Brick Shakespeare: The Tragedies-Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar

by John McCann, Monica Sweeney, and Becky Thomas

Enjoy four of Shakespeare’s tragedies told with LEGO bricks. Here are Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar enacted scene by scene, captioned by excerpts from the plays. Flip through one thousand color photographs as you enjoy Shakespeare’s iconic poetry and marvel at what can be done with the world’s most popular children’s toy.

Watch the brick Hamlet give his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy, and feel brick Ophelia’s grief as she meets her watery end. Lady Macbeth in brick form brings new terror to “Out, out, damn spot!” and brick Romeo and Juliet are no less star-crossed for being rectangular and plastic. The warm familiarity of bricks lends levity to Shakespeare’s tragedies while remaining true to his original language.

The ideal book for Shakespeare enthusiasts, as well as a fun way to introduce children to Shakespeare’s masterpieces, this book employs Shakespeare’s original, characteristic language in abridged form. Though the language stays true to its origins, the unique format of these well-known tragedies will give readers a new way to enjoy one of the most popular playwrights in history.

• ISBN10: 1628734434
• ISBN13: 9781628734430
• Publish Date: 1 November 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Skyhorse Publishing
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

After reading the "Midsummer Night's Dream" adaptation, some preliminary thoughts:

Many of the LEGO scenes aren't obviously interesting, especially in the beginning. There are various shots of characters standing around talking, not even simulating walking or hand gestures.

Later on the expressions and scenes get a little more expression.

I'm interested in how the creators can control where the audience looks. In Act 5, for instance, when there is a play without a play, the creators can deliberately focus audience attention either on the play or on the audience watching the play. There aren't any shots including both.

The format also allows for some flashbacks and scenes of people's dreams or imaginings, which would not be an option in a live play.