Review & Giveaway - The Sixty-Minute Shakespeare – Hamlet

The Sixty-Minute Shakespeare – Hamlet

Abriged by Cass Foster

Price: Entire Series: $45.89; individually: $8.99.

Published by:  Five Star Publications

   

I'm a big Shakespeare fan.  Since I was young, probably middle school aged, I have loved Shakespeare.  Whenever there is a chance to attend a production, I'm the first one signing up.  In fact, the boys and I saw Macbeth on stage last spring and will be going to King Lear in a week. Shakespeare was one of the key reasons I decided to major in English in college.

That being said, I was skeptical of an abriged version.  Shakespeare in sixty minutes sounds like a good idea, especially when you want to expose young minds to the bard without weighing them down with language and lengthy disposition, but, could it be done right?

Cass Foster, Professor Emeritus of Theatre, doesn't retell Shakespeare, but, rather, keeps the language and tone of the play intact while condensing some of the lengthier scenes and removing those that are extraneous to the key story.  I know Hamlet well.  Reading this copy, not a single key event was missed keeping the story and its intriguing tale intact.  While some of the excitment of the fighting has been removed, students might find the original rhetoric laborious.  Keeping the outcome unchanged makes sure none of the final suspense is lost.

I did appreciate that Foster uses footnotes at the end of each page to help explain trickier wordings that may be lost on the young reader.  One example - Hamelt states, "O, old friend, thy face is valenced since I last saw thee."  Valenced is notated and at the bottom of the page is defined as "bearded." 

Additionally, some cues are added to help the instructor use this text as a script for the play.  It may not be suitable for school-wide production; however, the comments are helpful if the play were to be enacted in a class or co-op to help the students identify with the characters and really get into the spirit of Shakespeare.

There are five additional plays in the Sixty-minute Shakespeare series: Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night.  Personally, I would love to own and read them all.  I’m already thinking of how I want to incorporate more Shakespeare into our high school literature.

Whether you love Shakespeare and want to introduce it to your children, or you find Shakespeare difficult and would like a simplified option for enjoying these acclaimed stories, I have to say I would readily recommend these books.

To find out more, check out the following links:

www.GetShakespeare.com

http://fivestarpublications.com/

www.Facebook.com/FiveStarPublications.com

http://www.twitter.com/Fivestarpub

Giveaway

Now for the giveaway - you can win one copy of Sixty Minute Shakespeare for your very own.  If I weren't doing the giveaway, I would enter to get another title.

To enter, simply go to GetShakespeare.com and tell me which title you would like to win.

For additional entries:

1.  Friend me on GFC
2.  Like Five Star Publications on Facebook
3.  Like Heartfelt Homeschooling on Facebook
4.  Tweet about this giveaway and tell me you did

This giveaway ends Friday, September 16th at Midnight.  The winner will be selected using Random.org.

*** This is a MamaBuzz Media review. The product was provided by: five star publications for my honest review.  All views and opinions are my own.