Is William Shakespeare Still Relevant Today

Classic literature dominates much of American education of English. After learning basic and advanced grammar, students move on to read and analyze classic books, poems, and plays. In addition, often times, a teacher will supplement the reading with a list of vocabulary the students will learn by reading the piece. Therefore, the student not only expands their knowledge of literature, but they also gain a larger vocabulary. In the English language, there is a single greatest influence on these: William Shakespeare. While classic texts the students read tend to vary school by school, it is nearly guaranteed that each student within their school career will read a selection by Shakespeare. This, one can only assume, is because of his significant influence on the creation and expansion of the English language and Anglo-Saxon tradition (Bloomfield 4). There is only one other piece of literature that rivals Shakespeare in canonicity and monumentality: The King James Bible. While in no way putting Shakespeare on a religious pedestal, his writings are just as important, if not moreso, to the English language and culture as is the King James Bible. Because of his prolific writings that contain canonical language and monumental influence, Shakespeare’s writings are the most important pieces of literature to the English culture.

Pursuing further why Shakespeare should not be taught in school is because Shakespeare is very difficult to understand. “Shakespeare's way with words can be tough for students to grasp”.(DeBlasis) Shakespeare is a lot to comprehend because the way Shakespeare speaks is very different from today's text”.(DeBasis) Shakespeare is very tough to understand now days

Do you ever wonder why Shakespeare is still taught in high school. In high school, Shakespeare was shoved down our throats and I despised Shakespeare and his works. I thought that they were pointless and was just a way to torture high school students, but the more I think about what Shakespeare is trying to teach through his works. The more I respect and understand the themes and the language of his works. The more that you understand the more that you can relate, the more that you can relate the more that you can reflect on the things that you have learned. In this essay, I will argue that Shakespeare’s works are important to learn . I will support my argument by explaining the universal themes in Shakespeare’s

When you hear the word Shakespeare, you probably think that it is meant for the people that use intellectual language, the literary types, or even the people who have a higher reading level than the average person. Well, a college professor named Michael Mack argues that Shakespeare can be for everyone once you understand it and it can relate to the real world or be a reflection of it. Mack produces an effective argument that although Shakespeare is difficult, it is worth the effort. Through his use of rhetorical devices and counterclaims.

In the grand scheme of things, it seems quite odd that the vast majority of people have decided it is important to perform, study, and read plays written by a man who has been dead for over four hundred years. This of course, refers to William Shakespeare. For many people, the mention of his name brings up a faded memorized line or two from high school, but his impact on the world stretches farther than the perimeters of a classroom. Shakespeare revolutionized the English language to the point where half the time people are blissfully unaware of the fact they are quoting him. Whenever someone says, “What a sorry sight,” or, “I’m tongue tied”, they are not only empirically unoriginal, they are spouting Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare is regarded as one of the greatest poets and writers of his time and even one of the greatest ever with works such as Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet. Although Shakespeare has been taught in schools for many years, and even all around the world, is Shakespeare's work really relevant for students in school today?

William Shakespeare has been taught in classrooms all across the world for many years. Many people believe that Shakespeare is vital in the curriculum while others feel that Shakespeare has fallen by the wayside. Continuing to teach Shakespeare is neither important nor valuable because it does not prepare students for the future, it narrows their cultural perspective, and the same lessons can be taught with modern texts.

First and foremost, reading Shakespeare’s work leads to a better understanding of the English language. The bard had a vocabulary of over 24,000 words, most of which still exist in modern English. High school students enhance their vocabulary and sentence structure through reading his work. The subconscious use of new words and phrases through reading Shakespeare’s works leads to improved writing and oral skills. The extension of vocabulary is very helpful in post-secondary education; students will have better results with assignments such as presentations, reports, and essays. Not only are Shakespeare’s works useful in becoming familiar with the English language, the themes in his plays are still relevant to society.

“To read Shakespeare or not to read Shakespeare, that is the question (Mack).” Many students have asked this question for a century, and they hear the same answer every time. “He is the greatest playwright of all times,” is the first and top argument, and for good reason. His legacy is everywhere. He is quoted for almost everything and is even in our subconscious vocabulary. His ideas and themes are can be seen hidden in many movies, books, songs, art, and all kinds of works of literacy. He is inside every high school, and any students that can read, have seen at least one sentence of his works once. For years, it has been debated if Shakespeare should be taught in high school, but there is something about this 16th century writer that intrigues us and leads us to teach him to the next generations for there can be a lot of benefits from reading him. Through resent studies, it has been found that reading Shakespeare can raise brain activities and excite it about new ways to use words, also, understanding Shakespeare

"He was not of an age, but for all time." This quote was said by Ben Johnson, a playwright from Elizabethan England, on a fellow writer by the name of William Shakespeare. It has been quite controversial lately as to whether Shakespeare's work is still relevant in today's modern society. While the English language is not the same as it was in the 1500's the principles of his work are based off of such basic human themes that they are timeless, which in turn makes them relevant to even the 21st century. His such high standard of writing made it possible for him to be able to write deeper, almost hidden, meanings in his text, and to show emotion so clearly it can be felt by the reader. In addition, Shakespeare coined about 1,700 words and numerous

I believe Shakespeare is crucial for students to study as his works are filled with intricate meaning, extensive vocabulary and powerful imagery that offers insight to the world around us, with the use of irony, imagery, rythm and other literary devices evident in his works, he enriches our language. His works challenege students to try and understand difficult language, and style to experience different morals in his stories, and get an understanding of the complex lives lived by his characters.

Shakespeare arguably had some of the most bewildering language in all of literacy. His creativity and English ingenuity granted him to be considered the greatest writer of the English Language. Unfortunately, Pete Langman feels Shakespeare is far too difficult for the majority of schoolchildren. He feels that making them struggle through it just because Shakespeare is this great, shinning cultural icon simply alienates them, makes them hate the man, hate the plays, while giving them the sneaking suspicion that high culture excludes them. Langman feels that everyone might do better if they embrace the fact that Shakespeare is tough and accept the fact that it’s too difficult for some people and should be taught until they reach the

If Shakespeare can teach us anything it’s the value of never giving up. If students persist and wade through the language difficulties, they will think they can accomplish nearly anything. Shakespeare should stay in schools for this reason and many others, including the intriguing themes and how his language has influenced our modern expression.

Shakespeare writes about issues that are still relevant today because his themes are universal, his plays have been updated and remade and there are various schools of thought who argue about his plays. His universal themes of vaulting and corrupting ambition, a reliance on superstition and gender tell us that the play Macbeth explored themes that are still seen in today’s society. The updated and remade film versions of Macbeth (also known as The Tragedy of Macbeth) and Macbeth (BBC’s Shakespeare’s Retold Series) tell us that people still enjoy watching the issues in Macbeth. And the various schools of thought Psychoanalytical, Feminist, and Marxism tell us that people still

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. This “proposed vandalism from the policymakers” (Guardian 09/02/01) is opposed wholesale by supporters