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Three Reasons to Tell A Twice-Told Tale
It’s amusing that Shakespeare, who made his reputation with twice-told tales, used the term dismissingly:
“Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale
Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man”― William Shakespeare, King John
Nearly all his plays are retellings of older stories. Only Love’s Labor’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Tempest seem to have original plots, which may only mean their sources have yet to be found.
Shakespeare knew the risks in retold tales. Some things must be changed to surprise the audience, but essential things must remain to keep from disappointing us. That balance is hard to maintain. Walt Disney built an empire on twice-told tales, yet his company still produces the occasional commercial and artistic failure like its live-action version of Mulan.
So why do writers keep accepting the risk of creating an inferior version of a better work?
The first reason is commercial. People are curious about things they recognize, even if they don’t know the original work…
