Comments on: Shakespeare Is Outdated

By: Addy

Addy — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 04:31:45 +0000

I can never agree that Shakespeare is outdated, his work and themes are universal and he should be studied on some level during education.

I do agree however that there are contemporary works out there which should be looked at and studied, but this should be in addition to or as a companion to Shakespeare.

Too much emphasis is placed on “classic” literature which just ignores the contemporary classics which remain unread or studied at schools or uni.

By: Ghosty

Ghosty — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 03:25:40 +0000

Shakespeare will never become outdated, because of what the plays deal with – human frailties and the human condition. His works are a nearly definitive testament to the subtle relationships between God and country, the man and his soul, and the concepts of the Divine and the Royal Crown.

While the fact that novices to his work can sit and enjoy his plays even today is a testament to his amazing talent as a playwright, the reason Shakespeare is read is because of the many subtleties of the text; society has changed much since Shakespeare’s time, and a lot of what The Bard alluded to is lost in mere recital. To truly understand the genius that was Shakespeare, you must study the written word.

Besides, you people DO know that Shakespeare is written in Modern English? Don’t you?

By: ayouthofvalour

ayouthofvalour — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:38:39 +0000

I agree that it seems pointless and is hard to understand, but I think it’s better then how people talk today which is all abbreviations, brb… lol… nvm… Everybody talks that way now including a lot of adults. I think it’s much more benefical for kids to at least be making full sentances when they talk. Well there’s my two sense.

By: angunc3

angunc3 — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 02:42:58 +0000

I was an English major in college and have had a lifetime love affair with the Bard. The reason he’s still read today are the themes, love, death, mistaken identity, etc. And phrases that pepper our language: It’s Greek to me, for ever and a day, for goodness sake, break the ice, even knock, knock, who’s there!

I think a compromise is in order, though. A direct translation right next to the original text would be appropriate, especially considering that Shakespeare didn’t intend for his plays to be read, rather performed.

By: tony

tony — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 22:00:47 +0000

Well, schools have children read Shakespeare because the plays are brilliant and insightful, not because of the difficult language.

The problem is in forcing kids to *read* Shakespeare. He wrote PLAYS! Why do they force kids to read Shakespeare when he intended his scripts to be performed on stage?

I saw a Midsummer Night’s Dream when I was a senior in highschool, after reading the plays for all those years. It was really entertaining, and I did’nt even notice the arcane language.

I left the play thinking, “Why the heck did they make me READ Shakespeare all these years??”

By: rollydollar

rollydollar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:48:49 +0000

Somebody should write a Shakespeare Simplified book with all of his works in plainer English…

By: Tony Lewis

Tony Lewis — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:43:13 +0000

Hi again,
Well seeing as i’m one of those “common as muck” type people who is down to earth and speaks just common english language,including many ’slang’terms I have never seen the point in such wording.
It reminds me of the bible,no-one taught us to read hebrew because that was the language of the bible, it was translated into fairly plain english, so why couldn’t someone translate all those weird sounding words of shakespeare into the plain english language.
I’m sure modern day kids would be a little less resistant towards learning shakespeare.
Conclusion: Yes I agree that shakespeare is outdated.

Tony:)