How do you explain to a student the reasons behind studying Shakespeare?

Question

"What's the point in this, sir/miss? How will this ever be relevant to our lives?" And the answer is.....?

Answer 1

1. It improves your reading skills when you struggle to understand the language.
2. It helps you to see that people back then cared about the same things we do today.
3. They are wonderful stories.
4. Many modern stories come from Shakespeare...West Side Story is a re-make of Romeo and Juliette.
5. All intellectual people do this, and you do want to be an intellectual, right? Don't put yourself outside of the "Those In The Know" club!
6. There are lots of good swear words and insults!

Keep trying to appeal to them on all levels!!

Answer 2

Are you kidding me? Shakespeare is up to his fancy collar in sexual innuendos. If you tell your students what Shakespeare REALLY means in Romeo and Juliet, you'll have their attention all the way through. If you're not into that kind of fun though, there's a video of good old Mel Gibson talking to an Australian class about why we study Shakespeare. I'm sure you can find it on the Internet.

Answer 3

The characters are real people, facing everyday challenges and moral dilemmas, relevant to modern times. And what we see around us is not always what's actually happening. The dialog and poetry in Shakespeare often masks what's really going on. It's a good lesson in everyday life. How can they night relate to the love-struck teenagers in "Romeo and Juliet"? Or the duty-bound young "Hamlet"?

Answer 4

It opens your eyes to mistakes of the past. Knowing where we came from helps us find where we are going. Also, knowing the basis of words ( as Shakespeare coined many knew words and terms) can influence knew witticisms.

As for the plots, almost all were borrowed and adapted. They weren't even strong adapted plots, but the language used is so beautiful. That is what has kept Shakespeare's plays around( we love my colloquialisms), his language.