Synopses & Reviews
Barron"s popular
Shakespeare Made Easy series 'translates' Shakespeare"s plays into lively modern English that today"s readers can understand, while also retaining the Bard"s original and immortal lines. The newest addition to this enduring series is Shakespeare"s pastoral romance,
As You Like It, a comedy of disguises and multiple mistaken identities. Rosalind, a young maiden, is banished from her kingdom by her cruel uncle, Duke Frederick. She disguises herself as a boy, Ganymede, and flees to the Forest of Arden. There she joins her exiled father, Duke Senior, and an assortment of other colorful characters, including the bawdy jester Touchstone and the melancholy nobleman Jacques, who famously soliloquizes on the seven ages of man. Meanwhile Rosalind, safe in her forest home, encounters the handsome Orlando, and they fall in love. Theirs is only one of several love stories that grace this witty play. All ends happily, as Duke Frederick and Duke Senior are reconciled, and Rosalind and Orlando are blissfully married.
These special features make Shakespeare"s plays
truly easy to understand and enjoy
The original text of Shakespeare"s play printed on left-hand pages A line-for-line, easy-to-follow modern English updating of Shakespeare"s language on facing right-hand pages Background information that places the drama in historical perspective Quizzes and questions teachers can use for short tests and classroom discussionsSynopsis
Oxford School Shakespeare is an acclaimed series especially designed for students, with accessible on-page notes that are easy to find and crystal clear.. Each volume also includes decorative and explanatory illustrations, clear background information, rigorous but accessible commentary, up-to-date reading lists, the addresses of relevant websites, and classroom notes--all to help students to better appreciate the great works of Shakespeare.
Synopsis
Barron's popular Shakespeare Made Easy series translates Shakespeare's plays into lively modern English that today's readers can understand. The newest addition to this enduring series is the pastoral romance "As You Like It," a comedy of disguises and multiple mistaken identities.
Synopsis
(back cover)
SHAKESPEARE MADE EASY
Modernized by Gayle Holste
As You Like It
IN LANGUAGE EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND
Shakespeare's delightful comedy about the banished princess who falls in love at first sight with a poor but brave young man unfolds in easy-to-follow English as we speak it today. Follow witty Rosalind as she and her loyal cousin Celia, disguised as a poor shepherd lad and his sister, run away to Arden Forest to escape the threats of Rosalind's wicked uncle. Accompanied by the bawdy jester Touchstone, they meet the melancholy Jacques, the lovesick Silvius, the scornful Phebe, and other colorful characters. Rosalind's encounter with the brave Orlando is only one of several love stories that grace this cleverly plotted play.
The complete original text is laid out side-by-side with the full modern translation. Shakespeare Made Easy titles are ideal for quick reference and understanding, whether you are reading Shakespeare for pleasure or studying for an exam.
Also available in this series:
Hamlet * Henry IV, Part One
Julius Caesar * King Lear
Macbeth * The Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing * Othello
Romeo and Juliet * The Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest * Twelfth Night
Synopsis
Here are the books that help teach Shakespeare plays without the teacher constantly needing to explain and define Elizabethan terms, slang, and other ways of expression that are different from our own. Each play is presented with Shakespeare's original lines on each left-hand page, and a modern, easy-to-understand "translation" on the facing right-hand page. All dramas are complete, with every original Shakespearian line, and a full-length modern rendition of the text. These invaluable teaching-study guides also include:
1. Helpful background information that puts each play in its historical perspective.
2. Discussion questions that teachers can use to spark student class participation, and which students can use as springboards for their own themes and term papers.
3. Fact quizzes, sample examinations, and other features that improve student comprehension of what each play is about.