Should Shakespeare Be Taught In Schools Essay

As a ninth-grade class files into an English classroom, their eyes immediately fall upon a single word on the board: roles. The ensuing scramble towards the board is one filled with excitement and anticipation. With many students, the thought of reading Shakespeare is met with one of joy. However, Shakespeare gives students far more than just giving students a text that they enjoy reading. Its benefits are incalculable to the extent that to take Shakespeare out of the curriculum, would cause terrible after effects. Due to the fact that Shakepeare’s plays are adaptable, timelessly relevant, and is a challenging text, Shakespeare should continue to be included in the curriculum. Shakespeare’s plays are so incredibly adaptable that they can be set in a different culture and the story

However, as said before, this is possibly the only way to get students to read. Now more than ever, students should be provided with a book to read. That is because the number of students, “...between the ages 18-24 who read a book [in their free time]... is now 50.7 percent, the lowest for any adult age group,” (Ferguson. 399). If the percentage of students who read in their free time has decreased that much, it is time that they were provided with a meaningful, and educationally challenging book to read. As ststed before, this lack of interaction with difficult texts will greatly decrease their comprehension skills. If given often enough, students, through difficult books such as Shakespeare’s plays, will have less difficulty understanding the old text, even though to, “all but few… it is a form of torture,” (Robshaw. 401) However, the struggles through reading Shakespeare are part of learning, for many lessons learned do not come easily. In fact, these challenges through reading a Shakespeare play are highly beneficial, as they teach about human nature and help students to understand older