Customer Reviews

"Romeo and Juliet" (Arden Shakespeare: Second Series)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My son needed this book for his school homework. The book as such doesn't need a review everybody knows the story whoever publishes it and it is a great one!!! The book in itself is easy to use and take everywhere like a good paperback should be...

The Arden Shakespeare is a scholarly edition intended for students andthose doing research on Shakespeare. The extensive notes are very usefulfor those who study Shakespeare at degree level and above. Since moststudents already know the meanings of archaic words there is little needto explain them in the notes - which are not there to entertain but toinform. Don't buy it if you aren't studying Shakespeare, there are cheaperversions available for the casual reader.

I'm currently doing an A Level in English and this is a great study guide.
The play is on the right hand page and the study notes, interpretations and references are on the left. You'll never get lost with this book.

Gives a good, straight-forward insight into the play for AS to A level standard and will probably be useful as a starting point for something a little higher than A level.

Romeo and Juliet is, of course, an all time classic - one of the greatest and best known plays of all time. It is a joy to watch, perform in and to read.

Add to this that I believe the Arden editions are thoroughly excellent in explaining what is going on in the play for those who struggle with the language (ie me!). I found the expansive introduction fascinating, and the extensive notes which appear on each page informative and indeed vital to gaining as clear a picture as I could of what each character was saying at each time.

I was reading as a performer, but it is my opinion that the Arden Shakespeare provide a depth of notes greater (and vital for people like me who don't have a grounding in Shakespeare) than most other versions of Shakespeare plays and as such are definitely worth the extra couple of pounds for anyone interested in a read, and as well for those performing or studying the play.

In some respects I think it'd be rather presumptuous of me to attempt to review Shakespeare. Someone so well known and influential wouldn't benefit from my opinions on their work, plus there are more scholarly and concise reviews out there. But I can comment on these Arden versions. Of all the Shakespeare I've read I've always found the Arden copies to be well laid out and to have excellent commentary and notes on the text. They really add to your understanding of Shakespeares outstanding plays and introduce you to the depth in his work. They have superb paper quality and are bound well, withstanding repeated readings and intensive study. For your collection of Shakespeare you can't do much better than Arden publications, some are quite hard to get hold of but it's worth the effort.

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Quite simply, you need this in your collection. Some of the most quotable (and misquoted) work ever produced. The story is well known to all, but the lyrical qualities only come through when you read this remarkable piece. If you want all the analysis surrounding it, then this is not the version for you (try Arden) but if you want the words - which are enough in themselves - then this is a well priced essential.

This work needs no introduction. Two star crossed lovers, divided by family feud, united by love, can ultimately only be together in death. The word "tragedy" was coined for it.

It is my favourite of Shakespeare's plays and is the original and best. There is nothing wrong with West Side Story or Shakespeare in Love or even William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet starring Leonardo di Caprio, but the pure essence of the Bard's poetry is here, in the original.

If it doesn't make you cry you have a heart of stone!

This edition provides an easy way of introducing youngsters into the world of the classics in a small paperback, we have played the parts! and it's amazing how they enjoy and understand.

Everyone, but everyone has heard of this play if not read it. Even the Beckhams, aliterate as they seem, saw fit to give the bard a nod by naming one of their brats after the hero of one of Shakespeare's finest plays.

I recently re-read 'Romeo and Juliet' after completing a degree in English. Full of arrogence and the pretension of literary criticism I was sure that 'Hamlet', 'King Lear' and 'Othello' were the finest plays of Shakespeare. That has all changed again now. I had forgotten how sharp and darkly witty this play was and how easy it was to become so emotionally attached to the characters. This is never more so apparent than at the tragic climax of the play that leaves you with the bitter-sweet feeling that you have just experienced one of the finest worls of fiction coupled with the ironic sacrifice of the two most famous characters in history. How can you not love this play?