Hello Lovelies! As I'm sure a lot of you will know my dog Molly passed away a week ago from tomorrow, and obviously it's been a hard few days but that's something I'll save for another time. But I just wanted to thank you to all of you who have sent lovely messages. I haven't replied to them all yet, but it honestly means a lot. These past few days I've been away in the countryside, and between attempting to revise for my final exam on Monday, I've been reading The Incomplete Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.
Blame the fact that both of my parents did English degrees, but I've grown up watching Shakespeare plays and loving them. That doesn't mean however that I like reading the plays on their own. I've picked up Romeo and Juliet, or Macbeth countless times convincing myself that I'd read them back to front but it's never happened. The reality is if you're not seeing Shakespeare acted out, as it should be, it can get a little boring.
That's why I love The Incomplete Shakespeare series written by John Crace and annotated by John Sutherland. Basically it's a collection of Shakespeare's plays pared down to the essentials, with interesting side notes and bits of the play rewritten for a comical touch. Take this extract for example (if you don't know the play, these two hate each other, but love and hate can be very close things...):
Beatrice: "Oh God, look who it isn't. I was hoping you might have got yourself killed."
Benedick: "Not you again. I can't help if all the ladies love me..."
Beatrice: "All but me..."
Benedick: "Thank God for small mercies. For I have yet to meet a woman who can touch my heart."
Beatrice: "You're just a commitment phobe."
It may be the English nerd in me but I've found this book so hilarious, and a nice little refresher of my favourite Shakespeare play. Like a lot of book or play lovers, I love immersing myself into a different world, and I think this series does that in a super accessible way. So like if for example you've got an essay on a Shakespeare play, these books could be a total saviour! If you're not a Much Ado About Nothing fan, they've also adapted Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet too.
Anyway that's it for today lovelies! I hope you have an amazing rest of your week!
This sounds so funny and interesting, I'd love to give this book a read! I feel like it can also make a lot of us fall back in love with Shakespeare, in a way.
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Oh definitely, do read it if you get a chance!
DeleteThis sounds like an awesome alternative to reading proper Shakespeare! His language can be difficult to get at times, so this sounds really funny. Shakespeare himself wrote hilarious moments in his plays, I loved Romeo and Juliet and saw it much more as comedy than drama to be fair. One of my favourite quotes from the book was from Juliet to her Nurse: "How art thou out of breath, when thou hast breath to say to me that thou art out of breath?" In context it surprised me so much and reminded me how fun his plays can be. I really enjoy posts about books, I hope you'll do more in the future!
ReplyDeleteJulia x
www.juliaspeaksbeauty.blogspot.co.uk
Oh I remember that line! I studied Romeo and Juliet at GCSE! I love Much Ado About Nothing the most because it's just such a funny, charming play with a good bit of romance too. I hope I will, I may do a series about Austen because I'm a total super fan! x
DeleteThat sounds like a brilliant book! I had to study King Lear for my a-level and ended up loving it otherwise it could have been a rough year! xo
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I actually also did it for Alevel and really loved it! x
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