On and Off Campus Blog: Shakespeare: Yes or No?
By: Quinn Reynolds ‘27
Around two weeks ago, I was asked to explain my thoughts on Shakespeare in my English class.
This January and February, most sophomore English teachers will task their students with
Macbeth. In the past, I have never really enjoyed Shakespeare’s work, partly because reading it
takes longer than reading a normal novel would, and partly because I don’t understand the appeal
of his work. People have always told me that his plays explore human emotion, but didn’t J.K
Rowling’s do that too? What about Louisa May Alcott? Didn’t she also dive into the deepest
emotions that one can feel?
What is so significant about Shakespeare’s writing? Yes, he was revolutionary for his time. He is
renowned as a fantastic playwright all over the world, but I do not understand why students still
read his work. That’s not to say that students shouldn’t read Shakespeare at all, but why must we
read his plays every year?
Last year, when we read Romeo and Juliet, I knew the play inside and out. I had seen the play
performed at summer camp and my old school numerous times, and I found myself growing
frustrated with the material. It was the same case for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which I had
also seen performed beforehand.
My dad is a huge fan of Shakespeare. Or rather, he is a huge fan of what is known as ‘the
classics,’ a category he throws Shaskpeare into. Every year, we have the same conversation that
consists of me wondering what the point of reading Shakespeare is, and him telling me that it
shows the deepest realms of human nature (his words not mine). I am still unsure about what the
‘deepest realms of human nature’ mean. I hope, however, to discover the answer to that question
this winter.
I will try not to judge Macbeth by its playwright and truly give it a chance, especially since I
have never seen it performed before. I know nothing about Macbeth, its characters or its settings,
so I will keep my open mind while reading it. Perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised.
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