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Should Shakespeare Be Taught In Schools Essay

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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

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773 Words | 4 Pages

The last thing that a student wants to hear in English class in today’s society that the next unit is going to be based upon a Shakespeare novel. This new task requires the reader to comprehend very confusing language and keep in mind a whole new context for the setting of the plot. With all of this going on inside of their heads, it is really hard to squeeze any sort of enjoyment into reading this story. This isn’t the case with more contemporary novels, though. In Duaa Eldeib’s article on this debate, English teacher David Knudson said that after introducing more contemporary stories into English curriculum that “all of a sudden, one of [his] biggest problems is trying to figure out what to do with kids who are 100 ages ahead or have finished the book a week after [they] started it.”

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1291 Words | 6 Pages

Simon Lee English 9 Mrs. Smith June 3rd, 2024 Is Romeo and Juliet Still Important in the 9th Grade Curriculum? Many people are influenced by modern social media and celebrities, which makes them think that Shakespeare is not cool or entertaining. However, what if Shakespeare is more modern than we think? Shakespeare is popular for a reason and the millions of people that watch and enjoy his plays are not fluke. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is important to the high school curriculum because those plays and other plays teach important life lessons and are very similar to us in moderation.

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597 Words | 3 Pages

Students should have a right to learn about things that will interest them and that they can connect with. Romeo and Juliet does have a lot of complex poetry and love that many people find

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568 Words | 3 Pages

William Shakespeare seems indestructible. He has never been score and or rejected, his works have never sunk into a oblivion. On the contrary, each seceding generation has revered Shakespeare as the greatest of playwrights. His plays have nearly been on the stage for for centuries, and his popularity shows no signs of abating. Although peoples attitudes towards the place have not changed; the methods of presenting the players have often changed.

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828 Words | 4 Pages

Romeo and Juliet should no longer be assigned in school By Liliene Anderson I am a student at Rock Canyon Highschool. In my English class, we read Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Originally I was excited to read it. No kid grew up without hearing about how wonderful and romantic their love story was.

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1615 Words | 7 Pages

For their final production of the school year, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne produced William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The production promised a dual exploration of unexplained but deeply ingrained hate, and how that hate affects young relationships. It would be an interesting way of interpreting a play that has been produced in hundreds of different ways via stage and film, ranging from greasers to garden gnomes. A more political and almost documentary style to the play could produce thought-provoking reactions from the audience. What was presented was two and a half hours of the kind of Shakespeare that is most dreaded in high school: wordy prose that had no emotional meaning attached to it.

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506 Words | 3 Pages

However, the purpose of this argumentative essay is that ninth-grade students should be required to read the play Romeo and Juliet. Even though some would like to argue that Romeo and Juliet shouldn't be taught in the ninth grade curriculum, the play still has value. The play is mostly criticized for having complex language which makes it difficult for teens to read, and some even find it boring because of the language. Although that may be the case for some students, it doesn’t apply to all and shouldn’t be taken out of the curriculum for that reason. For three reasons, it should still be taught in ninth grade: first, it teaches valuable lessons that can be applied to modern life; second, the writing style of the play is unique and different from modern

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1159 Words | 5 Pages

School was made to challenge students and quench the thirst for learning something new. By teaching the play during school, students can get just that. Although the language in Romeo and Juliet is outdated and confounding at some points, it should still be taught because the themes are relevant to students, the meaning in his plays touches the hearts of many it and relates to many situations in communities and individual people’s lives. The foremost rationalization of why Shakespeare should be taught in schools is because the themes included in Romeo and Juliet are relevant to modern day society and are relatable to the students who will read them. His works were written over 400 years ago, and if his works have survived this long, there must be special qualities within his plays that allow them to not only persist throughout the years, but thrive and become one of the most influential and notable compositions of all time.

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1881 Words | 8 Pages

Classroom: A Year 11 classroom wherein the teacher generally approaches English through a critical practice model. The teacher’s practice often involves getting the students to complete analytical tasks which require them to research various elements of Shakespearean storytelling, era context, and Elizabethan Theatre. Every lesson when class discussions are had, students are always reminded to link their arguments with contextual support, focussing on how context influences meaning. Most resources developed for the students focussed of contextual information such as the Globe Theatre itself, the period in which Shakespeare existed and wrote in, and the taxonomy of his language. The strength in approaching Shakespeare from a critical practice model is that it builds a contextual foundation for the study of classic literature (Macken-Horarik 2014, 12), underpinning every lesson.

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224 Words | 1 Pages

Often times, there are debates as to whether William Shakespeare should be required in high school’s curriculums. In my opinion, Shakespeare's works are curated in a great, timeless sense that appeals to all audiences due to its broad, diverse spectrum of themes and comedy. Shakespeare would appeal to the educated class with his complex comedy. However, he would then go to appealing to a less intellectual class via the raunchier side of his comedy. For example, just before Tybalt came to confront Romeo, Mercutio and the other men were going back and forth about each other’s virility.

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443 Words | 2 Pages

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.

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1313 Words | 6 Pages

The article called “Shakespeare Needs to Stay in Schools” wrote, “Shakespeare’s language is undoubtedly complex. Considering that Shakespeare created approximately 7,000 new words for his works, there is no shock that his writing would be difficult to read. However, it is what Shakespeare did with his words that makes his texts appealing to readers and so much more important for students to read” (Bise). Without learning about Shakespeare students are going to be missing out on learning about their culture, so it is important that Shakespeare stays in schools to continue to be learned about. Not only do his words help the culture that is happening today but also the topics that his plays would talk about.

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1172 Words | 5 Pages

Alongside students struggle heavily with the understanding of his work, “reading stories written in an early form of the English language that… cannot always [be] easily navigated,” (Strauss para. 6). Regardless, by reading Shakespeare’s work we do gain knowledge and understanding of the language, but it takes lots of thinking, research, and conversation to fully understand the meaning of his complicated work. This is a huge struggle for many students. Shakespeare’s work has been taught in classrooms for what seems like forever at this point,

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1994 Words | 8 Pages

An argument can be made that students of today should have the easiest time to research Shakespeare themes, phrases and definitions. However, students do not always see researching items on Google and on the Internet as an effective resource. It is true that we have phones, tablets, laptops and other personal devices that are constantly connected to the Internet. To the contrary, students want to read and process information and literature so that the flow creates a sense of accomplishment.

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698 Words | 3 Pages

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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