Why Should We Still Study Shakespeare

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Why We Still Study Shakespeare The first reason as to why we still study Shakespeare today is because every play that Shakespeare has written touches on relevant issues that can still be seen in today’s society. Craven, a professor from UTSA had once stated: “The language is rich, the characters are complex and many of his basic themes – love, treachery, honor, bravery and political intrigue – still resonate today” (Tumiel). It is common knowledge that high school students fall in love, are overly dramatic, have jealous feelings, face discrimination and act out from passion, so why wouldn’t this content be relevant for them? For the people who try to reason that society 450 years ago is nothing like today’s is to dismiss every religious text, all ancient mythology and everything that was not written recently (Strauss, 2015). Arguably having students study Shakespeare’s plays can be for the betterment of civilization. Shakespeare’s plots are commonly about …show more content…

The intricate language, involved plots, and settings of the plays create new ways of thinking for students. By giving students the chance to study the plays by performing them, they can take creative risks, this gives the students confidence and a greater understanding of the text (Kitchen, 2017). When a student first starts studying Shakespeare’s work, they have to put effort into it in order to understand it. Mark Bayer, an educator that teaches Shakespeare explained, “The language is so dense, so rich, the first couple plays they read are difficult. Not because the language is archaic, but because it is semantically dense. You have to read the lines over and over, But like anything else, time and effort bring an understanding. Students go into it because it is a requirement, but I do think they end up enjoying it” (Tumiel). Shakespeare has made students think analytically for

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