Shakespeare Reading Decreases in High Schools

A primary reason Shakespeare is not a popular topic among Arrowhead students is because the words are written in a different language. Today, books are easy to read. There are no confusing metaphors. But the works of Shakespeare are more poetic. The imagination could run wild and it utilized a persons own cognitive, rather than what is seen today in writing or in movies.

In Shakespeare’s time, the late 15th to early 16th century,  literature and plays were new and revolutionary. Men playing women who were also playing men, love that ended in suicides, the lust for power. were not common nor accepted during the time period. Thomas Hobbes Leviathan and Pierre Bayle’s Historical and Critical Dictionary where the type of books being published and read before Shakespeare’s time period. Shakespeare brought a wave of love, tragedy, and war into the realms of literature.

The evocation that Shakespeare’s works had on people were frowned upon and considered sinful.

The opinion of Shakespeare today, was much like the opinion of the Protestant church in the 16th century: it is simple not liked.

“We [students] didn’t grow up talking old English so it’s hard for us to comprehend what is being said,” said senior Claire Longbottom.

“I literally just don’t get it,” said junior Miranda Schlise.

“I took Brit. Lit as a junior and the Shakespeare section tests I always got bad grades.” said a senior who asked to remain anonymous

At first glance, Shakespeare works look confusing: the couplets, turn, stanzas, and lining.

Jennifer Passler, an English teacher at Arrowhead, said Shakspeare is treated unfairly.

“They take a look at the language and automatically don’t get it. Students have to give it a minute to sink in,” Passler says.