One might be tempted to compare George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series with JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. And not just because of the cool double-letter (both RR) middle initials. Indeed, both multi-book stories deal with fantasy worlds ruled by humans and both have no shortage of awesome creatures. But Martin’s intriguing story and the game of thrones itself owes more to William Shakespeare than to Tolkien.
Both Martin and Shakespeare have a lot of fun with succession. Richard III is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. It has scheming twists, mad uncles, child kings and regents. Most of Shakespeare’s historical plays center on issues of succession. Similarly, the game of thrones at the heart of Song of Ice and Fire is all about succession. Alliances via arranged marriages, different succession rules in different kingdoms and regency provide much of the drama in Martin’s multi-volume epic.
Song of Ice and Fire also borrows from Shakespeare’s trove of magical creatures, haunted forests and spirits of the natural world. Some of The Bard’s best works feature magic (The Tempest, Midsummer Night’s Dream) and witches (Macbeth.) Song of Ice and Fire bristles with magical energy, especially in the later books. Much of the magic is found north of the Wall, which is also where we find the one thing Martin includes that Shakespeare probably never dreamed of: zombies.
Yet another shared plot device is switching character identities. This is a common part of Shakespearian plots, especially among the comedies. In Martin’s books, Arya Stark is a chameleon able to assume an identity to suit her needs at any time. There are also some baby switches revealed in later books.
Finally, both Shakespeare and Martin make liberal use of storms. Tempests figure large in The Tempest and King Lear. Meanwhile Song of Ice and Fire urges action before the storms of winter settle on Westeros. Book five ends with Tyrion adrift after a thrashing storm at sea.
What do you see? Any other Shakespeare-Martin connections? Are there other mashups for Martin? Leave comments below.
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Sounds good Drevil, but I am more of the Martin-Tolkien field.