Romeo and Juliet: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English

I bought this book for my 14-year-old son who was supposed to read Romeo & Juliet for Honors English. He was really impressed with the format of the book. It has side by side interpretations of the old-timey English in the play. It also contains a list of characters and short descriptions about them, and adds a great deal of context to help the reader understand the story. My son said he would be lost without this book. He likes it so much as a reference tool that he asked me to submit this review. I’d recommend this book for any high school or college student who is assigned to read Romeo & Juliet. You’ll be so glad you purchased this book. It’s also very reasonably priced!

Exactly what school asked for, arrived quickly, and then as in great shape!

"No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet" is an invaluable tool for anyone wanting to explore this timeless tale of love and tragedy without getting lost in the poetic complexities of the original text. The side-by-side format featuring the complete play alongside an easy-to-understand translation makes it incredibly user-friendly. I found this layout particularly effective, as it allows readers to appreciate Shakespeare's lyrical language while seamlessly following the storyline and character dynamics.The clarity of the translations breathes new life into the famous dialogues, making the emotions and tensions of Romeo and Juliet's passionate relationship resonate just as powerfully today. This guide not only helps simplify Shakespeare’s nuanced themes of love, conflict, and fate but also enhances understanding with helpful notes and character descriptions. Whether you're a student studying the play or a fan of Shakespeare looking to deepen your appreciation of this classic work, "No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet" offers an engaging and accessible entry point into the Bard's world!

I really love this book. It made understanding a lot easier for my students. ~BUT~ I will say that some parts are a little much. It seems the translator looks for the most vulgar way to word some of Shakespeare's crude jokes (Shakespeare is crude, to be sure--and some of it is quite funny. However, sometimes the translator goes too far the other way). Plus, there were parts that weren't necessarily as sexual in the original as it was presented in the translated version (like scenes that were purposely left ambiguous so that it might have been interpreted in more than one way). This actually took away from the cleverness and thoughtfulness of some of Shakespeare's jokes.Because of this, I had to pre-read all the scenes to choose which scenes we read in this book, and which ones we read from the original text (from the textbook, where students couldn't read the translation). I did find, however, that the classes that used BOTH original and translated readings for the unit had an easier time understanding the original text when challenged to do so (likely because they didn't feel as overwhelmed from days of old text).This is a very useful tool for the classroom. Both versions are important--and, truthfully, some of my students preferred the original text, and some preferred the new text, so switching between the two for certain scenes was a great exercise.

Bought for my high schooler, it was recommended by her teacher as the best option for reading Shakespeare. Has easy to follow explanations to go along with the Shakespeare text.

Simple as expected.

I got this in order to be able to help one of my kids with Romeo and Juliet. The translation to modern English was great!However, as far as the story itself goes, I think I enjoyed it even less reading it as an adult than as a teenager. I was surprised at the number of crude jokes and sexual innuendos in the book. I didn’t find them particularly amusing. They reminded me of an annoying coworker I had in one of my previous jobs who thought he was being clever and funny.I thought that the characters behaved like spoiled toddlers most of the time! Chickens with their heads cut off would probably make wiser decisions than some of these people.If parents today spoke to their children as Juliet’s parents spoke to her, those kids would need a LOT of therapy. Also, Juliet - you did not follow instructions! You were supposed to mix the contents of the vial with liquor, but you drank it straight from the vial. That could have killed you! Oops - nevermind.Spoiler alert - almost everyone dies of stupidity in the end!

i have not stopped reading this book