Why are we doing this?
Personally I don't believe Shakespeare is very important for us to study. Simply because his plays were written 400 years ago and the topics in the plays are still somewhat relevant to us today, I don't see what makes his plays so special? Also I feel like we could still read books or plays that force us to infer what an author means, while still having them written in language that is easier to understand. If we read books that are written in present day English I think that students would be able to have an even greater understanding of the messages that are conveyed in Shakespeare's plays.
Although I agree with you that many of the themes and topics are present in literature written more recently, I think reading Shakespeare and connecting it to the more current books/plays can help us reach a deeper understanding of both texts.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you. Shakespeare is a classic and I think it is very important that we study him and his plays for numerous reasons. It is important to study old literature and new literature, in order to get an idea of culture for example. When reading Shakespeare, one grows an appreciation for literature and it also enriches one's cultural literacy. Also, language evolved over the years and the study of Shakespeare helps every reader improve their grammar and spelling. Reading Shakespeare might not be enjoyable to everyone, but it should be part of everyone's general knowledge and everyone should at least read one of Shakespeare's plays in their life.
ReplyDeleteBen, for your future posts, I would suggest the following: add more depth. Try to find specific examples to support your opinion. In addition, include a form of media (pic or vid) in addition to the hyper link, as requested. Also, have you commented on two other posts???
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that there are books and plays that we can read that are more recent and easier to understand, but I believe that the challenge of Shakespeare is one of the main reasons we do study him today. Still, the question of "why Shakespeare specifically" remains. There are certainly other writers that fit the criteria.
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