A Descriptive Critical Analysis on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Oval Portrait and its Adapted Version (1973): Adaptation or Inspiration?

Authors : Abdullah Küçük

Pages : 277-297

Doi:10.55036/ufced.1808556

View : 74 | Download : 151

Publication Date : 2025-12-27

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Adaptation has evolved from a type of betrayal to a translation type. This evolution has paved the way for it to be studied theoretically and conceptually by the scholars from translation studies (Jakobson, 1959; Cattrysse, 1992; Perdikaki, 2016). Accepting it as a translational act, the present paper focuses Edgar Allan Poe’s The Oval Portrait and its adapted version released with the original name “The Oval Portrait” in 1973. The main aim of the article is to discuss the differences between the original short story (1845) and the movie highlighting the not-much-mentioned but one of the most important works of Poe. The research employs the methodological tool proposed by Katerina Pedrikaki (2016). The comparative analysis between the two works is carried out within her framework, which enables to be able to identify the differences as adaptation shifts among the four narrative units, namely plot structure, narrative techniques, characterisation, and setting. The shifts are also classified under three types, modulation, modification, and mutation with the help of her taxonomy (Perdikaki, 2016). With the help of the method, the present paper is able to describe the shifts and explain the way how a 1300-word short story was transformed into a 90-minute movie. The findings support Perdikaki’s ideas about the narrative units’ medium-independency and the overlapping units and reasons within adaptations. Moreover, the discussion also contributes to Pedrikaki’s methodology by presenting a divergent case and opening a door for expanding the definitions of the descriptive and interpretive components.
Keywords : Göstergelerarası Çeviri, Adaptasyon, Adaptasyon Kaymaları, Betimleyici ve Yorumlayıcı İnceleme, Edgar Allan Poe, Oval Portre

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