Critical and Autobiographical Elements in Álvaro Cunqueiro’s Shakespearean Adaptations in Galicia

Abstract

Translations, adaptations and reception of William Shakespeare and his works in many literary systems have been successfully analysed over the past two decades. However, there are still peripheral communities such as Galicia that refuse to review the role played by the English bard in the reconfiguration of their literary tradition in the twentieth century. In this article, we will examine the role of two Shakespearean adaptations written by Álvaro Cunqueiro (1911-1981) in the twentieth century. In addition, we will try to prove the value of both works as instances of veiled criticism of the dictatorial regime, while also hinting at the Galician writer’s and adaptor’s own biography.