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Books
EASY
READING SHAKESPEARE
The Bard in Bite-Size Verse - Volume One
Foreword by Richard
Briers
Published by : Book Guild Publishing
Pavilion View
19 New Road
BRIGHTON
BN1 1UF
Tel : 01273 720900
Hard Back £14.95 ISBN 1-85776-911-2
Paper Back £8.99 ISBN 1-84624-151-2
Suitable for ages 10+
Illustrated by Michael Avery
From
the jacket of Volume One ……
Forget the archaic language, forget the incomprehensible
Elizabethan humour, forget the classical references (who
was Thisbe anyway?). Richard Cuddington offers his readers
a new approach to Shakespeare which acknowledges the
Bard’s stature as England’s finest poet and playwright but
lays aside the trappings of that greatness to reveal what
made him popular with his contemporary audiences and what
can still enchant us today – the stories.
In these highly entertaining verses the author takes the
plots of ten of Shakespeare’s most popular plays and
presents them with clarity, humour and a modern
directness:
‘Please explain at once this mystery.’
He responded, ‘Hermia’s history.
We’re not an item anymore
In fact she’s really quite a bore.’
The bouncing rhythm and the straightforward language make
these light-hearted lyrics an easy and engaging read. And
when you know what each play is about and the sort of
characters who populate its plot, you may well be
encouraged to find out more about what makes these people
tick by venturing into the original texts, having crept
under the literary barriers and already found a way in by
the back door.
EASY READING SHAKESPEARE – VOLUME ONE
contains the following plays;
The Merchant of Venice
Much Ado About Nothing
The Tempest
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Macbeth
(read excerpt)
Twelfth Night
Romeo and Juliet
(read excerpt)
Othello, The Moor of Venice
(read
excerpt)
King Lear
(read excerpt)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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