“Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your ears.”
William Shakespeare is arguably the greatest poet and playwright in English literature. He may not be popular to all, but teaching his writing in school exposes all of us to essential English literature. Without Shakespeare, English and American literature would not be the same.
There is the known Homer whose stories told of adventure and war, there is Mark Twain whose stories were comedic and satirical, then there is Charles Dickens whose words were theatrical, and there was Sophocles who wrote of tragedy.
Shakespeare wrote of all these genres, of humor, tragedy, and of romance. He has remained relevant as his stories transcend time and culture.
Who do you think inspires those modern writers we should only learn from? Shakespeare’s words inspire writers and students, his language may seem outdated, and not of the “modern slang” but his words remain relevant through the twentieth century.
If his works do not remain relevant then what about “West Side Story” or The Winter of our Discontent by John Steinbeck; these stories would be considered modern, right?
Well, “West Side Story” is based of off Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” and The Winter of our Discontent is inspired by “Richard III.” If we are to primarily learn from these works rather than Shakespeare’s, how then will we learn?
To be an exceptional writer, you must learn from the past. Shakespeare’s writing teaches us stylistic techniques, new words and unique phrases.
From Shakespeare we have adopted sayings such as “dead as a door nail” and, my personal favorite, “knock, knock who’s there?” If we were to not read Shakespeare how then would we discover these?
Shakespeare’s works took a huge step to wards combining medieval and classical literature into our modern literature that we know and love today. Shakespeare has also had a broad influence in modern theater and in film. Did you know the popular film and now popular Broadway Musical “The Lion King” is actually based off of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
Again, I have proven that being taught Shakespeare’s works in school is very beneficial towards students. It may not be fun to sit in a dark class room bent over books, but it will pay off in the long run.
Think about it: if WS did not teach Shakespeare, some student that could have become inspired by his works wouldn’t.
“I am not bound to please thee with my answers.”
