“The Bard.” Shakespeare is considered the greatest writer of the 1600’s, but how about now? Shakespeare is used globally and has many amazing works that many in the past have adored, but Shakespeare should not be taught in the ninth grade curriculum because of how hard he is to teach, outdated, and all in all, irrelevant. In the first place, Shakespeare is hard to grasp and teach. Many “ high school students are forced to books like “ No Fear Shakespeare” that drains all poetry, “ says Alexandra Petri who wrote, “ On the Bard’s Birthday Is Shakespeare Still Relevant.” Shakespeare is hard to understand to the point where students have to resort to translations that take out the meaning and beauty of his words. Moreover, his stories are not meant to be taught from a book, it’s meant to be performed and acted out. Shakespeare made his plays solely for the purpose of entertaining people who paid for his shows. …show more content…
Shakespeare is over 400 years old! “ Nobody else from the early 1600’s still sees himself so regularly adapted.”(Petri) Times have changed, this generation changed so much in the last decade! In addition, Shakespeare uses outdated idioms that most kids do not understand. “If you don’t like it, You won’t get it,” says Brandon Robshaw, who wrote, “Why It’s Time To Give The Bard The Heave Ho!” High school kids don’t understand Shakespeare’s language, making him hard to understand. Thus, causing many to dislike him. Lastly, Shakespeare is simply irrelevant. Maggie DeBlasis, a California English teacher says, “His works don’t reflect cultural perspectives needed in today’s classrooms.” Many students in classes are of color and can’t relate to the things of a dead, old, British white man from 400 years ago. Not to mention, many Americans are just not interested in Shakespeare. Most colleges don’t even require Shakespeare. In fact, only “four of 52 American universities required English Majors to take a Shakespeare class.”
Should Shakespeare be taught in the 9th grade curriculum? Shakespeare was a writer and an actor. Shakespeare lived from 1564-1616 and wrote 38 plays, poems, and sonnets. If you ask students if Shakespeare should be taught, most will say Shakespeare shouldn’t be taught. Shakespeare shouldn’t be taught in 9th grade curriculum because his plays were made to entertain and not to study, they’re difficult to understand, and lastly, he is irrelevant.
For as long as people today can remember there has always been Shakespeare in the classroom. Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest playwrights of all time and deserves to be presented as so, however his work is very old and as times have changed so has English. Teens don’t understand his work and struggle through these units in school. The least that should be done is changing a few allusions for an easier and deeper understanding for young minds. Teachers always talk about giving their students the tools that they need to succeed and this update is one of those necessary tools. In the words of Sir Winston Churchill, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change
Students who read Shakespeare are most likely not going to understand it for a while which is understandable. Even after they learn how to read it they still have to be able to comprehend it and this is where most students get lost. The language used throughout the writing is so old and nonsensical that the students can't understand it.
In today’s world the quality of the art form called writing is said to be somewhat diminishing, it is important for English literature to keep some studies of classic literature, such as Shakespeare. I think well rounded education must have a strong foundation in both modern and classical literature, for the foundation in classical literature, an in-depth study of Shakespeare’s works would be more than sufficient. Not only was Shakespeare so skilled in his writing that he has become a significant point in the history of literature, but a majority of his works were written on such basic human themes that they will last for all time and must not be forgotten.
Shakespeare should be in the ninth grade curriculum because Romeo and Juliet can teach teens that ot listening to your parents can end in something bad, it can improve your writing and speaking abilities, and he can inspire young teens.
William Shakespeare’s plays are being made into box office film hits at an incredible rate. Films such as Much Ado About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, Hamlet with Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, Othello with Laurence Fishbourne and Henry V with Kenneth Branagh have been seen by a surprising number of teenagers. Often they have not understood it all, or even half of it, but they have been affected by the powerful characters and by the Shakespearean magic which has affected audiences around the world for centuries. They want to know more, they want to understand, and what better motvation can any teacher ask for than that students WANT ? That alone is sufficient reason for any English teacher to start a course in Shakespeare.
In September of 2008, Professor Michael Mack gave a speech to college freshmen at the Catholic university of America about his opinions on the importance of reading Shakespeare. Mack forges an effective argument that though reading Shakespeare is troublesome, it is well worth the effort through his use of counterclaims and rhetorical devices.
Shakespeare's works have persistently influenced humanity for the past four hundred years. Quotations from his plays are used in many other works of literature and some common phrases have even become integrated into the English language. Most high schoolers have been unsuccessful in avoidance of him and college students are rarely afforded the luxury of choice when it comes to studying the bard. Many aspects of Shakespeare's works have been researched but one of the most popular topics since the 1960s has been the portrayal of women in Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies, histories and sonnets.
As students we can concur with you that the works of Shakespeare are some of the most challenging that we are obliged to study in school. He does not seem to use English at all and his works are almost always lengthy and tragic. However, you can benefit from reading and understanding his writings. The fact that you as a student dislike Shakespearean Literature is something that we are well aware of. As you get more involved in reading his works though, you will be able to developed sharpened comprehension skills, better understanding his style of writing and you feel a sense of fulfillment.
Shakespeare’s plays are a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context in which they were first performed. A lot of pressure was put on Shakespeare as he wrote his plays because he was not allowed to upset the royal family. His style would have been different than others in those times and a lot more thought has gone into his writing than people listening would think. Usually, the audience take for granted the cleverness and thought of Shakespeare’s writing, however, now we have studied and gone into great detail about Shakespeare’s writing, we can appreciate it more than they did:
The impeccable style and craft of Shakespeare’s writing has always been looked upon with great respect, and it continues to serve as an inspiration to writers and thinkers today even as it did when it was being first performed in London. Shakespeare’s modern audience, however, is far less diverse than the one for which he originally wrote. Due to the antiquity of his language, Shakespeare’s modern readership consists mostly of students and intellectuals, whereas in Shakespeare’s own time, his plays were performed in playhouses packed with everyone from royalty to peasants. Because of this, Shakespeare was forced to write on many different levels, the most sophisticated of which appealed to his more elite audience members, while the more straightforward and often more crude of which appealed to his less educated viewers, and the most universal of which still appeals to us.
Across the Universe of Time: Shakespeare’s influence on 21st century society. It is harder to imagine a more universal writer than William Shakespeare. Rarely, if ever, is one of his many plays not being performed anywhere in the world and similarly rare is the tertiary English student who has not examined his work at length. His plays, sonnets and poems are common fodder for high school English departments across the globe.
William Shakespeare's Relevance Today For as long as formal education has existed in Britain it has been a largely standard assumption that teaching the works of William Shakespeare is relevant and necessary. Perhaps the relevance of his writing is taken for granted, perhaps it is necessary to re-examine the role of Shakespeare for the modern audience. There are indeed many people who question the relevance of this 440 year old playwright to a 21st century audience, taking it even as far as perhaps the greatest heresy of all, questioning the necessity of GCSE pupils learning Shakespeare at all.
Shakespeare has created stories that are so powerful, emotional, comedic, tragic and romantic that they are still continuously remembered and studied in the modern era. Though the essence of his talents does not lie in the simple themes behind his plays, but more so in
Shakespeare’s plays were written in the 14th and 15th century in England, yet until this day it still has a huge influence on American English class. Why? Well because Shakespeare has a universal appeal with a rich language, complex characters with a theme that is timeless. Shakespeare should be taught more, one play per semester because it is part of American literature culture, it challenges students reading levels and as it expands students vocabulary and enriches their speaking. Shakespeare plays are relevant today as the themes of the plays involved what teenagers like and experience such as love, betrayal, courage,politics and corruption.The themes can be set in such basic forms that the plays are universal and timeless, it can set in