This really pissed me off (paragraphs 1 & 3): http://alexevans.net/?p=624
Paragraph three didn't bother me as much, it's just an asshole thing to do and I was kind of that kid who wrote out as many characters as I could remember even if they only asked for two.
On to my point:
I really don't understand how anyone could say that Shakespeare isn't relevant anymore. Yeah, most of the specific events don't happen anymore but thematically, they're still very relevant. I'm not very eloquent when I'm irritated or mad so I'm not phrasing this all as well as I'd like but really, take Romeo and Juliet for example. People don't usually get married that young anymore and that in the part of the world that we live in, arranged marriages seem antiquated and have become something we only see in movies, but the idea that Romeo and Juliet truly believe that they are in love at that age and are willing to do anything to be together is still very relevant today. Everyone who has gone through middle school or who has been between ages twelve and sixteen (generally speaking) has had a romantic interest that they really felt they would die to be with or at least (and less dramatically) they imagined marriage or being with that person forever (or for a very long time), even if it meant giving up something that meant a lot to them. It's not irrelevant at all. And in Measure For Measure (as the boy was talking about), Lord Angelo is no different from a corrupt politician or someone who has been put in a position of power with a firm set of morals but struggles to keep thought and action separate. Othello also gives us many themes that are relevant in modern society. Othello is often referred to as a Moor, which is a comment on the color of his skin and his affection for Desdemona is turned around by Iago, possibly the greatest villain ever written, who manipulates just about everyone in the play to create an enormous tragedy with no clear motive. These themes and ideas are relevant, either in our own lives, or in entertainment.
And to the comment about English being simplified today, it's not really much simpler than it was before and if you take away the complexity of any piece of poetry, literature, film, art, or form of creation, you take away it's beauty. Even the things that are beautiful because of their simplicity. Without the complexity that we are so accustomed to, the simplicity wouldn't be beautiful. Beauty takes effort to create and to understand.
I could go on but I'm rambling and will eventually make myself sound like an idiot (maybe I already have) so I'll stop now but I'm very bothered. I know the kid has a right to his own opinion but as someone who loves Shakespeare, it really bothers me that someone would be so ignorant. He says he's never even read any of Shakespeare's work (aside from the excerpt from Measure For Measure that he was "forced" to read). How could he possibly know that it isn't relevant if he's never bothered to read it?? And does he not realize how many of Shakespeare's plays and ideas have been adapted and integrated into books and movies and television series clearly displaying their relevance today??
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