And I totally agree that seeing Shakespeare performed really brings his work alive. But I also submit that if the student is reading the play for a class, the teacher, or a good edition of the works, should explain that “Wherefore art thou Romeo” means “Why did you have to be a Montague?” I learned that when I read that play at 14 and fell in love with Shakespeare. You don’t just hand kids Shakespeare and watch them sink or swim. It is work, and it requires a little training at first, I agree.

And to get back to the subject of the post in the first place–audiobooks are wonderful things both for busy commuters and students! There are some pretty good ones for many classics available for free on Librivox.

Uh, guys? THIS is Old English:

That must be why I put my words inside quotes: I was trying to make a point. At any rate, this isn’t about debating the changes of the language over time… this is about providing the means to experience and enjoy classic works, appropriately for the student.

No Fear Shakespeare puts Shakespeare’s language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English—the kind of English people actually speak today.

The “translation” helps students with phrases such as: “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” which does not mean “Where are you located Romeo?” It means “Why do you have to be Romeo?” (thus a Montague, and an enemy to Juliet’s family, the Capulets).

Robert Kingett suggests “Try having your class listen to Shakespeare rather than reading the text.” This is a great idea, but I would amend it to say “listen to Shakespeare in addition to reading the text when possible”. The plays were written to be spoken or performed. Students with vision would also benefit from DVDs or live performances at top-notch playhouses.

Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,

(That’s from the prelude to Beowulf, if you were wondering.)

Shakespeare and books published prior to the 20th century are written in perfectly understandable and often extremely elegant English; the reader might just have to work a little harder to fully comprehend it. Reading such works would, one hopes, counteract some of the low-attention-span issues that Young Persons often have today, occasioned by video games and fast-action films. (And there is nothing wrong with either one of those things. Everything in moderation.) And I submit it is important to understand the evolution of literature as well to truly appreciate modern works.

I am also the parent of two children who have dyslexia. We often got audio versions of books they had to read for school. They listened to the audio book in addition to reading the print book and their reading skills improved because of it. Now they are teens and both avid readers.

Hopefully, the influx of new readers and reading SW will mean more audiobooks for Robert and others who are either vision-impaired or auditory learners.

Though I agree that contemporary lit in the curriculum wouldn’t hurt anyone, I don’t think I’d ditch the Shakespeare entirely. Part of education is becoming conversant in our cultural heritage, the kind that transcends borders and nationalities and ethnicities, and Shakespeare represents the very best of that.

But more importantly it showed me that book can be more than boring stories about children doing stupid things in candy factories or worse… time travel.