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Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help
MOV was my first play by WS that I felt interested in and it kept
me going on to other plays. You ask if avoidance of the subject
of Anti-Semitism (though that is a huge given; we discussed it
thoroughly in high school) brings acceptance. Emphatically NOT!
How else does one reconcile WS's giving Shylock one of the most
heartfelt and heartbreaking speeches in English ("Hath not a
Jew...")? I don't mean to be presumptuous, but please look beyond
the *reasons* for banning MOV; in this area there is no gray.
It is absolutely, unequivocally UNacceptable. Lack of sophisti-
cation is the sole reason for not assigning it to teens. If it
is an honors-type class of 11th & 12th graders, they can handle it.
As an analog: can we assume Hamlet's "To be or not to be..." will
lead to increases in teen suicide? I think not. Let me know
what you think!
Posted by Joe Logue on April 02, 1997 at 12:08:18
In Reply to "Should Merchant of Venice be taught at High School level? " posted by Tricia Scow on March 28, 1997 at 07:48:49
Replies | Post Reply | Shakespeare Queries From Genuinely Interested Students 3.15.97: Top | Help