I think this is a great tool for learning and a deeply enjoyable way to experience Shakespeare. Who should buy this book? Middle schools, high schools, public libraries. The writers have done a great job of adapting the language so that you miss none of the meaning! I’d also absolutely recommend this for people who are new to either Hamlet or manga if you’re familiar with one, then it will be a huge boon in learning the other. To whom would you recommend this book? Anyone interested in understanding the story and plot of the play who feels the original language is a barrier. As of now, it feels very much like reading an omnibus edition of a mainstream manga series. I think that if they had broken up the story into acts and had them as a series, this would be less intimidating and more digestible. The book is thick, and it does take more time than you’d think to absorb all the art and plot happening on any given spread. It’s easy to distinguish between characters, and the artist has provided us with lush backgrounds for Hamlet and his players to inhabit.Īnything you didn’t like about it? This is a comparatively long manga, and I would have loved to see it broken up into volumes based on the acts of the play. The characterization and style of the manga work well, with Hamlet very much coming across as dramatic, sticken, devious, and murderous as the play goes on. They both generally only give dialogue in textual form, and the art beautifully shows the action of the story.

That way you won’t have to break your promise to my mother and father to keep this secret.” In terms of adaptation, manga is a terrific form for reproducing theater. So shall my anticipation prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the king and queen moult no feather.” turns into “”I’ll tell you why they sent for you. The translation is a great compromise between the original Shakespearean English and annotated version the language is complex and the vocabulary is hard, but it’s much clearer and faster than reading in the original. The book is formatted as a standard manga, and so it reads from right to left, with black and white art accompanied by speech bubbles.

What did you like about the book? This book is a manga that uses a modern English translation to tell the story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4

Manga shakespeare hamlet