William Shakespeare was an intelligent writer and his plays and poems are a significant part of the history;however, his writing is no longer relevant to today’s society or children. There are several reasons why Shakespeare’s writing is not needed in today’s society, but according to Peter Beech there are few important reasons the education system and society should move past William Shakespeare. Throughout history there have been multiple languages that when people are reading writings from the past it is difficult for the individuals to understand the words or phrases, “reading or watching shakespeare is… baffling, tiring, frustrating, and downright unpleasant” (Peter Beech). Teachers often feel that because William Shakespeare is well
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.
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
The morals and values presented in his works speak to the audience, often offering a new perspective on the world in which they live. Students are affected by the powerful and complex characters and are rewarded with profound insights into human nature and behavior.I firmly believe that Shakespeare's works, like no other literature in the high school curriculum, challenge and invigorate the minds of students. Because of the complex characters, difficult vocabulary and style in which he writes, students must elevate their level of learning to grasp a clear understanding of his works. Shakespeare's plays hold intricate meanings and messages. His
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 words of T.S. Eliot, “We can say of Shakespeare, that never has a man turned so little knowledge to such great account” (Eliot). The works of Shakespeare are known throughout the world as classic literary pieces. The lessons learned through reading Shakespeare have carried themselves and remain to be true although they have been around for hundreds of years. The style in which William Shakespeare wrote has influenced a great amount of the literature that has been written in the more recent past-- books that are read throughout schools in the United States today. It is necessary to read the work of William Shakespeare in schools today, not only because of the lessons in his work, but to understand the roots of some of today’s literature.
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?
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 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.
“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.
William Shakespeare is known to be the “greatest English-speaking writer in history” and an England’s national poet, actor, and an extremely successful playwright. During Shakespeare’s acting career in London, he started writing all about “European geography, culture, and diverse personalities (History.com).” Willm Shakspere or William Shakspeare, as written by him, then went on to write plays. His first three plays were all created around or a little before 1592 and captured the core studied categories; tragedy (Titus Andronicus), comedy (The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew), and history (Henry VI trilogy and Richard III). He wrote plays and sonnets for many theater companies, was one of the main playwrights for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which was renamed the King’s Men when James I was in charge, and formed the Globe theater in 1599 with other partners. Shakespeare’s unique language, themes, verses, format, characters, and plots makes his writing universal to every culture and time period. Shakespeare is still taught in school nowadays due to its’ educational and transitional purposes. Shakespeare continues to influence modern-day life and I believe will for a long time to come.
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