Soon after freshmen English students pour into the classroom, some enthusiastically volunteer to play a character in the day’s act, while others’ eyes skim across the board, looking to see if video clips are being shown. Meanwhile, Romeo and Juliet books are being drawn from backpacks; pages being shuffled to the correct scene. Imagine a society where student were never presented with such valuable- even enlightening- works of the Bard. Schools should keep Shakespeare’s works in the curriculum because “when power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” (Spacey 395). Because Shakespeare’s works are a form of art, they convey the plain truth of the world to all who read it. Over 400 years ago, Shakespeare was composing his works, yet to this day, his …show more content…
In schools, when reading Romeo and Juliet, scenes deemed inappropriate can be censored while still allowing students to take away the truth of Shakespeare’s words. As Ray Bradbury says, “you don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” Take the Shakespeare Behind Bars program as an example. These convicts feel that their “acting is not acting; it’s telling the truth” because their “background helps them identify with Shakespeare’s characters in a way many outside prison wall can’t” (Rose 389). As they prepare to perform the plays, they are able to bond with inmates, analyze their mistakes, and bring to light their preeminent qualities. The Bard can also tell the world about 21st century societies as “a portal into a world that audiences might otherwise never be able to begin to understand” (Janmohamed 379). That what the Iraqi Theatre Company did. The Company focused less on the romance of Romeo and Juliet, but “ more on how families, communities and nations can easily and quickly be torn apart” (Janmohamed 380). They were able to use the play to communicate to the world about the nation's struggles. Though different interpretations of the same play, distinctive acting companies are able to convey alternative