A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Made Easy) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author)

Book Description

Series: Shakespeare Made Easy | Publication Date: April 1, 1985

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Jonathan Bate writes with as much elegance as insight about the making of theatre and the creation of the plays.' -Richard Eyre, The Sunday Telegraph 'Footnotes at the bottom of each page gloss unfamiliar vocabulary, paraphrase tricky meanings and uncover bawdy puns. There is a universe to be found in these annotations: the Renaissance world of power and fate, sex and death, language and philosophy.' - Times Educational Supplement --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

JONATHAN BATE is Professor of Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature, University of Warwick, UK, and the editor of The RSC Shakespeare: The Complete Works. He has held visiting posts at Harvard, Yale and UCLA and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Fellow of the British Academy, an Honorary Fellow of St Catherine's College, Cambridge, and a Governor and Board member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. A prominent critic, award-winning biographer and broadcaster, he is the author of several books on Shakespeare, including The Genius of Shakespeare (Picador), which was praised by Sir Peter Hall, founder of the RSC, as "the best modern book on Shakespeare." In June 2006 he was awarded a CBE by HM The Queen 'for services to Higher Education'. ERIC RASMUSSEN is Professor of English at the University of Nevada, USA, and the Textual Editor of The RSC Shakespeare: The Complete Works. He is co-editor of the Norton Anthology of English Renaissance Drama and has edited volumes in both the Arden Shakespeare and Oxford World's Classics series. He is the General Textual Editor of the Internet Shakespeare Editions project - one of the most visited Shakespeare websites in the world. For over nine years he has written the annual review of editions and textual studies for the Shakespeare Survey. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 1 edition (April 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812035844
• ISBN-13: 978-0812035841
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A light and enjoyable introduction to Shakespear, April 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Made Easy) (Paperback)

As a new Shakespeare reader, I can not compare it with his other plays, but I can say that A mid Summer night's dream is a light and enjoyable play. The characters are interesting, the setting is wonderful and the telling of the story is very visual. The aspect of the fairy world was particularly nice as well as the every so often witty lines. By using Shakespeare made easy, I was able to "translate" Shakespeare's language into plain English. By doing so I was able to better understand and get more of a feel of the play on the long run. I will use the "made easy" books again in my further Shakespeare readings I enjoyed them very much.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare made easy, January 30, 2010

By 

J. T. Conn (DC area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Made Easy) (Paperback)

The title says it all. This book makes the daunting task of reading Shakespeare less so. High schoolers can read the original plays side by side with modern translations. A truly great book to make enjoying Shakespeare a reality.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A light and enjoyable introduction to Shakespear, April 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Made Easy) (Paperback)

As a new Shakespeare reader, I can not compare it with his other plays, but I can say that A mid Summer night's dream is a light and enjoyable play. The characters are interesting, the setting is wonderful and the telling of the story is very visual. The aspect of the fairy world was particularly nice as well as the every so often witty lines. By using Shakespeare made easy, I was able to "translate" Shakespeare's language into plain English. By doing so I was able to better understand and get more of a feel of the play on the long run. I will use the "made easy" books again in my further Shakespeare readings I enjoyed them very much.