Mirror Trope and Identity in Fiction Film · 2026 · DOI

  • Further study of the intertextualities between horror films and literary works. Analysis of the portrayal of age and gender in other film genres. Exploration of the applications of the paper's findings to the creation of more nuanced and complex characters in horror films.

    Revisiting Surveillance and Exposure through Aging Masculinities: Fede Álvarez’s "Don’t Breathe" as a Contemporary Adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the study of intertextualities between horror films and literary works. The paper aims to fill this gap by providing a comparative analysis of Don't Breathe and The Tell-Tale Heart.

    Revisiting Surveillance and Exposure through Aging Masculinities: Fede Álvarez’s "Don’t Breathe" as a Contemporary Adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper suggests that future research can apply the findings to the analysis of other adaptations. The study can inform the development of new frameworks for understanding the significance of adaptations. Further research can explore the role of cognitive poetics in shaping our understanding of stories.

    “O, Let Me Not Be Mad, Not Mad, Sweet Heaven”: A Cognitive Poetic Comparison of Shakespeare’s King Lear and Kurosawa’s Ran · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of language manipulation in adaptations. The paper highlights the need for further research on the value of adaptations as full-fledged cultural products.

    From Hamlet to 15-Minute Hamlet: genre shift through language manipulation · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could explore the adaptação cinematográfica of other literatura brasileira contemporânea works. The study of the narratividade contemporânea could be extended to other art forms, such as teatro or música.

    ENTRE LIVRO, ROTEIRO E FILME: NARRATIVIDADE E ADAPTAÇÃO NA LITERATURA BRASILEIRA CONTEMPORÂNEA · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of the narratividade contemporânea as a fenômeno interartístico. The research gap is related to the lack of analysis of the adaptação cinematográfica as a prática criativa and interpretativa.

    ENTRE LIVRO, ROTEIRO E FILME: NARRATIVIDADE E ADAPTAÇÃO NA LITERATURA BRASILEIRA CONTEMPORÂNEA · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in current research, including the need to move beyond a narrow reading of the original text, - The study highlights the need to examine the role of film techniques and cultural transpositions in resuscitating Shakespeare’s plays, - The paper suggests that current research has focused too much on fidelity and has neglected the importance of creative reinterpretation

    BEYOND THE PAGE: THE SEMIOTICS AND CULTURAL TRANSPOSITION OF SHAKESPEAREAN ADAPTATION · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could explore the representation of war in other German films. It could examine the impact of historical context on war films. The paper's findings could inform the development of future research on the post-heroic mode of representation in war cinema.

    Post-Heroic War in German Film: Im Westen nichts Neues (2022) and Die Brücke (1959) · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in existing research on the post-heroic mode of representation in German war cinema. It highlights the lack of analysis on the refusal of redemption in German cinematic engagement with war.

    Post-Heroic War in German Film: Im Westen nichts Neues (2022) and Die Brücke (1959) · 2026 · DOI

  • The traditional 'whodunit' formula is subverted by the use of the nursery rhyme as a narrative device. The study identifies a gap in the understanding of how the nursery rhyme operates as a structural framework, a suspense-generating mechanism, and a thematic representation of guilt, justice, and punishment.

    Ten Little Soldiers: Nursery Rhyme as a Narrative Device in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None · 2026 · DOI

  • Future studies can build on the current research by examining the relationship between indexicality and other linguistic features. Further research can also explore the application of indexicality analysis to other contexts, such as therapeutic settings or literary narratives.

    An Indexicality Analysis of Post-Traumatic Growth in Cinematic Discourse: Kya Clark in Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of how internal focalization techniques can create dramatic irony in film. It highlights the need to consider the perspective of a child in narrative techniques.

    Internal Focalization through a Child’s Perspective in a Movie · 2026 · DOI

  • Focusing on this underexplored aspect of Gorey’s work, the paper examines how Gorey employs visual, compositional, and narrative elements from Feuillade’s films, as well as their development of uncertainty within the areas of space, narrative, and character and object identity within the genre of nonsense.

    From Fantômas to The Black Doll · 2024 · DOI

  • Christopher Metress writes in 2003, “Dreaming Emmett received mixed reviews, but this alone does not account for Morrison’s unwillingness to make a script or video available.

    How do we create spaces that are freeing and not damaging?: Performing Dreaming Emmett · 2020 · DOI

  • Still it remains to be explained what is it in the mechanical image that is able to so deeply affect the human flesh, and conversely, to what features in the human bodily experience is its mechanical other, the fascinating image, so successfuly adressing? It should be expected from the anti-Cartesianism of both the early and the late Merleau- Ponty the textual support for an approach to the essential condition of passivity in movie watching, that would be convergent with Benjamin.

    The Worldwood of the Cinematic Image · 2012 · DOI

  • Drawing on research in the BBC Written Archives, this paper gives an account of Bradbury's treatment by the BBC, focusing on the period 1951–1970, and shows how a key work (the little known Leviathan 99) unites much of Bradbury's canon.

    A sympathy with sounds: Ray Bradbury and BBC Radio, 1951–1970 · 2007 · DOI

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45 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 2,209 Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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