{"id":63,"date":"2017-01-24T22:04:39","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T03:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/?p=63"},"modified":"2017-01-24T22:06:50","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T03:06:50","slug":"cover-art-of-classics-romeo-juliet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/uncategorized\/cover-art-of-classics-romeo-juliet\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover Art of Classics (Romeo &amp; Juliet)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Paratext plays a critical role in shaping viewer\u2019s perceptions of enclosed material in a book before even opening it. As mentioned in class, the range of book covers for Homer\u2019s <em>Iliad<\/em> spanned from modern and stylized, to archaic and dark. Some were simple and others were heavily symbolized; all of which intended to emit some kind of message and reach a specific audience.<\/p>\n<p>In comparing and analyzing some of the many book covers of Homer\u2019s <em>Iliad<\/em> in class, I was interested in looking at another classic novel that has various versions of cover art: Shakespeare\u2019s <em>Romeo and Juliet<\/em>. In some of the pictures I have attached below we can see that some paratext highlights a specific symbol, such as the rose (just like some versions of the <em>Iliad <\/em>emphasize the shield), and others focus on the characters. Some <em>Romeo and Juliet <\/em>covers are dramatized and serious, while others are playful and romantic.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/romeo_and_juliet_by_william_shakespeare.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-64 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/romeo_and_juliet_by_william_shakespeare-186x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"186\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/romeo_and_juliet_by_william_shakespeare-186x300.jpg 186w, https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/romeo_and_juliet_by_william_shakespeare.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 186px) 100vw, 186px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Book-Cover-Fixed.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-67\" src=\"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Book-Cover-Fixed-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Book-Cover-Fixed-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Book-Cover-Fixed-768x1156.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Book-Cover-Fixed-680x1024.jpg 680w, https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Book-Cover-Fixed.jpg 1063w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/tumblr_nbtgglXB7k1svslr6o1_500.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-66\" src=\"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/tumblr_nbtgglXB7k1svslr6o1_500-195x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/tumblr_nbtgglXB7k1svslr6o1_500-195x300.png 195w, https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/tumblr_nbtgglXB7k1svslr6o1_500.png 488w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/9ca2aa7f6ac4dc422d1451b6c8794c4b.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-65\" src=\"http:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/9ca2aa7f6ac4dc422d1451b6c8794c4b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"256\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Is it necessary to continuously remake the covers of classic literature such as the <em>Iliad<\/em> or <em>Romeo and Juliet<\/em>? I think it may be. As time progresses and generational interests, norms, and values shift, it is important for editors, publishers, and even marketers to consider what exactly will attract their target audience to a classic work, because a book\u2019s exterior is instantly, maybe even unconsciously, perceived in a judgmental way. If paratext of classic literature continues to adapt to attract certain readers, it will not only benefit the reader, who was intrigued by the artwork and soaked up the content, but the author as well seeing as they made a profit. While I recognize that creating new cover art for classic works can potentially take away from the history or origins of a piece, I believe it is acceptable for creative minds to construct alternate versions of paratext through their own interpretations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paratext plays a critical role in shaping viewer\u2019s perceptions of enclosed material in a book before even opening it. As mentioned in class, the range of book covers for Homer\u2019s Iliad spanned from modern and stylized, to archaic and dark. Some were simple and others were heavily symbolized; all of which intended to emit some &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/uncategorized\/cover-art-of-classics-romeo-juliet\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Cover Art of Classics (Romeo &amp; Juliet)&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70,"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions\/70"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hamiltoncs.org\/lit220\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}