“Shakespeare sucks.”
“Ughhhh…” The groans from the back of the class are audible.
“I don’t even understand what he’s saying.”
“The plays are so old and boring.”
“What does this have to do with anything?”

You get the idea.

Every year students roll their eyes, let out a sigh and drag themselves through yet another Shakespeare unit. There are, however, a few students who actually appreciate the opportunity to study the Bard in all his glory, and here are a few reasons why you should be one of them.

Yes, I was one of those theatre nerds, those drammies, who loved Shakespeare in high school. I revelled in stories of witches, ghosts and the supernatural. I loved playing with accents, like those of the Scottish lords in Macbeth. And I was struck by the wonder of reciting the very same lines of dialogue uttered by thespians countless times from The Globe Theatre to Broadway. “To be or not to be…”, “Now is the winter of our discontent…”, “All the world’s a stage…” – these were the timeless lines I could make my own that connected me to the great cannon of Western theatre. And in commandeering those lines I came to appreciate the beauty that was, is, and continues to be Shakespeare.

By some counts Shakespeare has contributed as many as 2000 unique words to the English language, which is already reason enough for high praise. From ‘assassination’ to ‘swagger’, Shakespeare has offered us a myriad of ways to express ourselves more succinctly. So the next time you’re talking about how ‘swag’ you are, you’ve got Shakespeare to thank! And that’s just the beginning… what about all the full phrases he’s contributed? Whether you are ‘breaking the ice’, bidding ‘good riddance’, arriving at a ‘foregone conclusion’ or observing that ‘love is blind’ or someone has a ‘heart of gold’, you are once again using the words of none other than Billy Shakespeare.

Shakespeare used his words in a variety of inspiring ways; both in poetry and plays, as well as historical and political commentary. He was deftly able to infuse, with such delicacy, poetry right into the very dialogue of his plays. Take, for example, the famous first exchange between Romeo and Juliet, which is itself a prime example of both a sonnet and iambic pentameter. This is a stroke of genius so subtle, so sublimely natural, that one has to look closely for it so as not to mistake it for simple dialogue.

ROMEO [To JULIET.]
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

JULIET
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.

ROMEO
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?

JULIET
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.

ROMEO
O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray — grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.

JULIET
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.

ROMEO
Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.
[Kisses her.]
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.

JULIET
Then have my lips the sin that they have took.

ROMEO
Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again

His plays were not just a mix of prose and poetry – they were a commentary about the time in which they were written. Shakespeare, like most artists, needed to curry favour with the political power of that era. First this meant trying to be in the good graces of Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, and then later those of the first Stuart king, James. Historians point to a number of Shakespeare’s plays, most notably Richard III as propaganda for the Tudors, and Macbeth, an offering to James I, as being influenced heavily by the political climate of the times. Shakespeare, a man ahead of his time, was able to create entertainment for the masses while simultaneously appeasing the political forces that ruled the day. Students who are brought to appreciate the historical context of many of Shakespeare’s plays will hopefully understand even more how these stories were not only technically intelligent in their use of prose and poetry, but also intelligent in their political commentary.

Shakespeare’s works run the gambit of human experience; from comedies and tragedies to histories and the supernatural, they allow the audience to explore the ideas of revenge, betrayal, romance and fantasy without consequence. We are left to wonder how we would cope if our familial circumstance kept us from our one true love as in Romeo & Juliet, or if we would act more judiciously in dealing with Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare allows us to explore human nature through intricately detailed stories, and dynamic, fully developed characters. He facilitates the very discussion that is at the essence of any good English class – what it means to be human. Shakespeare elevates this discussion with the sophistication of his writing and the expectation he has of his audience. His plays and sonnets are not dumbed down; rather he challenges you to read between the lines, discover the irony, allusion and veiled meanings of his prose.

The works of Shakespeare are so profoundly clever that it has brought speculation as to whether his writings could really have been from only one man, or indeed from a man of such limited education. I remember in high school being so intensely interested in this question. I wrote a paper on the Earl of Oxford being the real author of Shakespeare’s works simply because I so loved the idea of a literary conspiracy. Other proposed ‘real’ authors of his works include Sir Francis Bacon and Christopher Marlowe, among others. The vast majority of Shakespearean scholars agree, however, that Shakespeare did exist and wrote his own work. But these myths just add further intrigue and interest in the Bard. And if that wasn’t enough to pique your interest in who he really was, then take a closer reading of Sonnet 126 and try to imagine to whom he may have been writing.

Shakespeare’s influence has been so far reaching that it’s hard to think of any modern film or story that hasn’t, at least in some way, been inspired by his work. From Disney’s The Lion King, to Star Wars, to the Twilight series, there are recurring plot sequences and thematic elements that have been stripped right from the pages of Shakespeare. If you’re a modern cinema buff, chances are that you’d enjoy a bit of Shakespearean theatre too! His plays even have just the right amount of innuendo to offer a class full of (sometimes inappropriate) laughs. For a milder example, refer back to the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet passage where the young couple reference a pilgrimage yet unmade to a place neither has been before. His works are riddled with even juicier examples.

So what’s so great about Shakespeare? In a word: everything. His contributions to the English language, deft use of weaving prose and poetry together, political commentary, wit and humour, and most importantly the inspiration to examine our own human nature are all reasons we should be excited to study his work.  If ‘brevity is the soul of wit’, we can surmise in brief that Shakespeare is pretty swag.