Adapting George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones

A Corpus Linguistics Analysis from a Gender Perspective

Abstract

George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the most successful fantasy series to date, and its popularity has incredibly increased over the last decade thanks to several adaptations into different media. The success of Martin’s fantasy series is also due to the enormous popularity of its female characters, which has sparked a hot debate in terms of gender and power relations. This paper aims at offering a corpus-based analysis, from a gender perspective, of the language adopted by the characters of Martin’s first book of the series, A Game of Thrones (Bantam, 1996), and two adaptations which closely follow the novel’s original storyline: the first season of the TV series Game of Thrones (HBO, 2011) and the graphic adaptation titled A Game of Thrones. The Graphic Novel (Dynamite Entertainment, 2011-2014).