This past weekend, great friends of ours came to my parent’s place for dinner. This couple is primarily friends with my mom and dad, which is how I was introduced to them; in time, they have become wonderful friends of my own, Blaine and my sister as well.
We often engage in stimulating conversation with these friends whenever we see them, and our most recent conversation had us discussing why certain things are still taught in schools, with a particular example being Willian Shakespeare and his works.
Before anyone dons their keyboard warrior battle gear and comes for my head, I studied English at university. I had two classes that covered nothing other than Shakespeare’s works, so I like to think I have a relatively firm grasp of this guy and the plays he composed, and I respect his work and his contributions to the English language.
Was Shakespeare, in his time, a literary genius? Yes, but somewhat debatable; I have my reasons for disagreeing. He certainly made a name for himself and was hella successful in doing so, and while most of his plays aren’t my preference, I do have to say that Titus Andronicus was actually enjoyable to study. There is some crazy shit in that one. It’s like a Victorian version of Jersey Shore.
As for why Shakespeare is still taught in schools today, I really couldn’t fucking tell you why. I even went so far as to research why we are still taught about this man and his honestly ridiculous language in today’s world within our educational institutions, only to be met with some bullshit about how his extensive literary knowledge provokes us to deepen and broaden our creative expressions.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I think the one and only thing that was broadened in reading Shakespeare was a numbing of brain matter.
Do we use Shakespearean language in a contemporary sense? Nope. Is the ability to decipher Shakespeare a life skill? Not exactly. So why are we still studying it?
ontheedgeofeverything 
