How does one make a play by Shakespeare accessible to those disinclined to read one?The answer is...

books:


	• Hamlet (Cambridge School Shakespeare) William Shakespeare Cambridge University Press, 2005 - 276 pages average customer review:based on 150 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Hamlet: Now and Easy Read

With this generation's youth it is difficult to find many students interested in Shakespeare. Shakespeare Made Easy is the key. The general stories that William Shakespeare put down on paper are truly remarkable and quite fun to read. However, these days there is hardly any interest in deeply analyzing pages and pages of Shakespearian English, especially with his longest play, Hamlet.
With the original text on one page and a modern translation on the opposing page this version of Hamlet can be an insightful read as well as a pleasure read. By having the option of both translations the reader will be fully immersed in the story, rather than the text, and come out on the other end singing the praises of Shakespeare and Hamlet. This is a breakthrough version of Hamlet and should be the premier choice of teachers and students alike. Nothing, except perhaps the movie, will excite the adolescent world to Shakespeare more than this version of Hamlet.

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Best Shakespeare editions - for students and wannabe students

I'm not ashamed to admit it. I find Shakespeare difficult. I need help. The Cambridge School Shakespeare editions, with the classroom activities and assignments on each facing page, give me the focus and direction I need to finally truly enjoy the text.

I thought I didn't like Shakespeare until I took a class on several of the plays. It turns out that I love Shakespeare when I'm doing close reading or studying it carefully but for whatever reason I find it extremely difficult to do on my own. The Cambridge School editions allow me to replicate the classroom experience on my own, providing enough background and questions for critical thought that I keep a close focus on the text. Previous times I've attempted to read 'Hamlet' I was struggling just to figure out what was going on; reading this edition I was analyzing the characters and considering different acting and directing choices. It's amazing.

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A Great tool, but...

Shakespeare Made Easy is a great tool for anyone interested in Shakespeare. It provides the inquisitive Shakespeare amateur with means of understanding passages they do not decipher in the original text. However, it is important to note, this is not the right book for a high school classroom. It allows students to "read one of Shakespeare's plays" without actually reading a word of what Shakespeare himself wrote. Half of what makes Shakespeare so captivating is his style and wordplay. Deprived of those two elements Shakespeare's plays are only stories with good plot. Ultimately, students who don't take the challenge of reading the original text before reading the translation will be less interested in Shakespeare after because they will not have experienced the witticism in his literature. In essence this version of Shakespeare provides a cheep way out for unmotivated students that ultimately rewards neither their teachers nor themselves.

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Very Useful if you know what you're looking for

As a college student who had to write a paper on Hamlet,Again,I of course had to get away from any classic ideas about the play. Being a student with a talent for writing I would never be able to "get away with," these common theories, as professor's expect much more. This book really helped me to create a rather ambitious and interesting thesis; one which went against the criticisms in the book, and was refreshingly new.

I like the individual criticisms in this book as they really force you to look harder for textual evidence. One of the BEST things about the book was that it included the whole play as well. That was so useful because I didn't have to juggle two books -one of them being the complete works of Shakespeare which weighs about 20lbs. I was able to take this book everywhere and work on it whenever I had spare time.

However, I would not sugesst this book for an individual who does not have a very strong background in Hamlet. You need to know the play Extremely well in order for this book to benefit you. If you do not know Hamlet inside and out, then this book will only cause confusion and you should probably stay away from it, as the theories may be difficult to comprehend.

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How does one make a play by Shakespeare accessible to those disinclined to read one?The answer is Sixty-MinuteShakespeare Series

Reviewed By: Beverly Krueger, Eclectic Homeschool Online

How does one make a play by Shakespeare accessible to those disinclined to read or see one? Or how do you make it possible for those who just don't have the time to do the play full justice, but nevertheless want to have more than just a taste of the bard, to find the time to read it? The answer is the Sixty-Minute Shakespeare series. I've got in my hands their version of Hamlet. There are two important distinctions to this edition. First, it is abridged. The core of the play is left untouched, so the play and its themes are still understandable. Famous soliloquies are also left untouched. The dialogue that fleshes out the minor characters is often abbreviated. Second, the play is rendered in the original language, but uses standard spelling. This is not a modernized version of the play.

The Sixty Minute Shakespeare series was also written to give a shorter, easier to produce version of the play for theater groups that wanted to put on a production of a Shakespearean play. Any of this series would be a great production piece for a homeschool theater group. I recommend Hamlet in particular because there are so many resources available to help young actors learn more about their roles, especially the many fine productions of Hamlet on video or DVD. A short section on staging a production gives useful advice for staging and pacing of a production.

For those who want to use this edition for a study of Hamlet, I suggest getting a study guide to help with understanding the themes of the play. The notes at the bottom of each page help with understanding some of the unfamiliar words used, but those who are not familiar with Shakespeare will benefit from additional explanations of what is happening in the text.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Modern editions of a popular and trusted series. This new edition of Hamlet is part of the established Cambridge School Shakespeare series and has been substantially updated with new and revised activities throughout. Remaining faithful to the series' active approach it treats the play as a script to be acted, explored and enjoyed. As well as the complete script of Hamlet, you will find a variety of classroom-tested activities, an eight-page colour section and an enlarged selection of notes including information on characters, performance, history and language.

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