shakespeare

Book Review: Manga Classics- King Lear

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Manga Classics by William Shakespeare

Manga Classics: King Lear – Full Original Text Edition
byWilliam Shakespeare

4.5 out of 5 stars

King Lear decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters and relinquish his royal power to them, retaining only the title of king and a hundred of his own knights as a guard. After his retirement, he plans to reside with his daughters and their husbands as a guest in their castles. In order to divide up the kingdom, he asks each daughter to prove her love for her father, and two of his daughters, Goneril and Regan, give flowery speeches about how much they love and respect him. However, Cordelia includes a reasonable caveat that when she is married, she will give half her heart to her husband, so her father cannot be first in her affections. King Lear is offended, and cuts Cordelia off completely.

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Book Review: Julius Caesar

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Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar
by  William Shakespeare, Barbara A. Mowat (Editor), Paul Werstine (Editor)

4 out of 5 stars

So many wonderfully quotable lines! What strong and powerful characters! This goes on my list of favorite plays of the Bard.

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Book Review: King Henry V

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Henry V by William Shakespeare

Henry V
by William Shakespeare

5 out of 5 stars

OH, this is one of my new favorites! King Henry is so fabulous and dashing and debonair and courageous and honorable and quite polite when he wants to be. I love his jokes and his speeches and oh, everything! He might be my favorite Shakespearean character, (after Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing.)

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Book Review: As You Like It

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As You Like It by William Shakespeare

As You Like It
by William Shakespeare

5 out of 5 stars

Rosalind sees a young man, Orlando, fighting in a wrestling match and falls in love. Orlando is equally smitten by her loveliness. Rosalind is banished from the court by her uncle who has usurped the dukedom. Rosalind’s cousin, Celia, cannot bear to be parted from her, so the two ladies escape together searching for Rosalind’s banished father in the Forest of Arden. Orlando is fleeing for his life, after his own brother has tried to have him killed, and he also escapes into the Forest of Arden. Hilarity ensues.

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Manga Review: Hamlet

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Manga Classics by Crystal S. Chan

Manga Classics: Hamlet (Modern English Edition)
by Crystal S. Chan (Adapter), William Shakespeare, Julien Choy (Artist), Michael Barltrop (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

This manga adaptation of Williams Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the perfect way to introduce Shakespeare to readers who might feel intimidated by the original play. The text is modernized, but still captures the original style of Shakespeare. The entire play is intact, and all the beauty of Shakespeare’s words comes through wonderfully in this modern adaptation.

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Shakespeare Review: Much Ado About Nothing

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Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare

5 out of 5 stars

My favorite of Shakespeare’s plays! I love the interaction between Benedick and Beatrice!

This play is just so witty and fun. It always makes me laugh every time I reread it. The dialogue is snappy and the plot flows along quickly. It is such an easy one to read because it really grabs your attention.

The characters are vibrant and real. I love Beatrice’s character so much. She truly feels like a real person to me. There is so much depth to her personality, and I love the way she tries to act all tough in public, but really she has a gentle heart.

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Manga Classic Review: Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Manga Classics by Crystal S. Chan

Manga Classics: Midsummer Night’s Dream (Modern English Edition)
by  Crystal S. Chan, William Shakespeare, Po Tse (Illustrator), Michael Barltrop (Editor)

5 out of 5 stars

This manga adaptation of Williams Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream is the perfect way to introduce Shakespeare to readers who might feel intimidated by the original play. The text is modernized, but still captures the original style of Shakespeare. The entire play is intact, and all the beauty of Shakespeare’s words comes through wonderfully in this modern adaptation.

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Book Review: Shakespeare’s Avengers

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William Shakespeare's Avengers by Ian Doescher

William Shakespeare’s Avengers: The Complete Works
by Ian Doescher (Goodreads Author)
5 out of 5 stars

The Avengers movies are retold in this Shakespearean format as if they were theater plays, complete with stage directions and Elizabethan language.

I got inspired to rewatch the movies, and watched each one right after reading the play! It was so fun to see how the book follows the movie scenes closely, but with little additions in the dialogue and aside comments to the audience. There is even a chorus that introduces scenes and explains the plot like Shakespeare’s plays would have.

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Manga Classic Review: Macbeth

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Macbeth by Crystal S. Chan

Macbeth
by Crystal S. Chan (Adaptor), Julien Choy (Illustrator), William Shakespeare, Michael Barltrop (Modern English Adaptor)
4 out of 5 stars

Despite its popularity, MacBeth has never been one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. Too bloody and gory and gloomy for my taste. But if you like a dismal adventure with plenty of violence and mayhem, MacBeth has plenty of that! And this manga adaptation rings true with the moods and poetry of the original play. I like that the words of Shakespeare are modernized in a thoughtful way, and the artwork beautifully illustrates all the action and drama.

Each character has a memorable and striking appearance, and I found it especially interesting to see how MacBeth’s demeanor changed after he commits murder. His posture and facial expressions are different, and shadows gather around him in the darker shadows of the artwork. It’s a subtle but effective way of showing the development of his character, slowing falling into madness and despair.

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