This is an easy-to-read retelling of William Shakespeare's problem play "Measure for Measure." People who read this version first will find it much easier to understand the language of the original play.
Since the rediscovery of Elizabethan stage conditions early this century, admiration for Measure for Measure has steadily risen. It is now a favorite with the critics and has attracted widely different styles of performance. At one extreme the play is seen as a religious allegory, at the other it has been interpreted as a comedy protesting against power and privilege. Brian Gibbons focuses on the unique tragi-comic experience of watching the play, the intensity and excitement offered by its dramatic rhythm, the reversals and surprises that shock the audience even to the end. The introduction describes the play's critical reception and stage history and how these have varied according to prevailing social, moral and religious issues, which were highly sensitive when Measure for Measure was written, and have remained so to the present day.
This is an easy-to-read version of William Shakespeare's tragedy "Coriolanus." People who read this retelling first will find Shakespeare's play easier to read and understand.
This is an easy-to-read retelling of William Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus." People who read this retelling first will find the original play much easier to understand and read.
This is a retelling of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in modern English. If people read this version first, they will understand Shakespeare's original version much better.
This is an easy-to-read retelling of William Shakespeare's "Henry V," a history play that includes King Henry V of England's victory in the Battle of Agincourt.
This is an easy-to-read retelling of William Shakespeare's "Richard II." People who read this version first will find the original play much easier to read and understand.