A book for Shakespeare fans who have difficulty understanding his works. ( )

I have at least six copies of The Tempest from different publishers. It is my favorite play; I've designed it in grad school; and I have read much about it by many scholars. That being said, this is my least favorite edition. I was going to use the Barnes and Noble edition for my Introduction to Drama class and the bookstore (which is connected to B&N!!!) ordered this one instead. What the heck, I thought, at least the students will appreciate having a modern translation. The problem though is that they read the translation and ignore the magnificent language of Shakespeare. *sigh* ( )

I haven’t read a play by William Shakespeare since high school, and I didn’t appreciate his work back then. So, when I saw “The Tempest” in a box from my grandmother’s book collection, I decided to read it with a fresh perspective.

When a duke named Prospero is betrayed by his own brother, he takes his step daughter on a ship to a deserted island. On the island, the Duke collects spell books and becomes a powerful sorcerer. He raises his step-daughter as his own daughter and refuses to tell her the truth about himself and herself until the right moment.

One day, Prospero’s brother, who now has taken the title of Duke for himself, is out at sea with his son, coming back home after attending the marriage of his granddaughter. Prospero uses his power to summon spirits to wash the ships and their crews on the island he fled to many years ago.

I found this story very enjoyable. It displayed all of the basic human emotions in the characters: greed, desire, lust, love, revenge, and compassion. After reading this play, I’m going to be sure to check out more of Shakespeare’s work in the future. ( )

Loved having the translation into modern English, if nothing else then for the part where someone's daughter gets "pimped out" to an Egyptian king.