When you think of inner-city teenagers, what springs to mind? For many, it’s hoodies, video games—and probably hating Shakespeare. But my research proves that this stereotype is far from the truth.
What Students Say
Many students told me that they actually enjoy studying Shakespeare in school. From comments such as “I feel happy because I like most of his plays,” to “I feel excited because Shakespeare was the best writer ever […] a legend or genius,” they expressed levels of interest in Shakespeare that are rarely acknowledged.These students also did not see the language as a barrier, but as a challenge to be embraced. One commented: “I also get quite happy because we do not often look at texts with old English.”
In this large cohort of students, some comments stand out, showing how varied and individual their responses are. One described Shakespeare as “one of my inspirations for writing poetry,” while another said that “although I don’t really like English, I like his plays a lot.”
Teachers seem to play a key role in developing a positive attitude in some of their students. One student said that “all the work I’ve done on Shakespeare has been interesting and fun,” while another said she “really enjoyed the last play that we did.”
‘Be Not Afraid of Greatness …’
In addition to the wholly positive comments, some students demonstrated a more mixed response to the subject. One student told me that “sometimes it’s interesting and sometimes it’s just boring ‘cause in Year 7 I remember we did this one play for a very long time and it was just kind of the same thing every lesson for a double lesson.”Here, the lessons were clearly not varied enough to hold this student’s attention all the time, although the comment suggests that the student knew that studying Shakespeare could be interesting and fun, even if it isn’t always like that in practice.
For others, the choice of play is key: “Some Shakespeare plays are more interesting than others, in my opinion.” One of the students I interviewed also articulated a clear tension in her attitudes toward studying Shakespeare. She said:
“The good part is because everyone goes through different stuff, some people can relate and they can feel like they’re not alone or like this has happened before and studying Shakespeare makes you see the world differently, […] and the bad thing about it [is] learning how to write in the Shakespeare kind of structure when it won’t be useful in the future.”
For a number of students, there are perhaps inevitable negative connotations attached to the word “Shakespeare.” Some did describe Shakespeare simply as “boring,” but others explained their reservations in more detail. One said, “I feel like I’ve heard the word Shakespeare too much and that I don’t want to talk about him.” Another thought “about long complicated language that no one understands,” while further complaints were about how “it is unnecessary to learn about as I don’t understand what’s beneficial for us as students.”
Overall, the students involved in this research demonstrated a breadth and depth of response to Shakespeare that counters the generalized belief that teenagers respond poorly to his work. Indeed, used as an introductory question to establish students’ attitudes to Shakespeare before attending a production at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, in London, I have been fascinated by the variety and subtlety of thought they have demonstrated.
As one said: “I feel honored that I’ve covered Shakespeare in school, because telling people you have read his plays makes you sound smart.” The sense of privilege inherent in this comment, despite the fact that everyone studies Shakespeare at school, is clearly something to cherish.