The fine people at Wiley Books (the publishers of the For Dummies books) have recently released manga-style editions of some of Shakespeare's best-known plays:
I fell into conversation with a Latin professor a few years ago, and he mentioned that in less than one hundred years most English speakers would require a full translation of Shakespeare's plays. I understand that this is due to the rapid evolution of the language, but I was pretty bummed out by his comment nonetheless. (Plus, the last few times I checked out the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, I couldn't help but notice that most of the attendees were approximately 1,000 years old--not a good sign for Shakespeare's coolness factor.) Hopefully, these fresh, creative adaptations of Shakespeare's plays will deepen young readers' appreciation for the original works!
Labels: manga, William Shakespeare
4 Comments:
Man, the Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet covers look like Disney meets Manga meets Shakespear. Although, the other two look pretty cool!
2:14 PM
Hamlet does look very Disney-ified. I'm not sure how I'd feel about watching such a delicate-looking flower go nuts...
2:18 PM
Morning all!!! Fascinating, I hadn't heard the 1,000 year comment before. We've produced 'translations' of the plays, again in graphic novel format, but in full colour and three text versions. The original full text in Shakespeare's language, Plain text, which is the full play in modern English and Quick text, a reduced dialogue version. Have a look and let me know what you think.
www.classicalcomics.com
1:44 AM
Hey, Karen--what an awesome way to present a classic text! I went though the comic books on your site, and it looks like your titles would be a great resource for students, or a young theater-goer who needs to understand what's happening onstage. Are the titles available here in the U.S., or you guys strictly a U.K. outfit?
P.S. I really liked the mock-up cover for 'Dracula'. I'd buy it as-is!
9:38 AM
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