Customer Reviews

The Merchant of Venice (SparkNotes No Fear Shakespeare)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is the same kind of study aid just as any other book from the No Fear Shakespeare series. Helpful and easy-to-understand modern translations. Text is clear and fonts are natural. I only wished it also contained summaries and sample questions / essays. But you can always find those on SparkNotes' website.

As a person who has not read Shakespeare since high school, understanding the Old English was a challenge. I purchased the book to help me understand the stage production and did not want to miss the meaning of the language. "No Fear" allowed me to read each passage and understand its meaning and full impact. Without the book, I would not have understood much of the play; it was like listening to a foreign language. There are no frills or additional explanations about the circumstances, simply a translation from the old english to modern--and that served me well.

For our 5th Form (11th grade) Lit class our Lit teacher recommended that we all use this book to help us with the drama. The original books which were given to us were difficult for many of us to understand. However, with No Fear Shakespeare and our wonderful Lit teacher we all passes Lit, most of us passed with B+ and up and I received 100 % on my English Lit exam as well as a 98% year average in Lit for that year !!! Recommended by me, my Lit teacher and my entire Lit class

The play has the original on one page, a modern verse translation on the other. The translation is solid, not simplisitic. Book could be imporved with an essaya or two on the play's meaning. It is one of Shakespeare's more ambivalnt plays, with no one character especially likeable, sort of like the characters on "Survivor Island."