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Loading... Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold: Classic Love Poems with a Modern Twistby William Shakespeare
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An enlightening and entertaining collection of the most esteemed love poems in the English canon, retold in contemporary language everyone can understand James Anthony has long enjoyed poetry with a strict adherence to beat, rhythm, and rhyming patterns, which he likens to the very best pop songs. This drew him to the rewarding 14-line structure of Shakespeare's sonnets, yet he often found their abstract language frustratingly unintelligible. One day, out of curiosity, he rewrote Sonnet 18--Shall I compare thee to a summer's day--line-by-line, in the strict five-beat iambic pentameter and rhyming patterns of the original, but in a contemporary language a modern reader could easily understand. The meaning and sentiment--difficult to spot, initially--came to life, revealing new intricacies in the workings of Shakespeare's heart. And so, James embarked on a full-time, year-long project to rewrite all 154 of the Bard's eternal verses creating SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS, RETOLD. This collection of masterful reinterpretations brilliantly demystifies and breathes new life into Shakespeare's work, demonstrating the continued resonance of a playwright whose popularity remains over 400 years after his death. Now, the passion, heartbreak, deception, reconciliation, and mortality of Shakespeare's originals can be understood by all, without the need to cross reference to an enjoyment-sapping study-guide. Coming with a foreword by Stephen Fry, this is a stunning collection of beautiful love poems made new. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)821.92Literature English & Old English literatures English poetry 1900- 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Personal opinions aside, Anthony's side by side arrangement makes for an easy understanding of the original with a new "translation." The difference is not in meaning but delivery. It is like the difference between a classic ballad and a pop song or rap lyric. There is a rough edge that is now very visible that was hidden by the original language. Anthony also does an outstanding job at keeping the sonnet's form intact in his rewrites which would seem to be a challenging task in itself.
It is easy to see how many will like the new versions over the old, but for me, I will stick with the original.
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