Every now and again, someone secures their 15 seconds of fame by claiming that Shakespeare is no longer relevant and should be abolished from the curriculum. Debate is heated and passionate and eventually we settle back to smooth our ruffled feathers and the Bard quietly retains his place. So I ask instead - why are we asking this question? I’ll happily state clearly and simply that I believe Shakespeare to have a legitimate and unshakeable claim to a place on every English literature curriculum. Should every child in every school study Shakespeare? Of course not. Is the canon of western literature unreasonably dominated by white men? Clearly. Are there myriad other authors who are worthy of our time? Without question. But would the study of English literature be complete without Shakespeare? I say no. I say we’re asking the wrong question here. Which is not to say that it’s not good and right to question what we teach and why we teach it. The endurance of Shakespeare however speaks to his relevance across time and place and this endurance surely goes some way towards cementing his cultural significance. It is here however, that much of the debate swirls. Is Shakespeare just a vestige of the upper classes who should not be foisted on to hapless school students? I don’t think so. Our students are not hapless and yet I feel that often this argument stems from underestimating their abilities. And yet this is also where the question of Shakespeare’s relevance on the curriculum comes from - is he out of date? The cultural status of Shakespeare has not been constant, and is likely to continue to change. Where his plays were once performed for the masses, then published in expensive editions afforded only by the rich, he now finds himself the basis of Disney films, as well as being performed by the faithful in theatres throughout the world as well as being adapted for any number of new contexts and mediums. Shakespeare’s plays have retained their literary clout whilst finding their way consistently into the realms of popular culture. That so often today we see people flocking to affordable seasonal outdoor productions of Shakespeare is telling of the ongoing relevance of, and interest in, his works. Enthusiasm is key. Shakespeare is not a puzzle to be solved for its own sake. The writing is challenging, yes, but worth it! We tend not to shy away from the mental challenge of a complicated mathematical puzzle, and yet to unlock Shakespeare is not an end in itself, but a means to accessing the linguistic delights that he has to offer as a master of his craft. I remember as a student, the sense of accomplishment that came from slowly progressing from being the one confused when others chuckled during a reading of Romeo and Juliet (wasn’t it just a play about love and death?!), to genuinely appreciating not only the humour, but the masterful way in which Shakespeare plays with language in order to create it. In an era where our language is so easily reduced to a minimum of fuss and effort and we will happily communicate in emojis instead of words, surely there is something to be gained from seeing language used in beautiful (if complicated) and ultimately profound ways which shed light on the human experience. For me, the beauty of great literature has always been the ways in which it is actually able to illuminate my own experience of the world - providing clarity to pictures until then blurred by the limits of my own linguistic skill. If language has the ability to shape our understandings of the world, then surely we are remiss not to seek out our most skilled practitioners. Is Shakespeare the only writer we should study? Of course not. Is he one of the very best? Without doubt. In the same way we marvel at elite athletes who demonstrate the extreme capabilities of the human body, so too should we find a sense of continued admiration and appreciation for the flexing of literary muscle.
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About meI'm a teacher, student and advocate for better education through ongoing questioning, thinking and learning.
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