Romeo and Juliet

Differentiated learning at its best! Manga Classics’ Romeo and Juliet uses Shakespeare’s original language to recreate the tragedy in Manga-comic style.

The comics capture the emotions of the characters in ways the classic version cannot. For instance, in Act I, Scene I, Romeo pours out his melodramatic ideas about Rosaline. The illustrations convey Romeo wrapped in thorns as he says, “Oh heavy lightness! Serious Vanity! Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming form….” In the next scene, when Romeo is expressing his love for the fair Rosaline, the comic shows flowers surrounding him with his arms outstretched and one leg up in a way that resembles dance. These depictions help the reader interpret the text.

I recommend this book to any middle-school or high-school student who may be “into” Manga or any student who may feel he/she needs visual aids when reading the Elizabethan-era language. I also recommend this book to teachers. It would make a wonderful supplement to a Romeo and Juliet unit. Although I highly recommend this version of Romeo and Juliet, there is one thing that may hinder students. Since the original is a play, the names of the characters appear just before their speaking lines. In this version, the characters are not noted before they speak. They are introduced as they appear in the story. There is also a cast chart with pictures of each character in the front of the book. Students may have trouble remembering who is who and may find themselves flipping back and forth to figure out who is speaking.