We should teach Shakespeare in modern English
I felt really stupid in English class for not being able to understand Shakespeare.
Shakespeare’s literary language is supposed to be beautiful and prestigious, so I must be an uncultured brute for not being able to understand such a timeless classic?
But Shakespeare wrote in the common vernacular for his time, and tickets to his shows were accessible to all, no matter rich or poor. If he were alive today he would just write in the same language that we use today. It wasn’t intended to be an elitist thing.
I think it’s time that we teach Shakespeare using a modern English translation, instead of the original archaic language.
Modern English has changed enough that forcing students to read Shakespeare in its original text is like making them learn a new language, something that normally takes years of practice.
English is just one mandatory class in a long string of classes, where you need to get good grades so you can get into college or get a good job—most students don’t care about the beauty of Shakespeare anymore, they just want to get an A and move on.
Besides, I feel like none of my classmates actually even read the old English original anyway—we were all reading Cliffs Notes or “study guides” that summarized the text so that we can understand it and pass our exams. So students already just read the modern English translation and skip the original old English, whether you want them to or not.
It’s time to formalize this and stop pretending that anyone is still reading the old English, so I don’t feel like a dirty weed dealer clandestinely handing out my tattered Sparknotes graphic novel of Othello.
But isn’t translating Shakespeare into modern English just dumbing it down? Wouldn’t we lose the incisive wordplay, dynamic rhythm, and cultural allusions of the original text?
The purpose of learning is not only to absorb information, but also to inspire a spark for learning itself!
It is against the interests of teachers to give students information while extinguishing their love of learning.
Think about the kids who would have otherwise appreciated his plays, but instead fell asleep or lost interest due to the language barrier.
After I left school and started working, I stumbled upon a modern English translation of Romeo and Juliet and it blew me away—this is such a good story! Why hadn’t I been paying attention the first time I read it in school?
In school, you aren’t rewarded for extra effort—you get the same “A” no matter if you spend 50 hours of passionate research or if you spend 5 hours meeting the minimum requirements with an afterthought of extras sprinkled on top.
But if you make a single mistake, your grade drops, which hurts your GPA and makes getting into university even tougher. So it’s “better” if you spend your energy taking fewer risks and focus on avoiding mistakes rather than zealously pursuing your interests.
This is a travesty for inspiring curiosity—I can’t think of a more effective way to discourage an inquiring mind. Students aren’t incentivized to appreciate old English—they’d rather read an unofficial study guide with a modern English translation to pass the test.
Nobody reads the Bible in the original Greek/Hebrew, yet it’s so important that billions of people choose to follow it their whole lives. If people want to dedicate themselves to becoming hardcore Bible scholars or read the original old English Shakespeare, they’re still free to do so! But we shouldn’t make students do it if they’re not interested.
Shakespeare intended for his work to be performed by live actors, not read as dead words on a page.
What really drew people to Shakespeare and his plays wasn’t so much the language but the emotions brought to life by skilled actors. James Shapiro writes: “Even if audiences strain to understand exactly what Macbeth says, they grasp what Macbeth feels”. If you want students to appreciate theatre, you should take them to the theatre!
Shakespeare talked about timeless themes: fate and free will, loyalty and betrayal, love and ambition, good and evil. Helping students navigate these emotions transcends language—it’s time to stop making language a barrier to learning.
I only publish half of my writing publicly. You can read the rest of my essays on my private email list:
Subscribing is free, no spam ever, and you can safely unsubscribe anytime