Tarantino as Shakespeare. Discuss.

This story made the rounds this weekend.  It seems that Quentin Tarantino, he of Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill and now Grindhouse, "can't rule out the possibility" that he's Shakespeare reincarnated.  "I've always had a thought maybe I might have been Shakespeare in another life," he says.  "I don't really believe that 100 per cent, and I don't really care about Shakespeare, I've never been into Shakespeare, but then people are constantly bringing up all these qualities in my work that mirror Shakespearean tragedies..."

It's actually an interesting question.  Once you get past the liberal use of f-words, Tarantino is actually known best for his writing, and through that, his character development.  Look at Samuel L. Jackson's character in Pulp Fiction, a hired hitman who has an epiphany after experiencing a miracle.  Or the journey of Bea in Kill Bill, to hunt down the man who'd tried to murder her and her unborn child.  There's enough gore and chopping of limbs in that one in particular to do Titus Andronicus proud.

 

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