Over the weekend, The Washington Post and others reported on a recent study that found many universities are no longer requiring a course in Shakespeare for their English majors. The study examined 52 universities, many of which are ranked in the top 25 on U.S. News and World Report lists. Only four prestigious schools were noted as still requiring a course on the Bard.
Many of the schools, in response, cited the fact that while students may not have to take an entire course on Shakespeare, they will still probably encounter his work in a variety of other courses, such as a course in poetry or a survey of British literature. But the question must be asked: how much Shakespeare should university students, and especially English majors, take during their four years of study? Shakespeare is undoubtedly the most influential writer in the history of the English language. Is reading a sonnet or two here and there enough to grasp Shakespeare’s poetic rhythm, images, and language? Is reading King Lear or Hamlet somewhere along the way, amid other playwrights (English or otherwise), sufficient to understand the complexity of dramatic structure, character development, and invaluable thematic explorations Shakespeare offers?
I don’t have a specific answer, but I do think that any amount is probably not enough. Esteemed critic and prolific author Harold Bloom places a unique importance on the study of Shakespeare. For when trying to provide an answer to literature’s ultimate question, “What is great literature?” Shakespeare is the indisputable starting point in the English language: “Greatness in the West’s literature centers upon Shakespeare, who has become the touchstone for all who come before and after him, whether they are dramatists, lyric poets, or storytellers....His originality was and is so easy to assimilate that we are disarmed by it and unable to see how much it has changed us and goes on changing us. Much of Western literature after Shakespeare is, in varying degree, partly a defense against Shakespeare, who can be so overwhelming an influence as to drown out all who are compelled to be his students” (Bloom, The Western Canon 524). Kind of an important guy, huh?
English departments have become so concerned in recent decades with fraudulent cultural studies and faddish “isms” that many have shoved aside Shakespeare and other Western, white males to make way for fairness to other less important authors. While inclusion of a variety of voices is undoubtedly valuable, we must remember by whom those valuable voices have been influenced, consciously or unconsciously. The answer will almost always be Shakespeare. This is such a legitimate problem right now that I even know current students preparing to graduate and become high school English teachers that have never read a single work of Shakespeare during their four years of college, much less taken an entire class with him as the focus. That is the state of much of higher education. Students can maneuver their schedules and take advantage of relaxed requirements to avoid the greatest author in English history. And then go teach the next generation how to do the same.
As I said before, I don’t have a precise answer. I don’t know if everyone should have to take an entire semester or more of Shakespeare. Perhaps he can be included adequately in other courses, depending on the teacher. All I know is we are doing a tremendous disservice to students, particularly our majors, those we are sending out into the world as representatives of the highest and best of our field, if they are not intimately exposed to the work of Shakespeare. Let me know your thoughts on where the Bard should fit in English studies today.
Many of the schools, in response, cited the fact that while students may not have to take an entire course on Shakespeare, they will still probably encounter his work in a variety of other courses, such as a course in poetry or a survey of British literature. But the question must be asked: how much Shakespeare should university students, and especially English majors, take during their four years of study? Shakespeare is undoubtedly the most influential writer in the history of the English language. Is reading a sonnet or two here and there enough to grasp Shakespeare’s poetic rhythm, images, and language? Is reading King Lear or Hamlet somewhere along the way, amid other playwrights (English or otherwise), sufficient to understand the complexity of dramatic structure, character development, and invaluable thematic explorations Shakespeare offers?
I don’t have a specific answer, but I do think that any amount is probably not enough. Esteemed critic and prolific author Harold Bloom places a unique importance on the study of Shakespeare. For when trying to provide an answer to literature’s ultimate question, “What is great literature?” Shakespeare is the indisputable starting point in the English language: “Greatness in the West’s literature centers upon Shakespeare, who has become the touchstone for all who come before and after him, whether they are dramatists, lyric poets, or storytellers....His originality was and is so easy to assimilate that we are disarmed by it and unable to see how much it has changed us and goes on changing us. Much of Western literature after Shakespeare is, in varying degree, partly a defense against Shakespeare, who can be so overwhelming an influence as to drown out all who are compelled to be his students” (Bloom, The Western Canon 524). Kind of an important guy, huh?
English departments have become so concerned in recent decades with fraudulent cultural studies and faddish “isms” that many have shoved aside Shakespeare and other Western, white males to make way for fairness to other less important authors. While inclusion of a variety of voices is undoubtedly valuable, we must remember by whom those valuable voices have been influenced, consciously or unconsciously. The answer will almost always be Shakespeare. This is such a legitimate problem right now that I even know current students preparing to graduate and become high school English teachers that have never read a single work of Shakespeare during their four years of college, much less taken an entire class with him as the focus. That is the state of much of higher education. Students can maneuver their schedules and take advantage of relaxed requirements to avoid the greatest author in English history. And then go teach the next generation how to do the same.
As I said before, I don’t have a precise answer. I don’t know if everyone should have to take an entire semester or more of Shakespeare. Perhaps he can be included adequately in other courses, depending on the teacher. All I know is we are doing a tremendous disservice to students, particularly our majors, those we are sending out into the world as representatives of the highest and best of our field, if they are not intimately exposed to the work of Shakespeare. Let me know your thoughts on where the Bard should fit in English studies today.