ORIGINAL AUTHOR: William Shakespeare
ADAPTED BY: Adam Sexton
ILLUSTRATOR: Yali Lin
PUBLISHER: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
GENRE: Traditional literature in graphic format
FORMAT: Paperback (pocket-sized)
PAGES: 185
COLOR: Black and white
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-09758-8
STORY REVIEW
It is likely you know the story of the “star-crossed lovers” well enough and there is nothing surprising or out of the ordinary here with this adaptation: no spaceships or six shooters. The first question anyone is apt to ask is about the language. Sexton may have adapted the story, editing some lines or scenes out, but the language is wholly Shakespearean: beautiful, poetic and most importantly it remains intact.
“See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. And I, for winking at your discords too, have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished.” (Page 183)
Lovers of tradition can rest peacefully.
ART REVIEW
The manga is clean and the illustrations create nice movement through the story. Many of the backgrounds are nicely detailed. The scene that comes to mind is the famous one where Romeo goes to Juliet’s window. From time to time, I found it a bit difficult to discern – visually – between the many teenaged characters, as their facial features are nearly identical. Although color would have helped that issue, it is problematic as manga is traditionally black and white.
AGE RECOMMENDATION
My Rating: Ages 13 and older
Publisher’s Rating: Teen (Ages 13 and older)
How can we limit access to the greatest literature to anyone who can and will read it? Yet, without significant assistance, the language is far and above the reading level of most. So, I echo the recommended rating of the publisher only because of the difficulty of language and not because of content. If I had a student younger than 13 who wanted to read it, I would let them.
BE AWARE
According to the introduction, the writers and editors of this series of books have “cut words, lines, speeches, even entire scenes” in order to meet the 200 page limit. However, they “never paraphrased the playwright’s language” nor did they “summarize action.” For the purists, those edits may feel inappropriate.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Reading a comic adaptation of Shakespeare offers students an opportunity to make sense of the rich language using the illustrations. Shakespeare, after all, was meant to be seen not read. Experiencing Shakespeare as a comic is the best substitute to watching the play itself.
OTHER INFORMATION
Other books in the SHAKESPEARE MANGA EDITION series include: MACBETH, HAMLET, and JULIUS CEASAR.
Coming in 2009: HUCK FINN: THE MANGA EDITION and THE SCARLET LETTER: THE MANGA EDITION.
ROMEO & JULIET is also available in Adobe e-Book format from the publisher.
MY RECOMMENDATION:
Highly Recommended
ROMEO & JULIET: THE MANGA EDITION is an excellent adaptation of the original work and may very well be the better way to study Shakespeare in the classroom, than just reading the play.
ADAPTED BY: Adam Sexton
ILLUSTRATOR: Yali Lin
PUBLISHER: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
GENRE: Traditional literature in graphic format
FORMAT: Paperback (pocket-sized)
PAGES: 185
COLOR: Black and white
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-09758-8
STORY REVIEW
It is likely you know the story of the “star-crossed lovers” well enough and there is nothing surprising or out of the ordinary here with this adaptation: no spaceships or six shooters. The first question anyone is apt to ask is about the language. Sexton may have adapted the story, editing some lines or scenes out, but the language is wholly Shakespearean: beautiful, poetic and most importantly it remains intact.
“See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. And I, for winking at your discords too, have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished.” (Page 183)
Lovers of tradition can rest peacefully.
ART REVIEW
The manga is clean and the illustrations create nice movement through the story. Many of the backgrounds are nicely detailed. The scene that comes to mind is the famous one where Romeo goes to Juliet’s window. From time to time, I found it a bit difficult to discern – visually – between the many teenaged characters, as their facial features are nearly identical. Although color would have helped that issue, it is problematic as manga is traditionally black and white.
AGE RECOMMENDATION
My Rating: Ages 13 and older
Publisher’s Rating: Teen (Ages 13 and older)
How can we limit access to the greatest literature to anyone who can and will read it? Yet, without significant assistance, the language is far and above the reading level of most. So, I echo the recommended rating of the publisher only because of the difficulty of language and not because of content. If I had a student younger than 13 who wanted to read it, I would let them.
BE AWARE
According to the introduction, the writers and editors of this series of books have “cut words, lines, speeches, even entire scenes” in order to meet the 200 page limit. However, they “never paraphrased the playwright’s language” nor did they “summarize action.” For the purists, those edits may feel inappropriate.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Reading a comic adaptation of Shakespeare offers students an opportunity to make sense of the rich language using the illustrations. Shakespeare, after all, was meant to be seen not read. Experiencing Shakespeare as a comic is the best substitute to watching the play itself.
OTHER INFORMATION
Other books in the SHAKESPEARE MANGA EDITION series include: MACBETH, HAMLET, and JULIUS CEASAR.
Coming in 2009: HUCK FINN: THE MANGA EDITION and THE SCARLET LETTER: THE MANGA EDITION.
ROMEO & JULIET is also available in Adobe e-Book format from the publisher.
MY RECOMMENDATION:
Highly Recommended
ROMEO & JULIET: THE MANGA EDITION is an excellent adaptation of the original work and may very well be the better way to study Shakespeare in the classroom, than just reading the play.
