This column is part of our student opinion series, “A thousand hands, a thousand voices.”

Shakespeare is highly regarded as the most prominent writer of creative literature and drama to walk the earth. His masterpieces have been taught for generations and have been used as a foundation for many of the modern stories that we read today. In recent years, due to old language, format, and ideologies incorporated in his works, his teachings have come up less and less in today’s academic world. Although contemporary literature may be more relatable to today’s generations, Shakespeare’s teachings are essential in secondary education because it provides the essential framework for deconstructing the psychological forces that influence human behavior and power dynamics that dominate modern storytelling.

After Shakespeare’s death, many of his plays became a compelling part of education as people started to recognize it as worthy of academic study. During the nineteenth century, schools in both Britain and the United States shifted towards a new approach of teaching English works, rather than standard latin text. Shakespeare’s work was seen to be especially valuable because it contains complex language and sophisticated themes. After over two hundred years, Shakespeare’s place in education is being questioned by developing arguments with self-contradiction.

A prominent argument to remove Shakespeare from being taught is that the language is too complex and outdated. Not only is this argument misguided, but it is quite counterintuitive to the purpose of Shakespeare’s work in today’s schools. The complex language of Shakespeare plays a large role in enhancing the adolescent mind. According to a study done at The University of Liverpool, reading and analyzing the complexity of Shakespeare gives its readers “a sudden peak in brain activity and [it] forces the brain to work backwards in order to fully understand what Shakespeare is trying to say.” This type of thinking can translate into a high school student’s other subjects, helping them to become stronger data and text analyzers. Additionally, according to the New Jersey Education Association, Shakespeare also translates into students’ daily life because “It can also help with social skills when adolescents are trying to figure out what their peers mean in the confusing and complex situations in which teenagers often find themselves.”

Beyond the academic benefits, Shakespeare’s work affects students’ day life by having a huge influence on today’s current media. From television shows, to modern plays and musicals, and even modern literature Shakespear’s work has directly impacted a countless number of them. According to the researchers of the British Academy, “ Shakespeare’s plots and characters and ideas are taken, but the script is completely rewritten and modernized – Shakespeare acting as a kind of framework. Equally, there are times when filmmakers, stage directors, novelists, opera composers, and others take the Shakespearean original and remake it, maybe with a contemporary spin.”

For example, the famous movie and Broadway musical, “The Lion King,” is a contemporary spin on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Similarly, the popular film “10 Things I Hate About You” is a modern-day version of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”. By using the

same timeless themes, plots, and complex characters, we see Shakespeare’s work in today’s media everywhere, and by studying his original work in school, we give students the original framework to properly analyze the daily media they consume.

Sixth-form student, Jaheim Pratt, believes that Shakespeare has played an underlying but impactful role in his career as an academic and actor here at the Hill School. Although not noticing it at first, Pratt believes that breaking down Shakespeare’s plays in theatre and his English classes served as a “weightroom for his brain.” By dissecting the complex patterns and dated language used in Shakespeare’s works, breaking down modern-day texts became effortless from an academic standpoint. Even breaking down, understanding, and memorizing his lines became simpler due to comprehension skills gained from learning Shakespeare’s works. Pratt also added that, “Breaking down the themes and plots in Shakespeare’s work plays a role in how students critically think.” By deconstructing storylines and motivations of protagonists and antagonists in plays such as Othello and Macbeth, students are challenged to think independently and critically through different lenses, which is a skill that is transferable to any subject.

Unfortunately, Shakespeare’s work does carry the biases of its time, holding both politically and morally incorrect and outdated ideologies. However, focusing on this perspective overlooks the positives that Shakespeare’s work has to bring. We don’t stop teaching history because the ideologies of a certain time don’t match modern day standards. Furthermore, the cultural controversy in Shakespeare’s work opens an opportunity for a platform of critical debate. For example, comparing Shakespeer’s mildly antisemitic depiction of Shylock, the Jewish moneylender and main protagonist in The Merchant of Venice, to today’s emphasis of religious equality and equity for all regardless of their background allows the reader to engage in

interrogative reading. This teaches students that they don’t have to agree with every idea they encounter in order to learn from it, which has become increasingly important in today’s world.

The need for new voices and ideas is critical for the evolution of the adolescent mind; the retention of classics that have framed today’s literary world is equally important. Rather than discarding Shakespeare’s work because of its ideologies, both teachers and students should embrace it. Shakespeare’s work forces students to use critical thinking skills that are hard to activate any other way. Studying the complex human behaviors in his work will be a key skill which students can carry into their adult lives. By keeping Shakespeare in the curriculum, we give students the skills they need to prosper in a world that is, at times, as dramatic as Shakespeare’s dramas.