Thus, as Atwood mirrors and maintains Shakespeare’s perspective that illusory magic is a form of manipulation, one can better appreciate how this manifestation has changed over time. Felix (the modern embodiment of Prospero) states on separate occasions, ‘Audio and visual checks…MP3s…and pixie dust pills stored in the bottle of painkillers.’ Through the collective use of symbolism and alliteration, Atwood integrates the current modern landscape, alluding to the rapid advancements in technology through computerised special effects and ‘magic’ in the form of hallucinatory drugs – where both are utilised by Felix as devices of power to manipulate his revenge. This ability is furthered explored in ‘Hag-seed’ with Atwood reframing and redefining how magic manifests, especially to accommodate a contemporary audience.

In the early 17th Century Elizabethan era, the inclusion of magic in plays, specifically through pompous stage effects and theatrics attracted an overwhelmingly positive reception from the audience – arguably justifying Shakespeare’s purpose in granting Prospero’s ability to conjure magic. With the effective use of enjambment, he states, ‘My high charms work / And these, mine enemies…They are now in my power,’ highlighting his power in rendering his enemies helpless, binding them through his web of illusions he has weaved. In ‘The Tempest’, magic in the form of wizardry and spells is employed by Prospero to alter events to his powerful advantage. The use of illusion and magic as a central tool of manipulation is a clear point of resonance between both texts. Accordingly, the key concerns and values within a text are founded upon the values of the audience and composer alike. While Atwood examines the same concerns in her 2016 novel ‘Hag-seed’ (HS), a comparative study highlights the different ways in which composers express and incorporate these values consequently allowing these concerns to be enhanced, transformed and carried through time. Propagated in 1611, Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest’ (TT) examines the key concerns of illusory magic, the frail and defenceless depiction of women and the portrayal of the ‘othered’ character. Moreover, one must also consider the influential role of the composer themselves, who through their depiction of these values shape the responders’ reception to the text. Through comparing texts, one may better understand the values of a text which are inextricably shaped by its context.

Hagseed online