Romeo and Juliet: No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels (No Fear Shakespeare Illustrated Book 3)

by William Shakespeare, Matt Wiegle (Illustrator)

Read ROMEO AND JULIET in graphic-novel form—with NO FEAR! NOW IN COLOR!   Based on the No Fear Shakespeare translations, this dynamic graphic novel—now with color added—is impossible to put down. The illustrations are distinctively offbeat, slightly funky, and appealing to teens.  Includes: - An illustrated cast of characters - A helpful plot summary - Illustrations that show the reader exactly what’s happening in each scene—making the plot and characters clear and easy to follow  

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Graphic Novels

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2021

About the author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Reviews

[Cynda is still foggy after knee surgery. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. I am too much enamoured of Shakespeare's dramatic flare, particularly his use of poetical language. Shakespeare can delight even in the midst of tragedy. Without the delight of language, the delightful use of romantic love, this play falls flat. Language! I want Language!

Here even the costumes and scenery lack flair.

I will try another graphic novel version of the play another day.

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was good 👍

[Liselotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel is great for younger readers and people like me, with ADHD, who have quite a few issues with reading plays. I really, really enjoyed it and the illustrations are great as well! Highly recommend it if you want to read Romeo and Juliet but don't know whether you can read plays or not!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great way to access Shakespeare

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't care for the way the illustrator chose to depict the characters. My students commented on how certain characters look really old (Romeo's character is drawn with gray hair). Certain characters are also difficult to tell apart because of how similarly dressed everyone is. I appreciated that the Capulets all seemed to wear one color while the Montagues wore another to help tell them apart. Overall, neither my students nor I were very impressed with the overall art style. Seeing visuals was definitely helpful for my students with learning disabilities and comprehension goals.

[Heather Jacobsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this as a set with Hamlet and MacBeth so that I made sure not to miss anything in the original texts. However, Shakespeare's English was not that difficult to understand in Romeo and Juliet. There were only a few scenes or sayings that gave me a bit of trouble. But the graphic novel helped to clear up any confusion I had (and also to confirm that I had gotten the gist of the text after all!). I do recommend these and the other graphic novels as supplementary texts--obviously not in place of the originals. And they help bring the story alive with their illustrations.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love these graphic adaptations of classics! The No Fear Shakespeare adaptations have an art style that isn't my favorite, but in this case I prefer it to Gareth Hinds' more manga-style Shakespeare adaptations. His other works have a nicer art style. I love how the No Fear graphic books blend the Shakespearean language alongside more modern English in a way that feels both understandable and authentic. One of our Florida standards is to compare how classic works have been adapted and this is one adaptation I will be drawing from.

[Caids_Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, nice art I will say but other than that it’s Romeo and Juliet, while I like the story it’s just not very interesting to me and I wish my book club chose something else. Also I feel like this version was a lot more misogynistic than the actual story (though I’m sure the real one is an I just don’t remember)

[Akshay Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fun to read this classic in a childish way. Illustrations are amazing and you will feel like your are watching a live play.
Great work by SparkNotes.
R&J story made me emotional.
If Shakespeare would have been alive, I wish he could have write an alternate happy ending.

[Ben Oberholtzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these graphic novel interpretations of Shakespeare! This was much easier to follow the art than in the Macbeth version. Classic story, great alternative to help kids understand the original language.

[Jennifer Conrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good retelling of Romeo & Juliet with a lot of the original language. The artwork was weak, though. I bought it to share with my students, but I chose not to because the art was underwhelming.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. The storyline is interesting and I like the art style.

[Tayshaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked it, it was somewhat new to me and stuff but even tho I liked it I don't find myself just going and reading it I read it because I just wanted to try something new

[Shahd · Rating 3 out of 5]

had to read it for school idnt want to pick it up and I found it kinda boring

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's all break the hate and revenge cycle within our hearts. It brings pain, sorrow, and tragedy for all.

[Robbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine graphic novel. However, I am not qualified to judge such a work by Shakespeare. I look forward to reading the proper play.

[Arisha (Free Palestine 🇵🇸) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just could not finish this. I’m so sorry.

[Mikateko · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say 🧍🏿‍♀️

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good and well-executed. Quite enjoyable.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really this books target audience but I could see how it could introduce young adults to Shakespeare.

[Kaileigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

So listen… Romeo and Juliet is my favorite Shakespeare play. This graphic novel made me want to rip my eyes out. I hated this so much

[Sofia Pariona · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful book

[Stevie Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

not much to say about Romeo and Juliet, I mean its a classic and will continue to be one. my only thing is that in the films and like peoples reviews I thought there would be more hate between the fathers, but their really isn't they are sort of like I'm to old for this shit, it's the young family members that hate each other and I just kind of don't see the point. but whatever still a classic.

[Amanda Adkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this In high school and loving it. Now at 34 years old it is horrible. The illustrations were amazing and the only reason I gave it 4 stars.