READABLE SHAKESPEARE
Unless we are still wearing codpieces and pantaloons, Shakespeare’s language is not our own, and though it’s intelligible, it takes more effort than a modern book. Even perfectly understandable words like thee and thou in repetition with a lot of less familiar words build up into a collective wall that the reader has to break down, or get used to sitting in its shade. A third option is to find a Shakespeare in completely modern language, but for those who feel this is an unnecessary intrusion I’ve devised this Readable Shakespeare to stay as close the original as possible by just adding a minimum of translations. The idea is to simply throw all the footnotes and word explanations that usually sit at the bottom of a scholarly Shakespeare edition into the reading text.
HENRY VI, PART TWO
When I am king, as king I shall be...
A holy king surrounded by a court of devils, Henry the Sixth relies on his regent, Gloucester to guide him through the perils of ruling a kingdom. But when it is time to marry, Henry is lured into a bad match. For though Margaret of France is beautiful, she brings no wealth or lands to the marriage, instead vast tracts of France are given away to buy her.
Through such missteps the enemies of Gloucester seek to prise a handhold and bring him down, thereby clearing their path for themselves. Who can claw their way to the top, and who will remain loyal? To what lengths will the patriotic sons of England go to satisfy their ambitions?
Shakespeare’s Book of Change... suspenseful, surprising and utterly accessible.
Unless we are still wearing codpieces and pantaloons, Shakespeare’s language is not our own, and though it’s intelligible, it takes more effort than a modern book. Even perfectly understandable words like thee and thou in repetition with a lot of less familiar words build up into a collective wall that the reader has to break down, or get used to sitting in its shade. A third option is to find a Shakespeare in completely modern language, but for those who feel this is an unnecessary intrusion I’ve devised this Readable Shakespeare to stay as close the original as possible by just adding a minimum of translations. The idea is to simply throw all the footnotes and word explanations that usually sit at the bottom of a scholarly Shakespeare edition into the reading text.
HENRY VI, PART TWO
When I am king, as king I shall be...
A holy king surrounded by a court of devils, Henry the Sixth relies on his regent, Gloucester to guide him through the perils of ruling a kingdom. But when it is time to marry, Henry is lured into a bad match. For though Margaret of France is beautiful, she brings no wealth or lands to the marriage, instead vast tracts of France are given away to buy her.
Through such missteps the enemies of Gloucester seek to prise a handhold and bring him down, thereby clearing their path for themselves. Who can claw their way to the top, and who will remain loyal? To what lengths will the patriotic sons of England go to satisfy their ambitions?
Shakespeare’s Book of Change... suspenseful, surprising and utterly accessible.
