erinfontenot Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Hello, I am new to studying Shakespeare with my children. Two of them did a Shakespeare Camp this week on Macbeth. To prepare for it, I bought No Fear Shakespeare which has the Original Text and the Modern English text right next to it. Most people read the Mary and Charles Lamb version but we read the entire text...in only 5 days...they loved it...my question is, how come noone ever recommends No Fear Shakespeare? It helped me understand it and enjoy it as well. Thank you....erin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 I've never recommended it because I'd never heard of it before. I will definitely look for it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinfontenot Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 Here is a link to it. You can look at the entire book online for free. We really enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think. http://nfs.sparknotes.com/ erin.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 DD13 and I will read Midsummer's Night Dream this year and I purchased the No Fear edition b/c I thought it looked like an awesome idea when I saw it. Did you read the original text aloud and just refer to the modern english as needed? Or, did you read both texts aloud? How? That's awesome that they are all online. I didn't realize that and have bookmarked them for future reference. I have the Lamb book as well and had thought I'd read it aloud to all 3 dc before reading the No Fear edition with my 13 yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitilin Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 A couple of my students in our co-op shakespeare class have bought these--I think that in their cases, it's that they feel that they will miss something important to understanding what's going on without the extra help. The other kids seem to be doing fine though. This is a bunch of 13-16 year olds, btw. I think that the NFSp is a great thing if the reader needs a little help--but I also think that it's important to learn to read and understand the original too. We revere Shakespeare so much, culturally, that we tend to forget that he was writing to the masses, that he was NOT highbrow entertainment, and that if you relax and enjoy it, you WILL "get" most of it. I am glad you found an edition you like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 Here is a link to it. You can look at the entire book online for free. We really enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think. http://nfs.sparknotes.com/ erin.... COOL that you can see it for free! I don't have an opinion, but I'll tell you that I'm saving this for my dd, who will be studying Shakespeare's tragedies this year. It looks good to me--thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Buckin' Longhorn Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 My son is in a Shakespeare drama club and we use the No Fear Shakespeare books. I actually didn't know they were available online, but we write and highlight liberally, so that wouldn't be an option for us anyway. Each individual just refers to the modern translation side as needed to make sure they are comprehending correctly, but we only read aloud and perform the original version. They are a great study/comprehension tool. We enjoy them! When we first started reading Shakespeare, it was very intimidating and the No Fears really boosted our confidence. I would recommend them to anyone, but I guess no one has ever asked me, LOL. I did find out about them from another homeschool Mom, so they definitely aren't a secret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 You might want to consider tying in "Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth" for your fifth grader. It's one of my favorite middle school books, and it basically updates Macbeth to modern times. It's very well-written and has a lot of food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erinfontenot Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 My kids wanted me to read the Original Text with the Modern Text. We had fun trying to interpret Shakespeare language. They were getting quite used to it by the end of Macbeth. Even the 10 year old. I was going to read the short version but they wouldn't hear of it. I am looking forward to doing a Midsummer Night's Dream. We listened to Jim Weiss's retelling of it already and they loved it. Has anyone had any problems with the BBC video's of Shakespeare on Netflix? They couldn't stop watching the Taming of the Shrew. I am so new to this so any tips would be highly appreciated...erin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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