Growing up, I had always expected and known that once we reach the age of High School, we would be required to learn Shakespeare and his works. Perhaps have a look at his great plays and his sonnets. However, when it is actually that point of time, no matter how great his works maybe, I am struggling to understand and make sense of it, perhaps due to the complex themes and more so, maybe the English style. This brought me to wonder, what is the point of learning Shakespeare, and why are so many people familiar with it and claim they learned about it in school?
According to an article, one of the reasons suggested as to why we should learn Shakespeare when we are in high school is because “Current work we love is reinvented from his adaptations.” (Gray). For example, ‘The Lion King,’ a very popular movie is based on one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, Hamlet, or even the famous T.V series, ‘Game of Thrones’ with its complex characters which have been influenced by Shakespearean culture. In addition, there are many books that have readapted Shakespear’s plays into a modern lens, for instance, “A thousand Acres” in which Jane Smiley uses King Lear’s plot.
Another argument made in the article for why we should study Shakespeare is because “Shakespeare’s work is pertinent, no matter when it is read.” (Gray). Across all the work that I have done up till now whilst studying Shakespeare, one topic that has been recurring is that Shakespeare’s plays still provoke and challenge our thinking by asking questions that are still very much prevalent today. If we look at Macbeth, the main themes still make us wonder about our own world, questions arise about ambition, violence, and betrayal, etc. It seems as though the more relevant Shakespeare’s plays were during his own lifetime, the plots reflect our time today better than anything else could. Maggie Trap, P.H.d explains how his plays still teach us “…about the politics and the psychology of our current moment, about the intricacies of hubris and the fluidity of desire, the perils of blind ambition and the satisfactions of true connection. These plays have managed to speak complicated truths to all manner of audiences and readers for hundreds of years.” All these topics and themes, they really do matter to us today.
Not only are the themes relevant to us, today, more so than ever, but so are the deep, rich, layered, and complex characters. The article notes, “his characters and themes live within each of us.” Also says Trap, “we understand Hamlet’s despondency; we recognize Othello’s envy; we feel Lear’s decline” and “Shakespeare’s characters are familiar.” I think what this truly means is that Shakespeare managed to present us with characters so real to humankind, who even though staged, were exactly like us that we see them in our today’s world all the time, not only that but “his plays allow us to see ourselves anew.”
Another reason as to why we should perhaps learn Shakespeare is because “his themes are universal and timeless and interpretations of Shakespeare’s work appeal to various audiences.” Trap says that “In Shakespeare’s time, audiences were much more attuned to words and aurality.” Considering that, does it not make it harder for us to understand his work, no matter how precious? Well, teaching it in a way attuned to the modern world, even if readapted many times makes his interesting work easier to comprehend. (Gray)
Even though, according to Trap, “Shakespeare wanted his audience to react in the moment…” and “he wrote for live audiences, and his plays were made to be performed,” by encouraging students to watch live plays and do role play in class, etc can be equally as great and helpful. For example, if it were not for remote learning, my English teacher mentioned we would have been going to see Macbeth in March and reenacted scenes in class time! By learning his works, students are able to apparently connect better with others and what is going on in our world today. Whatever was learned in the classroom before proves as a connection to when children start learning his plays. (Gray)
Last and final reason as to why we should study him? “We cite Shakespeare even when we don’t realize it.” You must be wondering as to why this connects to the argument. Well, it basically means that Shakespeare is sort of like a routine to us. It is engraved in our daily lives to the point where we don’t even realize it. This is why it is important to analyze what he created. For instance, have you ever said the common game ‘knock – knock,’ or ‘eyeballs,’ ‘break the ice,’ ‘be-all and the end-all,’ ‘tongue-tied,’ ‘to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve,’ ‘it’s Greek to me,’ ‘the clothes make the man,’ ‘forever and a day,’ and much more, you have therefore cited Shakespeare. Shakespeare has given us these words and hence, “he was a deft crafter of the English language, and his metaphors have made each of us all the richer as readers and writers.”
All in all, although many think that no one is bothered to read all the thou’s, thee’s and doth’s and that Shakespeare is overrated, we basically find meaning to our experiences, this world, other people and ourselves by turning to Shakespeare as everything about his works, though written 400 years ago still resonate with us today and is relevant and appropriate to the current times. His works are reflective of the human emotions that govern most of the human kind’s actions. His plays make us understand that as humans, technology, and our world is evolving, and even Mars is not too far away for us, the behaviors of us humans are still the same, no matter which era in our history or the place.
Works Cited:
- Gray, Lori. “Why You Should Study Shakespeare.” Voices, 18 Jan. 2018, voices.berkeley.edu/writing-editing-and-technical-communication/why-you-should-study-shakespeare. Accessed 8 May 2020.
2. The New York Times. YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv4fWhObaTM. Accessed 8 May 2020.