The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet adapted and illustrated by Gareth Hinds

Hinds, G. (2013). The most excellent and lamentable tragedy of Romeo & Juliet: A play by William Shakespeare (G. Hinds, Illustrator). Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Summary: This is a faithful Romeo and Juliet story with actual lines from the play, excerpted here in this graphic novel adaptation. Two feuding families cause a series of catastrophes that cause two young lovers to commit suicide. Aside from a diverse cast of characters including an African American Romeo and a South Asian Juliet, this graphic novel is set in picturesque Verona, the lines are directly Shakespeare's and the costumes are true to the period aside from a few above-the-knee skirts.

Review: This is a beautiful adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Hinds' choice to make all the major characters people of color will make this timeless tale more relevant and accessible to the diverse youth who study this text in 9th grade. The pictures will also help students visualize Shakespeare's language. A great accompaniment to the play itself.

Suggestions for Teachers: Have students read the play scene by scene and then read the Hinds' adaptation after each scene. Have students compare the play to the graphic novel. Students can analyze whey Hinds chose to excerpt the parts he did. Have students analyze if the drawings represent the text. Who does a better job of staying true to the text? Hinds? Zeferelli? Consider Hinds' author's note at the end. Have students analyze the effect of the ethnicity of Hinds' characters. Should he have changed them? Why or why not?

Reading Level:

1. Quantitative: Lexile 700L, ATOS Book Level 5.6, Flesh-Kincaid 2.9, Readability Grade Level 4.8, RMM 12.8  *There seems to be some inconsistency in the quantitative assessment.  From my background of teaching Romeo and Juliet, I would lean towards 8th-9th grade reading level.  With graphics, this could be used as early as 6th grade.
2. Qualitative: This graphic novel version of Romeo & Juliet is very complex mainly because of the language. The text organization is clear and chronological. The use of graphics definitely assists in interpreting the text. The language is dense and complex and contains a lot of figurative language. There is vocabulary that is difficult although Hinds does a good job a simply defining key terms. Shakespearean language is exceedingly complex for middle schoolers and the sentence structure here will be difficult for one who is a novice with Shakespeare. There are multiple levels of meaning but the reader doesn't necessarily have to understand all the puns in order to fully grasp the plot. Hinds does an excellent job in providing schema of the time period and setting in his illustrations. For first time R & J readers, students will be able to access the theme of falling for the "wrong" person and societal pressures to do things you don't want to do.

Content Areas: English (teaching drama, Shakespeare)

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.3
Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.5
Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.7
Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.9
Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.

Relevant links: New York Schools Teaching Guide, Shakespeare Navigators, Folger Shakespeare Library

Subjects/Themes: forbidden love, parental pressure, love at first sight, Shakespeare, gangs, feuds, grudges, poetry

Awards: Kirkus Best Teens Book 2013, starred review from The Horn Book, nominated for YALSA's Great Graphic Novel for Teens

Series Information: N/A