retellings

Retellings are narratives that recount an existing work or traditional source by reworking its elements—setting, perspective, or medium—while often preserving its core plot, characters, or themes. They differ from simple translations or unrelated satires by aiming to illuminate aspects of the original from a new angle. Retellings can be literal, following the same sequence with changes in context, or more loosely reimagined, changing time period, culture, or genre; some focus on a different narrator or protagonist to shift interpretation.

They commonly draw on myths, fairy tales, or canonical novels, but may also recast historical episodes or contemporary narratives. Modern examples frequently relocate action to different cultures or genders, or present the story as metafiction or in a parallel universe. Media beyond prose fiction—films, theater, graphic novels, and video games—also host retellings, extending a traditional tale to new audiences and formats.

Purposes include offering critique of original assumptions, making themes relevant to new readers, exploring marginalized voices, and experimenting with narrative form. Techniques include perspective shifts, frame narratives, intertextual allusions, and deliberate recontextualization of symbols and motifs. Critical discussion often centers on originality, ethical use of source material, and how retellings handle cultural sensitivities and power dynamics in inherited stories.

Notable examples include Circe by Madeline Miller, a myth retelling from Circe’s viewpoint; The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood; Grendel by John Gardner; and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys.