Wednesday, March 10, 2004
No Fear Shakespeare
In my opinion, part of the magic and wonder of reading Shakespeare is puzzling out the language, trying to understand and appreciate it. I had a wonderful teacher in High School who went through it with us.
It would seem that for some current high school students (and teachers) that this is too much work, and that the kids are getting turned off from it. Enter Spark Notes, a subsidiary of Barnes and Noble. Using their "No Fear Shakespeare" series you can "find out what Shakespeare really meant".
These study guides are designed with "an easy to understand" translation on the right side of the page, next to the original work. Students and teachers in the Metro Atlanta area are using these once barred works in the classroom. See "To Read or Not to Read - New Shakespeare Translations are the Question" from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for the original article.
Some of the translations, from "Julius Caesar", taken from the AJ-C article:
"Tut, I am in their bosoms, and I know wherefore they do it."
--- Act 5, Scene 1.
"I know how they think, and I understand why they're doing this."
--- Same scene, "No Fear Shakespeare" translation.
It is clearer, but the poetry is lost.
"Beware the ides of March."
--- Act 1, Scene 2.
"Beware of March 15."
--- Same scene, "No Fear Shakespeare" translation.
And the most famous of all:
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones."
--- Act 3, Scene 2.
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, give me your attention. I have come here to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do is remembered after their deaths, but the good is often buried with them."
--- Same scene, "No Fear Shakespeare" translation.
I have a problem with this. It is OK for some things to be difficult to understand. Actually, I think it is important and necessary for some things to be difficult. Where is the pleasure and satisfaction in achieving something? I know I am getting worked up about this, but it seems like we are dumbing some things down too much. What's next? Simply getting rid of the novels and just perusing the Cliff's (or Sparks) notes? If I ever see a Sparks Notes for the Cliff's Notes for Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, I know I will have entered the final circle of Hell.
10:17 PM in Books
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Comments
One of the school districts here in Seattle (not ours sadly) makes high school kids take at least one AP (aka hard, formerly known as college prep) class a semester even if they don't plan on going to college. The dist prsident says, "They'll thank me later."
Local educators think he's a slave driving Nazi.
As such Pre-chew'd Shakesfood will be a hit with teachers any day now.
Posted by: pops at Mar 10, 2004 11:23:14 PM
I have to disagree with you just a little. I don't think that college bound students should use these parallel texts. However, I also teach students who are not college bound. These students have low reading skills. I use a parallel text of Hamlet with these students. Then we read through it using a cd of a Kenneth Branaugh production of the play. These students get exposed to the poetry, but they also have the assistance of the modern translation to aid their comprehension. Without the parallel text, I would have a very difficult time exposing these students to Shakespeare. Many of these students would not even attempt to translate the play. This way students who have little appreciation and exposure to Shakespeare find the beauty and complexity of this play. But I do not and will not allow my college bound students to use the parallel text.
Posted by: Fully at Mar 11, 2004 10:14:58 AM
Fully,
I think we are on the same page more than you think. I have no problem with using a supplement IN ADDITION TO the original text, especially if you pair them with the performance of the play. The article seemed to me that the Sparks Notes were the primary source for introduction to the material. If done right, with a dedicated educator working with the students, it is a better environment than the one I was ranting about.
Posted by: doc at Mar 11, 2004 10:34:08 AM
