Romeo And Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare)

Good

I really love this book. It made understanding a lot easier for my students. ~BUT~ I will say that some parts are a little much. It seems the translator looks for the most vulgar way to word some of Shakespeare's crude jokes (Shakespeare is crude, to be sure--and some of it is quite funny. However, sometimes the translator goes too far the other way). Plus, there were parts that weren't necessarily as sexual in the original as it was presented in the translated version (like scenes that were purposely left ambiguous so that it might have been interpreted in more than one way). This actually took away from the cleverness and thoughtfulness of some of Shakespeare's jokes.Because of this, I had to pre-read all the scenes to choose which scenes we read in this book, and which ones we read from the original text (from the textbook, where students couldn't read the translation). I did find, however, that the classes that used BOTH original and translated readings for the unit had an easier time understanding the original text when challenged to do so (likely because they didn't feel as overwhelmed from days of old text).This is a very useful tool for the classroom. Both versions are important--and, truthfully, some of my students preferred the original text, and some preferred the new text, so switching between the two for certain scenes was a great exercise.

I purchased this for a high school freshman who will be studying Romeo and Juliet during second semester. I have utilized this book previously, and I really like the format: Shakespeare on one page, the same text in today's English on the facing page. It really helps students understand the original Shakespeare.

This is a very accessible way to read Shakespeare for those of us who are at a loss when it comes to interpreting the words of the great bard. I was never able to understand Shakespeare before. This was a great find.

This is a great companion to the original Romeo and Juliet story. My middle school daughter is finding this incredibly helpful as she is reading Romeo and Juliet as a class requirement.

This was the perfect supplement for my student. The side-by-side format makes understanding the text as easy as pie. It contains a glossary of literary terms, character intros, and little notes throughout to expand a student's knowledge an understanding. I highly recommend this for any student reading Romeo and Juliet.