Beyond the Bard: Why It’s Time to Rethink Shakespeare’s Classroom Dominance
For generations, the opening lines of “Romeo and Juliet,” the tortured soliloquies of Hamlet, and the mischievous antics of Puck have been as much a staple of the English classroom as pencils and paper. William Shakespeare holds an almost sacred place in the curriculum, revered as the pinnacle of English literature. But a growing chorus of students, educators, and thinkers are asking a potentially controversial question: Do we need to keep teaching Shakespearean texts and language so intensely to every student? It’s time to seriously consider moving beyond this singular focus.
The arguments for teaching Shakespeare are familiar, often bordering on the automatic: he’s foundational to English literature, his themes are universal, his language is beautiful, and his influence on culture is immense. These points aren’t wrong. Shakespeare was a genius. His plays explore jealousy, ambition, love, power, prejudice, and the human condition with unmatched complexity and poetic brilliance. Phrases he coined pepper our everyday speech. His stories have been adapted countless times across every imaginable medium.
So, what’s the problem? The core issue isn’t Shakespeare himself, but the mandatory, intensive, and often exclusive way he’s taught, particularly the dense, archaic language that acts as a significant barrier. Think about the typical classroom experience:
1. The Language Barrier is Real (and Daunting): Early Modern English, with its unfamiliar syntax, vocabulary, and grammatical structures (“thee,” “thou,” “wherefore,” “hath”), is essentially a foreign language to most teenagers. Students spend an inordinate amount of time deciphering what is being said, often through laborious line-by-line translation, rather than engaging with the deeper meaning, themes, or dramatic power. This initial hurdle is immense and immediately alienates many learners. It turns literature study into a linguistic puzzle, obscuring the very human stories beneath.
2. Cultural and Historical Distance: The world of kings, queens, court intrigue, rigid social hierarchies, and Elizabethan/Jacobean sensibilities feels incredibly remote to students navigating social media, climate change anxieties, and rapidly evolving cultural norms. While themes like love or jealousy are universal, the specific contexts and social dynamics of the plays often require extensive historical footnotes, making the texts feel like dusty museum pieces rather than living, breathing drama relevant to their lives. This distance makes genuine connection difficult.
3. The “Greatness” Argument Can Be Limiting: The constant refrain that Shakespeare is the “greatest” writer can inadvertently send the message that other forms of literature, especially contemporary or diverse voices, are somehow lesser. This reinforces a narrow, often Eurocentric canon. It overlooks the vibrant wealth of powerful, engaging, and thematically rich literature being written right now, across the globe, in language students can readily access and relate to.
4. Engagement Suffers: When students struggle with the language and feel disconnected from the context, engagement plummets. Lessons become about surviving the text rather than loving literature. The potential joy of discovering complex characters, compelling plots, and beautiful language is often lost in the grind of translation and historical explanation. For many, it fosters a lifelong aversion to classic literature, which is the exact opposite of what English education should aim for.
5. Opportunity Cost: The significant time dedicated to grappling with one or two Shakespeare plays (often an entire semester unit) is time not spent exploring a wider range of authors, genres, perspectives, and eras. This includes modern novels, diverse poetry, powerful non-fiction, contemporary plays, and global voices that speak more directly to the experiences and identities of today’s diverse student body. This broader exposure is crucial for developing critical thinking, empathy, and a genuine appreciation for the written word in its many forms.
What Could We Do Instead? This isn’t about banning Shakespeare. It’s about rethinking his place and purpose:
Electives, Not Mandates: Move intensive Shakespeare study to specialized electives (like Advanced Literature, Drama History, or Renaissance Studies) for students who have already developed a strong foundation in literary analysis and choose to explore his work deeply. This respects his complexity without forcing it on everyone.
Contextual Exploration, Not Core Text: Teach about Shakespeare – his influence, his cultural impact, key themes – through excerpts, film adaptations (which are fantastic!), modern retellings (like novels or graphic novels), or discussions of his enduring legacy. This acknowledges his importance without the linguistic slog. Focus on how his stories have been reinterpreted across time.
Prioritize Modern & Diverse Voices: Make contemporary literature, diverse perspectives (including authors of color, women, LGBTQ+ voices, global writers), and accessible classic texts the core of the curriculum. Choose texts where the language itself isn’t the primary obstacle to understanding and engagement. Foster a love of reading first.
Focus on Skills, Not Just One Author: Emphasize universal literary skills – character analysis, theme identification, understanding narrative structure, recognizing symbolism, evaluating arguments – using texts that students can more readily comprehend and connect with emotionally and intellectually. These skills can be taught effectively with a vast array of materials.
Leverage Adaptations: Use the incredible wealth of film, stage, and novel adaptations to explore Shakespeare’s stories and characters in accessible formats. Discuss how directors and writers reinterpret the source material for modern audiences. This keeps the core narratives alive without the linguistic barrier.
Imagine an English class where students passionately debate the ethical dilemmas in a gripping contemporary novel, dissect the powerful imagery in a poem by Amanda Gorman or Ocean Vuong, analyze rhetoric in a modern political speech, or connect deeply with characters navigating worlds they recognize. Picture students discovering the joy of analyzing language and story because they understand it first, building confidence and enthusiasm. This engagement is the fertile ground where true literary appreciation grows.
The reverence for Shakespeare is understandable, but it shouldn’t be immutable dogma in our classrooms. Clinging to the mandatory, text-heavy teaching of his works, despite the significant barriers it creates for many learners, does a disservice to both the students and the broader goals of English education. We need to stop teaching Shakespeare by default and start teaching literature by design – designing curricula that prioritize accessibility, relevance, diversity, and the fundamental goal of fostering a genuine, lasting engagement with the power of words and story. It’s time to expand the canon, lower the barriers to entry, and make literature class a place where all students can find connection, understanding, and inspiration. The future of literary appreciation depends on it.
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