When Shakespeare was a kid going to grammar school, a school open to boys only by the way! they learned Latin, Greek and rhetoric, persuasion through logical argument. Students read Latin and Greek writers to learn about the history of ancient Greece and "the glory that was Rome” and this material was translated by them into English or French after many hours of work. I'm glad the school curriculum of the 21 st century has evolved and we no longer spend our days doing boring stuff like that! Their old-fashioned, subjects that have little relevance in the modern world of the internet and space travel. The question is: shouldn't we allow our education system to further evolve and file Shakespeare in the same drawer where we've stuck Homer, …show more content…
We are told now it was to impress James the first of England and sixth of Scotland. It was Jame's interest in the occult that caused the inclusion of the three witches who "look not like the inhabitants o' the earth, and yet an on't" who Macbeth consults. You can't look at any copy of a Shakespeare play without finding obvious references to the monarchy of his time. Shakespeares' plays, like any political propaganda found to-day, either concentrates on defending the status quo or attacking the unpopular leadership of an earlier time. So, in conclusion, as you can see I have pretty strong feelings about Shakespeare and his plays. In the 21 st century, spending time with the confusion that is Shakespeare is about as useful as training doctors in the value of bleeding their patients as a means of correcting a problem with the four humours. By examining the great works of other cultures and religions we can learn about a major part of the world. Through the literature of many different parts of the world they're concerns will be understandable to us and we'll show our willingness to meet the rest of the world, not throw forts built of iambic pentameter with the occasional rhyming couplet to securely glue the walls together. If we ignore the future to sort of celebrate the western literary past we'll have a disaster of global
No society remains immobile, even if some human beings resist changes. The advances in technology and the emergence of new beliefs allow people to have a broader imagination. Thus, numerous new interpretations of ancient works, whether they are plays, folktales, or poems, permeate around the world. These renditions re-tell the original stories in contexts that adjust to modern world. What was regarded serious in the past becomes mockery nowadays. William Shakespeare, one of the greatest English play writers, has a profound influence upon different societies globally since the fifteenth century, for his plays inspire many contemporary artists to present new scopes reflecting their societies. Considered as one of Shakespeare’s greatest
In the grand scheme of things, it seems quite odd that the vast majority of people have decided it is important to perform, study, and read plays written by a man who has been dead for over four hundred years. This of course, refers to William Shakespeare. For many people, the mention of his name brings up a faded memorized line or two from high school, but his impact on the world stretches farther than the perimeters of a classroom. Shakespeare revolutionized the English language to the point where half the time people are blissfully unaware of the fact they are quoting him. Whenever someone says, “What a sorry sight,” or, “I’m tongue tied”, they are not only empirically unoriginal, they are spouting Shakespeare.
Shakespeare is dead. Shakespeare is not relevant in today’s times. It is very boring for students to listen to the material, and only a certain type of personality can appreciate Shakespeare.
For high schoolers, Shakespeare is the stuff of nightmares. Although English, his flowery, indirect language seems foreign. His five hundred year old characters and plots seem completely unrelated to today's world, right?
The three witches happen to be the first characters to be introduced in Macbeth and were one of the main cause of the title character’s evil and unpredicted actions. Shakespeare used the stereotype about witches being ugly and wise women yielding evil powers and described them as the ‘Three Weird Sisters.’ They play the role of informants who convey a message to Macbeth, which eventually caused him to kill King Duncan as well as the Macduff and Banquo’s families. Their key skill, in fact, was to penetrate Macbeth’s troubled subconscious, which already contained a demonic desire for power and the throne. The witches just supplied the simple trigger; they have predicted that he would become the Thane of Cawdor and the King.
While many high school students believe Shakespeare is not relevant today, I believe Shakespeare and his writings are relevant because they are a good influence and they bring people and countries closer together while expanding the reader’s vocabulary.
There is a reason why Shakespearean scholar, Jonathan Bate, called Shakespeare the “central point in world literature” (Bate 221.) Throughout history, various countries have turned to the drama of Shakespeare’s plays to subtly oppose the government and society. Shakespeare’s high position exempted him from restrictions in government, and he became the source of liberty. “Throughout Eastern Europe the story is the same. In the former Soviet Union, in Poland, in former East Germany, in Romania . . .” and has influenced western civilization as well.
‘Macbeth’ a Scottish play known as one of Shakespeare’s best plays was written in 1611 by William Shakespeare, during that time King James the 1st was the king of Scotland, the Jacobean times was a time where people had a fascination with witches and witchcraft, ‘Daemonolgie’ was a book written by King James the 1st himself, this was about ways to spot a witch, which intrigued people. Since ‘Macbeth’ has a Scottish theme Shakespeare may have written this play to please King James since there is references to Banquo which is a direct descendant of King James, also it is said that Banquo wasn’t a very nice man but Shakespeare presents him as very loyal and kind person
Whether Shakespeare should continue to be taught or left in the past has been up for debate for years now. While some parties argue that Shakespeare's works should not be taught in schools because they are boring and difficult to read, other parties argue back saying that Shakespeare's work can help expand a student's vocabulary and that the storylines of the plays can be immersing. It has been argued that Shakespeare may also be able to help patients with dementia and depression. One party has even argued that Shakespeare's works are the birth of modern art today. There is also the party that claims Shakespeare’s works are what keep the brain excited because it can never predict what's going to happen next. Another party argues the Shakespeare’s
Shakespeare, the word famous playwright, poet, and actor, has been in the schools curriculum for many years now, but is it time to give him the heave ho? Students argue yes. Shakespeare was born in 1564 and lived up to the year 1616, he has written a whopping 38 plays, poems, and sonnets. His plays have been translated in 75 different languages around the world. Students believe that Shakespeare should not be taught in the ninth grade curriculum because his work is not fit for multicultural classrooms, the language doesn’t make sense to the students, and his work is outdated.
Students aren't the only ones who need to learn the message behind Shakespeare, adults at times need to as well. The message teaches people about the world, and about how peoples decisions catch up with them at times."Shakespeare Teaches us about love, honor, duty. About parents and children. About ambition and greed. These are the things that all of us face, the things that make us human." (J. Holtham, 2). The message is quite clear in a way. If Shakespeare can teach us about human conditions, then anyone can. "I don’t believe that a long-dead, British guy is the only writer who can teach my students about human condition. I do not believe that not viewing "Romeo and Juliet" or any other modern adaptation of a Shakespeare play will make my students less able to go out into the world and understand language or human behavior." (Dana Dusbiber, 1). There are other authors out in the world who have the same message, why not read a new author, rather than Shakespeare? Shakespeare uses his own words in his own way, to show that what he is trying to tell us about love and greed, are important, and no one else could teach us better. "Shakespeare is more then just a 'long-old dead British guy' and I believe he has as much to teach us about the
Peace, Shakespeare. Welcome to the world of the twenty-first century! Welcome to America, the land of promises! Believe it or not, your works are still being taught, enjoyed, and celebrated so many years later. Worshipped, even! We the literary artists of this modern age have summoned you for the sake of meeting your Greatness.
William Shakespeare's Relevance Today For as long as formal education has existed in Britain it has been a largely standard assumption that teaching the works of William Shakespeare is relevant and necessary. Perhaps the relevance of his writing is taken for granted, perhaps it is necessary to re-examine the role of Shakespeare for the modern audience. There are indeed many people who question the relevance of this 440 year old playwright to a 21st century audience, taking it even as far as perhaps the greatest heresy of all, questioning the necessity of GCSE pupils learning Shakespeare at all. This “proposed vandalism from the policymakers” (Guardian 09/02/01) is opposed wholesale by supporters
We often have many safer, more comfortable buildings, we have different meanings for words, we talk differently, we have different types of plays, we believe in what we want, we listen to different sides of history, we have better technology, we have better capabilities, we can do many more things. There have been many things that have stayed the same. For example, the love for the theater, the conflict between one person and another, and the love between each other. Throughout the time of Shakespeare and today we have grown, but even though Shakespeare isn't existing any longer, we still share the same love of his plays as everyone did in the
William Shakespeare was born April 23rd 1564. Shakespeare was and currently still is an inspiration to so many minds now a day. Never the less should he still be in the classrooms in the 21st century that would be believed to be a negative; Shakespeare no longer belongs to be in the class room of grades 9 to 12. When teachers tell their class that they will be reading Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, etc. nobody is jumping for joy. Most of the children in the class is bored out of their minds nobody understands Shakespeare anymore. Reading the article “Much Ado About Nothing Much” by Peter Beech, has helped further explain this by making excellent points that will help everyone understand that Shakespeare is the problem and not the people