Macbeth (The Annotated Shakespeare) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), Professor Burton Raffel (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300106548 | ISBN-13: 978-0300106541 | Publication Date: March 8, 2005 | Edition: 1st.

Perhaps no other Shakespearean drama so engulfs its readers in the ruinous journey of surrender to evil as does Macbeth. A timeless tragedy about the nature of ambition, conscience, and the human heart, the play holds a profound grip on the Western imagination.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Each book includes a brief introduction to the play, followed by an illustrated cast of characters and a glossary of literary terms. Annotated text from the play alternates with black-and-white illustrations of selected scenes, in the style of a graphic novel. It is unclear why the editors did not make these true graphic novels throughout. The black-and-white comic art is undistinguished, and as most of it simply depicts two characters in conversation, it does little to clarify what is going on. The first two plays in particular offer marvelous possibilities for the illustrator, so the ho-hum comics are disappointing. Think about it boxes contain study questions such as, What has worried Macbeth? and boxed Literary terms give examples like, ‘Hermia...Hermia...Helena...' is...alliteration. Teacher's guides accompany the books. Those interested in a graphic-novel interpretation might want to consider Arthur Byron Cover's Macbeth (Puffin, 2005), which is illustrated in manga style and would probably appeal more to reluctant readers. These titles might be useful for teaching Shakespeare to reluctant readers, but a better choice might be a simple annotated Shakespeare such as a Sparknotes No Fear Shakespeare series (Spark), supplemented by Bruce Coville's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1999) and William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (2003, both Penguin), which are picture-book prose adaptations, or Adam McKeown's Romeo and Juliet: Young Reader's Shakespeare (Sterling, 2004).–Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

Author Naomi Alderman was full of praise for The Shakespeare Comic Book Series when she talked about the comic book approach to Shakespeare on BBC Radio 4's Open Book programme. Describing it as 'amazing', she went on to say that it was the perfect form in which to present his plays because 'It's really like a staging of Shakespeare - It has the depth of a movie so that you can have tiny things going on in the background that an observant reader will pick up on and you have the ability to read it slowly like a book so that unlike a film it doesn't race past.' Developing this theme, that the comic book presentation allowed the reader both to appreciate the text while observing the play's visual context, she went on to say, 'You can take it at your own pace and so I think for things like Shakespeare where you really want to be focusing on the words but at the same time seeing the staging - it's just the perfect form for that.' Naomi Alderman's enthusiasm has been reflected by huge numbers of teachers and parents. Linda Arthan, a special needs teacher from Shropshire wrote; 'The Shakespeare Comic Book Series is an absolute godsend for those of us wishing to bring to life the dramatic storylines of Shakespeare. They convert difficult language and concepts into user friendly modern English. The comic books are full of vivid illustrations. A great resource for pupils of all abilities.' Another teacher, Helen Reynolds of Devon was more concise. She said the comic books were 'the perfect introduction to Shakespeare!' Parents have been equally delighted. Mrs C Baker of Sheffield wrote, 'Both my boys used the comic books. As beginners to Shakespeare, they made their understanding and enjoyment so much greater. For boys who were not keen readers, the comic book format was an outstanding help. I can't speak highly enough of them.' As emphatic was Melissa Dolan of Surrey whose child was struggling with Shakespeare for exams. She said, 'You saved my daughter's life! You saved my sanity!' As a small publishing house, The Shakespeare Comic Book Co. has yet to receive adequate national press recognition. One notice has appeared. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Education Editor, John Clare, was full of praise for the series. He wrote, 'I am rather taken by a new publishing venture called Comic Book Shakespeare. Each play is presented in the original text edited to preserve all the key speeches. These, accompanied by a translation into modern English, issue in bubbles from characters who are simply but attractively drawn - This is an intellectually respectable introduction - which is more than can be said for most computer-based attempts to make Shakespeare 'accessible.' The comic books have enjoyed some academic attention. Lieke Stelling of Utrecht University wrote a long and thoughtful review of A Midsummer Night's Dream. She concluded, 'Greaves does not attempt to jazz up the play with funny comments or drawings that call too much attention to themselves. It is precisely Greaves' straightforward and unpretentious approach, reflected in both the visual and textual translation, that makes the book a welcome addition to the existing range of Shakespeare comics. It is attractive for older pupils who want to be taken seriously in their study of Shakespeare, and a great source of inspiration for teachers.' Perhaps the last word should go to readers themselves. At the older end of the scale, GCSE student Mary Edwards of Buckinghamshire said, 'It made Romeo and Juliet really understandable and entertaining.' At the younger end, Sonni, aged 6, in Kent was unambiguous, writing, 'I really like the blood on the dagger and the red witch eyes.' Equally emphatic about the comic books was Ashley, also of Kent, who said of the comic books, 'They are brilliant and I couldn't stop reading them!' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1st. edition (March 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300106548
• ISBN-13: 978-0300106541
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yale's may be the best edition of Macbeth, December 30, 2005

By 

kaream - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macbeth (The Annotated Shakespeare) (Paperback)

Virtually all editions of Macbeth will have at least some annotations. Rummaging through five different editions, I preferred this Yale University Press version, edited by Burton Raffel, as having the most comprehensive and comprehensible notes, as well as an excellent introduction to Shakespeare's play. Raffel not only explains the meanings of obscure words, but also gives brief notes pertaining to relevant history, geography, stage directions, etc, that are rarely addressed as fully by other editors. In addition, Raffel frequently gives the proper way to stress the syllables in a line when reading it aloud, which can be extremely helpful. (However, in most places these stresses need to be very subtle, so that you don't sound like "taDUM taDUM taDUM".) And Yale's page layout is among the clearest that I've seen.

As a bonus, this edition includes at the back a long essay on the play by Harold Bloom. This is not an uninteresting commentary, but Bloom desperately needs a good editor. His essay is not only at least three times longer than it should be, but is startlingly repetitious. Yale would have been wise to have asked Bloom for a rewrite.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Suits our needs, March 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Macbeth (Shakespeare Made Easy) (Paperback)

I won't even attempt to critique Shakespeare's work, as some have done here. I'm not reviewing MacBeth, but this particular version of it. As a homeschooling Mom with three highschool students, the only way we could get through Shakespeare's works is by having a copy of Shakespeare Made Easy on hand. As it is, we completed 5 plays this year - all done orally, with each of us taking several parts. While I think it's important that my kids read Shakespeare in it's original format (and they did), I had the Shakespeare Made Easy translation handy so that I could give simple, concise explanations whenever they just didn't "get it". I recommend these books for that purpose - not for the watered down versions of these classics, but to make them understandable to the average student who might otherwise find Shakespeare's works boring and a waste of time (as many students do).

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice translation of Macbeth, December 17, 2001

By 

"elefterios" (Adelaide, South Australia, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macbeth (Shakespeare Made Easy) (Paperback)

This book is a nice translation from Shakespeare's language in Macbeth to the modern easy to read language of today. As a student myself, I recommend this book to other students studying Macbeth, if they feel they do not understand exact phrases from the play. If you are already good at 'translating' the lines from the play i do not recommend this book as strongly...... but still........ it helped me a great deal with my assignments.