‘(Shadow of) The Raven’: an intermedial adaptation from literature to music

Abstract

This study aims at establishing theoretical and analytical dialogues between intermedial studies and adaptation studies in the analysis of the conceptual album Shadow of the Raven (2007), by the American band, Nox Arcana, which is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe’s literary text. Considering the importance of going beyond the traditional vector literature-cinema and elaborating a metalanguage able to involve other textual architectures, as suggested by Hattnher (2010) concerning the circulation of literature in conceptual albums, intermedial studies collaborate on thinking about the role of convergence among different media in the production of meanings; besides, it contributes to overcoming a binary reading of medial transpositions in adaptations (DINIZ, 2018). Guided by the construction of collaborative knowledge between theoretical perspectives and research interests, we outline our first reflections on the transition of a predominantly written medium, the literary, to a hearing and non-alphabetical medium, the instrumental music. The theoretical framework is based on authors from adaptation studies (HATTNHER, 2010; HUTCHEON, 2011; MILTON, 2015), intermedial studies (RAJEWSKY, 2005; CLÜVER, 2006; DINIZ, 2018), and music (WISNIK, 1989; SHUKER, 2002)