By LAURA CLARK

Last updated at 23:37 17 August 2007

Shakespeare's plays are being rewritten as comic strips for pupils who find his poetry boring, it emerged today.

Thousands of teenagers are to study cartoon versions of famous plays such as Macbeth which reduce finely-crafted passages to snappy phrases.

The publishers hope the comics - illustrated by artists who have worked on the Spiderman series - will inspire disaffected readers with a love of the Bard's plays.

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But the Queen's English Society warned that "dumbed down" versions could backfire by allowing pupils to avoid tackling the language and themes of the originals.

The firm behind the initiative, Classical Comics, will launch its first comic book plays next term.

They are targeted at older primary pupils and teenagers and have already won the backing of the National Association for the Teaching of English.

Three versions of each play will be produced to help teachers cater to children of differing literacy abilities,.

The first uses Shakespeare's own words, the second translates them into plain English while the third is a "quick text" version and uses as few words as possible.

In Henry V, the king's rallying call to his troops - "once more unto the breach, dear friends" - is one of the Bard's most unforgettable lines.

Yet in the "quick text" version, the phrase is followed by "take a deep breath and fight" and "get a fierce look in your eyes".

Lady Macbeth's call to her wavering husband "But screw your courage to the sticking place, And we'll not fail" is changed to "We're not fail."

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The firm hopes to print 10,000 copies of each version of its first comic play, Henry V.

Macbeth should be ready next year and there are also plans in the pipeline for Romeo and Juliet, as well as classic novels including Jane Eyre and Great Expectations.

The firm hopes eventually to publish comic strip versions of all Shakespeare's plays.

But there were warnings the trened for simplifying literature could be fuelling the growth of howlers and colloquialisms in students' exam papers.

Examiners have complained students discuss Shakespeare's plays as if they were TV soap operas and pepper their essays with conversational cliches and references to popular culture.

Dr Bernard Lamb, chairman of the London branch of the Queen's English Society, said: "Pupils may just enjoy the cartoons and not connect it with Shakespeare and they won't be much of a contribution to education.

"I am sure they are already well-versed in cartoon characters and comic strips, so it would be good for them to get away from theat and study something a bit more serious.

"A lot of the beauty of Shakespeare is in the language more than the plot.

"There is probably limited use for such things, for example with lower streams who may show some interest in simplified cartoon versions but I would certainly not want to see these generally introduced."

Dr Lamb added: "There is so much dumbing down all round. Students are unaware of what language is appropriate in different circumstances. I have had students in degree exams using 'eight' for 'ate'."

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But Clive Bryant, chairman of Classical Comics, insisted the shortened versions of his plays would give youngster a "leg up" to enjoying the originals.

"We want to make Shakespeare as energetic and colourful as Spiderman" he told the Times Educational Supplement.

"Teachers tell us they are desperate for something exciting to use in the classroom, but if you ask kids about Shakespeare the word they usually come back with is 'boring'.

"We're trying to break down the barriers so they can get interested."

Ian McNeilly, director of the National Association for the Teaching of English, said: "This is a fun way of getting into the stories.

"Plays are not meant to be read, but to be seen. The illustrations in these books are an easy way of following what is going on.

"The genius of Shakespeare is in the language, but for some students understanding it can be a struggle. It will be useful for teachers to have three different versions of the text."

He added: "It is a nine-month project for the artists - it is a big commitment."

Compared: The orignal versus the "quick text"

MACBETH

Act one, scene two - King Duncan praises a bleeding sergeant for bravery on the battlefield

Original text:

Duncan: "So well thy words become thee as they wounds; they smack of honour both. Go get him surgeons"

Quick text:

"You've done well. Get him a doctor"

Act one, scene seven - Macbeth and Lady Macbeth discuss killing King Duncan

Original text:

Lady Macbeth: "Art thou afeard, To be the same in thine own act and valour, As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that, Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would', Like the poor cat i' the adage?"

Quick text:

Lady Macbeth: "Don't be afraid - or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Original text:

Lady Macbeth: "When you durst do it, then you were a man, And, to be more than what you were, you would, Be so much more the man. Nor time, nor place, Did then adhere, and yet you would make both,They have made themselves, and that their fitness now, Does unmake you"

Quick text:

"Now you're making excuses and not being a man."

Original text:

Macbeth: "If we should fail?"

Lady Macbeth: "We fail! But screw your courage to the sticking place, And we'll not fail."

Quick text:

Macbeth: "What if we fail?"

Lady Macbeth: "We won't fail."

Act two, scene one - Macbeth sees a blood-covered dagger

Original text:

Macbeth: "Is this a dagger, which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee."

Quick text:

Macbeth: "Is this a dagger in front of me? Come here!"

Original text:

Macbeth: "Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives."

Quick text:

Macbeth: "Enough talk."

HENRY V

Act three, scene one - King Henry has the French city of Harfleur under siege

Original text:

Henry: "Once more unto the breach, dear friends once more....

"Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage, Then lend the eye a terrible aspect"

Quick text:

Henry: "Once more unto the breach dear friends once more....

"Get a fierce look in your eyes."

Original text:

Henry: "Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit, To his full height."

Quick text:

Henry: "Take a deep breath and fight!"