In Defense of Shakespeare

Why do we read Shakespeare? Is it tradition? Is it because it's part of the curriculum? Is it a means for me to torture you because I'm just the tiniest bit sadistic? No! (To all of the above! Despite my reputation for being super cranky, I do not actually enjoy making you suffer.)

We read Shakespeare because the stories, characters, conflicts, and situations about which he wrote are timeless, and I want you to understand why and how. Finding the relevance in any piece of information, and a context through which to connect it to your life, is a skill that will serve you well in the future, when you're trying to understand why you do ANYTHING AT ALL. We read Shakespeare because I want you to stretch your empathy over 400 years and give Hamlet a hug because he hates his stepdad. Because I want you to be indignant that someone could lie about Hero cheating on her boyfriend. Because I want you to be annoyed that people think that Romeo is a great romantic, when really he's just a fickle man-child who makes terrible decisions.

Art by Mathew McFarren

When you're sitting in English class asking yourself when you're ever going to use this information, try to think about the skills that you are acquiring, and not the content itself. (Although, seriously, this content is boss.) We are going to be reading the entire text of a Shakespeare play aloud in class. (Honors classes will be treated to the glorious bloodbath that is Hamlet, and CP students will experience Much Ado About Nothing and all of its outrageous, complicated, screwball hilarity.) We are going to be comparing the Shakespeare plays that we read in class to several different media versions, and analyzing why the filmmakers made their decisions about things like casting, setting, and plot changes. And most importantly, we are going to be applying the observations and analyses that we make about the play to solving real-life problems that you ABSOLUTELY WILL encounter in the future.

Buckle up, cupcake. The next few weeks are going to be crazy busy, but crazy rewarding.

Love,
Morrell