Dr. Seuss and Hamlet

"The Argyle Sweater" Saturday, January 31, 2015

Macbeth as a Game of Thrones

If I was teaching Macbeth today, I would have made this analogy, too. I used everything from REVENGE OF THE SITH to THE TWILIGHT ZONE to THE SIMPSONS to Abbott & Costello's famous "Who's On First?" routine in my English classes.

"Funky Winkerbean" Sunday, September 21, 2014

Graphic Novel Review: SHAKESPEARE'S MACBETH: THE MANGA EDITION

As a certified & licensed English teacher, I'm always on the look-out for text that make Shakespeare more appealing to modern youth. One of the better series of graphic adaptations I've come across are THE MANGA EDITIONS by Adam Sexton, Eve Grandt, and Candice Chow. These versions tell the full story of Shakespeare's plays and include much of the dialogue (and all of the famous and pertinent parts), but they do so in a graphic novel/manga form (these books are really graphic novels, but the illustrations have a manga feel to them). SHAKESPEARE'S MACBETH: THE MANGA EDITION takes on the "Scottish play." It's the story of a man who initially seems to loyal and brave, but a group of witches make him turn bad (well, they actually just bring out the evil that already resides in his own heart). All of the best lines are here and even the Porter (who usually gets cuts in many adaptations because of his bawdy dialogue) makes an appearance, albeit shorter than in the full play. This is a great book to use with struggling readers when reading through the play. So, double, double, toil and trouble, SHAKESPEARE'S MACBETH: THE MANGA EDITION is a fine adaptation of the Bard's tragedy, even if Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane.