Here are the books that help teach Shakespeare plays without the teacher constantly needing to explain and define Elizabethan terms, slang, and other ways of expression that are different from our own. Each play is presented with Shakespeare's original lines on each left-hand page, and a modern, easy-to-understand "translation" on the facing right-hand page. All dramas are complete, with every original Shakespearian line, and a full-length modern rendition of the text.
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Review Summary: You'll get Shakespeare after reading this
Review: My World Literature professor suggested the "Shakespeare Made Easy" series after I told her that I would have difficulty understanding the Bard. I not only (finally!) understood what was happening but, in the future, will buy the other books in the series to do some serious catching up on Shakespeare.
The translation was in Modern English but what will surprise the reader is that many things haven't changed from Olde English. As you're reading the Modern English version, take the few seconds to look at the corresponding Olde English (on the left) and see how much you can understand.
In any case, the price is just right for this book and you'll come away with a deeper knowledge and much appreciation for Shakespeare after you're done. - Donna Di Giacomo
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Review Summary: Modern MacBeth above the Rest
Review: Very helpful, affordable, and clear. Helped in more ways than I thought.
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Review Summary: Suits our needs
Review: I won't even attempt to critique Shakespeare's work, as some have done here. I'm not reviewing MacBeth, but this particular version of it. As a homeschooling Mom with three highschool students, the only way we could get through Shakespeare's works is by having a copy of Shakespeare Made Easy on hand. As it is, we completed 5 plays this year - all done orally, with each of us taking several parts. While I think it's important that my kids read Shakespeare in it's original format (and they did), I had the Shakespeare Made Easy translation handy so that I could give simple, concise explanations whenever they just didn't "get it". I recommend these books for that purpose - not for the watered down versions of these classics, but to make them understandable to the average student who might otherwise find Shakespeare's works boring and a waste of time (as many students do).
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Review Summary: Yucketh
Review: This version is horrible. I was looking for one of those Shakespeare versions that footnoted the words and phrases you didn't understand, so you could piece together the meaning yourself. Instead, this version gives you very a very simplistic interpretation of the text, every step of the way. I wouldn't recommend this edition to anyone.
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Review Summary: Nice translation of Macbeth
Review: This book is a nice translation from Shakespeare's language in Macbeth to the modern easy to read language of today. As a student myself, I recommend this book to other students studying Macbeth, if they feel they do not understand exact phrases from the play. If you are already good at 'translating' the lines from the play i do not recommend this book as strongly...... but still........ it helped me a great deal with my assignments.