Much Ado About Nothing: A Verse Translation (Enjoy Shakespeare) - Softcover

Shakespeare, William; Richmond, Kent

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0975274333 ISBN 13: 9780975274330

Publisher: Full Measure Press, 2010

Synopsis

This complete, line-by-line translation makes the language of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing contemporary while preserving the metrical rhythm, complexity, and poetic qualities of the original.The aim is to capture both sound and sense of Shakespeare's comedy without the need for glosses or notes-to use contemporary language without simplifying or modernizing the play in any other way. Readers experience this comic exploration of male suspicion and its consequences with the challenge, comprehension, and delight of audiences 400 years ago-the way Shakespeare intended.Features* Line-by-line verse translation, not a prose paraphrase. * Complete. No lines deleted or simplified. * Accurate and authentic iambic pentameter. * True to the feel and look of Shakespeare's original. * Tone, complexity, and poetic devices preserved. * Subtlety and richness revealed without distracting notes and glosses. * For students, an accessible introduction to classic drama. * Attractive, uncluttered, easy-to-read layout. * Perfect for an audience-pleasing theatrical performance. "Too often, unless we read a Shakespeare play beforehand, we process the language as if it were coming from a poorly tuned-in radio station. Shakespeare didn't write his plays to be experienced impressionistically as 'poetry;' he assumed his language was readily comprehensible. At what point does a stage of a language become so different from the modern one as to make translation necessary? Mr. Richmond is brave enough to assert that, for Shakespeare, that time has come. The French have Moliere, the Russians have Chekhov-and now, we can truly say that we have our Shakespeare."-John McWhorter, Manhattan Institute "Richmond has performed a service for English-speaking students everywhere."-Boak Ferris, Calif. State Univ. Long Beach

About this title

About the Author

Until his retirement in 2008, Kent Richmond taught composition, critical thinking, literature, and linguistics for the English Department and American Language Program at California State University, Long Beach. His chief academic interest is adult second language acquisition and the role that vocabulary learning plays in that process. His textbook, Inside Reading 4 (2008,2012) from Oxford University Press, is part of a reading/vocabulary series that won David E. Eskey Award for Curricular Innovation from the California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Drawing on his background in applied lingustics and literature, Kent has taken on the task of writing verse translations of Shakespeare plays in contemporary English. By applying his detailed knowledge of Shakespeare's iambic pentameter, he can give his translations an authenticity that the available prose translation's lack. He has completed translations of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth. He is currently working on The Tempest.

A musician and singer, Kent is a member of the California Trio, a folk-based group that performs regularly in Southern California.

Edition details

• Publisher: Full Measure Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0975274333
• ISBN 13: 9780975274330
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160