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Should Shakespeare Be Taught In Schools Essay

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Every year, high school students are required to read some of Shakespeare’s works. Whether that be his plays or his poems, students are in some way analyzing his work. This causes controversy due to the level of difficulty many regard Shakespeare’s writings as. Many students and parents will argue that Shakespeare should not be required. High school students should be required to study the works of Shakespeare because his writing is relevant, gives insight to ourselves, and everyone encounters his works at some point.
Undoubtedly, Shakespeare is relevant to our popular culture. “He has a presence like Lincoln or Washington in American history” (Tumiel 1). The speaker compares him to significant figures in American history. These are names that everyone recognizes, showing that everyone recognizes Shakespeare. This demonstrates the importance of high schoolers becoming familiar with Shakespeare’s work.
Furthermore, Shakespeare’s works can give us insight to ourselves. “As you discover the true meaning of the parable you discover the truth about yourself” (Mack 206). Shakespeare’s plays capitalize on common characteristics and emotions, …show more content…

“At least one class in Shakespeare is required for college English majors, which is one of the most popular academic programs” (Tumiel 2). One of the most mainstream majors requires that you study his works, providing a separate course for it. If a high school student is interested in majoring in English, it will be beneficial for them to start analyzing Shakespeare early. “Even in prisons, inmates who pursue educational opportunities regularly find lessons about Shakespeare and his plays” (Tumiel 2). People who don’t necessarily even have a substantial job encounter Shakespeare. If inmates studied Shakespeare in high school, pursuing education may be easier for them. High school students who study Shakespeare have an advantage in their adult

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Shakespeare, also known as the “Bard of Avon” (the nickname was provided by wikipedia), is one of the most famous and influential authors of english literature. In September 2008, at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC, Michael Mack (a professor) presented his opinion on the value of reading Shakespeare as a speech to college freshman. While presenting his opinion, Mack makes a compelling argument that even though reading Shakespeare is hard, it is worth it in the end and not only is it as important as other courses you may take in college but you will also gain something from it. His use of rhetorical devices and claims helps him support his argument.

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Although most teachers seem to love Shakespeare, most students do not. In the article, “Why do we force students to read Shakespeare?”, According to Rajat Bhageria“Truly,forcing students to do something in which they have so little interest will most probably result students not reading or contemplating-the main goal of English-the books at all” By teaching Shakespeare, schools

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La“Evil rarely comes in the form of monsters, but rather in the form of relatively normal people who, for reasons of careers, idealology, or a desire for society’s approval, are indifferent to the human consequences of their actions”-Hannah Arendt. In both the fictional case of Mayella Ewells and the non-fictional case with Ruby Bates, they revealed their evil natures in the pursuit of careers and society’s approval. It can certainly be seen the influence that society has had on Mayella and Ruby to shape them as victims and accusers. Mayella Ewell and Ruby Bates have both been shaped into victims by society and their families. Mayella and Ruby both grew up in very poor families that lived in black communities and had bad living situations at home.

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The most known play written by William Shakespeare is called Romeo and Juliet. This play demonstrates how love and hate can cloud your judgement when making decisions. For various of people around the world, they believe that the tragic and heartbreaking romance shouldn’t be taught in school. Despite the negative and crucial result coming out of it, there is an important lesson to be taught in high school. I believe that it should be taught throughout freshman year and be reevaluated throughout high school.

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William Shakespeare’s work has been involved in the high school curriculum for many years. Many say that Shakespeare’s ideas reveal the true human nature and that's why young adults need to study about him; However, the more that teens study Shakespeare some have agreed that it shouldn’t be apart of the standard High School curriculum due to the fact that the old English has no importance to them. Although William Shakespeare is an amazing dramatist and his works show the true reality of the world, Shakespeare’s writings and ideas need to be offered as an elective rather than having it forced on students in the normal English classes. Young teenargers today believe that the peices William Shakespeare wrote are irrelevant to them, and they are correct.

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For instance, on createdebate.com, Reyna states “Most students in high school are not interested in Shakespeare's work because either it bores them or they have difficulty understanding all of it. It's hard enough to get students to do their work and will be even harder when they aren't interested in doing it. Students want to read about things going on in their lives, stuff they can relate to and not something that doesn't interest them”. Additionally, in the createdebate website, on “the language is too confusing and they completely miss out on all the humor Shakespeare has to offer”. For this reason, students have a hard time understanding what they are learning and it does not interest them.

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I believe Shakespeare should not be taught in 9th grade because it is far too complex for a fourteen or fifteen year old to understand. Shakespeare uses language that is far too inapropiate for a teenager to be hearing. Shakespeare uses language that is very controversial and teachers should not expect a freshman in high school to understand something so complex like Shakespeare. He talks about topics like gun violence, racism, and freedom.

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Should Shakespeare still be taught in the high school curriculum? Shakespeare has been part of our and previous generations for a long time. However, some people, including me, believe that he should not be taught in schools anymore for various reasons. One reason includes Shakespeare teaching the “wrong things” like racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. Having students read this in school would not be the right choice because students should not read about this kind of stuff.

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The play Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare has been taught in school for many years now. Some say that we should continue to allow our teens to read this tragic love story, while many argue that this play should no longer be allowed in schools. The issues concerning this tragic love story are the inappropriate jokes, the unrealistic view of love, and the promotion of suicide. These issues will indeed prove why Romeo and Juliet is ill suited to be taught to freshmen. Ninth graders should no longer read Romeo and Juliet because it is has very inappropriate jokes that should not be associated with school.

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Shakespeare should be studied in schools, many of us have mixed feelings when we think of studying Shakespeare at school, but regardless of our opinion of Shakespeare we speak his language every day. It is estimated that Shakespeare added around 1500 new words to the English language. Shakespeare challenges students and benefits them in multiple ways, with difficult language and style using timeless themes and emotions in his plays. Shakespeare should be studied in schools because of the extraordinary quality within them, this exposes students to a multitude of literary techniques. Shakespeare wrote his plays over 400 years ago.

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In our freshman year of high school ninth graders must learn the many things in each of their subjects. In english class students are required to learn William "Bard of Avon" Shakespeare’s works. With Shakespeare 's works of literature and drama being 400 years old it’s expected that many people don’t want Barb’s works to be taught in the curriculum in schools. Shakespeare 's works should not be taught to students in schools because it’s difficult for students to understand, his work is not culturally diverse, and is outdated for today’s students. First, it’s difficult for many students to understand Shakespeare’s dialogue.

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Shakespeare was a famous author and poet that wrote extremely well-known texts, such as “Romeo and Juliet” and “Hamlet.” Shakespeare lived during the Renaissance when art and science advanced and he was one of the major contributors to this historical period. “Shakespeare Influences the way we speak now” by Hephzibah Anderson, “William Shakespeare’s Impact on Theatre” by Octane, and “How Outrage Built Over a Shakespearean Depiction of Trump” by Sara Krulwich suggest that Shakespeare had a great influence on many aspects of society, such as the phrases we use, style of theater, and is a figure of inspiration to many people. Shakespeare has contributed to many well-known phrases that are still used to this day, showing his significance in history.

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In the twenty-first century, the plays of William Shakespeare may at first appear dated and irrelevant: they use archaic language, are set in the age of Kings and Queens, and the Kingdom of England. However, it would be plainly mistaken to construe that Shakespeare’s works do not still remain integral to a twenty-first century society. Shakespeare’s plays gave the words and expressions one uses every day, revolutionized the art of theater as it was known, and forewarned about issues that would unknowingly still apply centuries later. Therefore, Shakespeare has had a profound effect on our lives by enriching our language and culture, as well as providing ideas that would still apply five centuries later, and it would thus behoove us to learn from his works and life.

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