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Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold

Classic Love Poems with a Modern Twist

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold by William Shakespeare and James Anthony, with a foreword by Stephen Fry. Read by Stephen Fry, Paapa Essiedu and the author.
'James Anthony has done something I would have confidently stated to be impossible. He has "translated" Shakespeare's sonnets and he has done so with an insolent, loveable charm ... A dazzling success' – Stephen Fry
Rediscover the greatest love poetry ever written
Shall I compare you to a summer's day?
You're more delightful, always shining strong;
High winds blow hard on flowering buds in May,
And summer never seems to last that long...
Shakespeare's sonnets are some of the nation's favourite lines of verse, but the Elizabethan language can make it difficult to really understand them. Many guides offer to clarify the meaning, but lose the magic of the words by explaining them away.
James Anthony has done something boldly different.
He has rewritten the whole series of poems as sonnets using modern language, while retaining the rhythm and rhyme patterns that gives them such power. In doing so he breathes new life into the original poems and opens them up for a modern readership, demystifying Shakespeare's eternal poetry with provocative new translations and delightful new lines.
With the original sonnets read by Stephen Fry, and the modern translations read by Paapa Essiedu, this is a stunning collection of beautiful love poems, made new.

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Listeners first encountering Shakespeare's sonnets may have trouble with the language. Fortunately, James Anthony (who also introduces this audiobook) has put all of them into modern idiomatic English. After some explanatory notes by actor/novelist/poet Stephen Fry and an introduction by Anthony, the Royal Shakespeare Company's Paapa Essiedu narrates each original sonnet, followed by Fry's narration of Anthony's retelling. Essiedu leans toward understatement, letting listeners find their own meanings. Fry emphasizes the interpretations that Anthony has stressed in his versions. Purists will probably not like the modernization of these classics, but Anthony's versions will help many enter the world of our language's greatest poet. If only for that, he--and his excellent narrators--deserve our copious thanks. D.M.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

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