Quote:
Originally Posted by mvprincess
A lot of times, teachers aren't teaching Shakespeare to expand vocabulary or know how to read Shakespeare- because the language itself isn't applicable to today... It's a case of quality over quantity- is it more important for the student to have a quality understanding of the text or is it more important for them to spend time slaving through a language that just isn't used anymore?
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I find the view that Shakespeare's language isn't "applicable to today" to be quite interesting, given that he was the
first to use some 1700 words in the course of his playwrighting. Words we still use today, like: amazement, control, gloomy, courtship, dishearten, dislocate, obscene, pious... etc. and etc. I also think calling "Shakespeare's English" a "language that just isn't used anymore" to be a little misleading. Granted, we don't speak the language
the same anymore, but it's still the same language, if I'm making any sense. I think a study - even just introductory - of Shakespeare is a necessity, both as a study of language and as a study of literature. And no movie or graphic novel, to me, is a substitute for the actual work.
Then again that's the former English major in me talking, so feel free to ignore me
