Shakespeare In High School Essay

William Shakespeare, commonly referred to as the “bard”, was baptized on April 26, 1564, and died in 1616 at the age of 52. In his lifetime, he wrote 37 plays, as well as 154 sonnets. One of his most popular plays, Romeo and Juliet, is set in the city of Verona, Italy, where two young lovers end their lives for one another. Additionally, the thousands of words he invented have become assimilated into the English language. Shakespeare should be included in the high school curriculum because his work has shaped modern literature, as well as the modern teenager. One reason Shakespeare belongs in the high school curriculum is because his work has shaped modern literature. For example, when Petri is nearing her conclusion by mentioning some of

For example, when Stephen Marche concludes his passage How Shakespeare Changed Everything, he comments that “Shakespeare created this category of humanity, which now seems as organic to us as the spring. In place of nostalgia and loathing, Shakespeare would have us look at teenagers in a spirit of wonder, even the spotty ones and the awkward ones and the wild ones” (Marche). Stephen Marche is trying to tell us that Shakespeare’s creation of the adolescent has left people fascinated for centuries, even those that don’t seem normal. The quote supports Shakespeare being a part of the high school curriculum because leaving out a man who has invented an entire age group, as well as creating a massive contribution to modern English, would only hurt a freshman’s performance. Additionally, Stephen Marche mentions that “Nothing could seem more natural to us than the rebellion of teenagers, which explains why Romeo and Juliet has fit easily into twentieth-century pop culture” (Marche). Marche is trying to tell us that one of Shakespeare’s biggest hits, Romeo and Juliet, has become popular in 20th century culture mainly because it involves adolescent rebellion. The quote supports Shakespeare in the high school curriculum because Romeo and Juliet appealed to many from the previous generation. In conclusion, the invention of the adolescent is another reason Shakespeare should remain in the high school