Adaptation in three acts: Shakespeare, Dobbs and BBC

Abstract

This paper continues the published research on the dialogue between Michael Dobbs’ House of Cards trilogy, by Michael Dobbs, and the BBC and the Neflix series, and Shakespeare’s plays – Richard III, Macbeth and Othello. The last volume of Dobbs’ trilogy, The Final Cut, and its adaptation makes references to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a subject not previously explored. We turn our attention, therefore, to Dobbs’ last novel and to the BBC series, emphasizing the protagonism, the volubility of the people, and the rhetoric in speeches delivered by Shakespeare’s and Dobbs’ characters, as well as to the viewer’s focalization in the series.