Why Student Should Read Shakespeare In High School
Every year in the United States millions of freshmen across the country prepare to read their first piece of Shakespeare. Many of his stories such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet are known by many. It is important for us to learn the stories of Romeo and Juliet and many more pieces by Shakespeare because they have many beneficial aspects to learn from. Learning more interactively and learning about morals is why high school students should be forced to read Shakespeare.
The main reason high school students should read Shakespeare is because we can learn a lot more effectively with the play format. The infamous story of Hamlet is taught in 11-12th grade. The story revolves around friendship, madness, and revenge. In the article “Why Should Shakespeare Continue to be Taught in School Curriculums” the author states, “In one situation a “troubled young man,” described as “a smoldering and angry youth,” overcame emotions through
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With Shakespeare most of his writing follows a format of iambic pentameter which is a way words are put together to flow better. People believe that Shakespeare is only to be heard and not read and dissected by students because of this. In “Kill Bill: why we must take Shakespeare out of the classroom” describes this perfectly. “Most of Shakespeare's audiences were illiterate. His words were chosen to be spoken or heard, not to be read and deadened behind a desk – they wither when performance is removed.”(Powell 1). It could be argued that Shakespeare did in fact write for listening and on the stage and not for everyday reading. Shakespeare's audience was mostly illiterate so this strongly supports that his writings were written for plays and plays