Hamlet (Pelican Shakespeare) ANNOTATION
Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with discussion questions, role-playing scenarios, and other study activities.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The Bard's original poetic phrases are printed side-by-side and line-by-line with the modern translation on each facing page. While Shakespeare's immortal plays have endured, the English language has changed -- which is why today's students often find Shakespeare's idiom difficult to comprehend.
SYNOPSIS
Hamlet, part of the Boynton/Cook Shakespeare Series, is specifically designed for high school classes.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
The big H comes to Penguin's great revamped "Pelican Shakespeare" line. What else do you need to know? Buy it! Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
It is a tragedy that all actors seem to crave to perform, and the Renaissance Theatre Company clearly relishes the chance to present Hamlet for the ear. It is a contemporary cast from which one has come to expect superior Shakespearean acting on stage and screen: Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet; Sir John Gielgud as the Ghost; Derek Jacobi as Claudius; and Emma Thompson as the Player Queen. Unlike the Recorded Books version (Audio Reviews, LJ 8/90), this BBC edition may be a little hard to follow by those unfamiliar with the play's text, particularly since stage directions are not provided and speakers are not clearly identified. But the program does give the complete version, a rare treat, and the accompanying booklet offers insights into both the acting and the production. Highly recommended.-- Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, N.Y.
Booknews
Lest there be misunderstanding, the title's "New" refers to the freshness of 1877, though the Dover variations are collated from some 30 editions together with the notes and numerous comments of the editors of those editions. The second volume contains commentaries from the French, German, and English, with preference given to verbal over aesthetic criticism. On the topic of whether the Dane was insane, for example, Boswell (1821) writes that Hamlet's utterances "evince not only a sound, but an acute and vigourous understanding...and though his mind is enfeebled, it is by no means deranged." This is an important reprint for those hungry to re-parse the words and (in)action of perhaps the most famous of fatherless children. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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