Manga Classics: Dracula

I was brought up reading Shakespeare from an early age as my late father was an English teacher and wanted me to be ‘well read’ and Macbeth was one of my favourites as he would sometimes read the parts with me in his Scottish accent. So when I saw that there were Manga versions of the Shakespeare plays I was curious as to how something that’s traditionally told on the stage would come across in this medium.

I loved it.

The artwork is so well done, and the language of William Shakespeare is woven well into the storytelling, I think these books would be perfect for students who were struggling with the more traditional methods of telling the tale of an overly ambitious laird who murders his way onto the Scottish crown. The emotions the characters experience are so vivid thanks to the style of the artwork and helped draw you into this centuries old tale.

These books should be available in every school library and are a fantastic way of telling stories that even after all these years still draw in so many readers or attendees of the plays in. Whether you’re new to the tales or not - I think these are a great read for any age.

Hamlet may very well be regarded as one of the greatest tragedies ever written. However I found it rather dull, certainly in Act I and Act II. It does pick up from Act III onwards and at that point I began to enjoy reading it.

It, being my first time reading the Play, was quite difficult to follow but I'm sure subsequent rereads will open up the language to me and I may then see fit to increase my rating.

The ending was stupid.