Just a comment...

This is a personal opinion that I would like to share..

I think Shakespeare is important to teach in high school. When you compare this type of literature to an ordinary novel or even a children's book it may seem difficult to understand and frustrating to pronounce.. But Shakespeare is full of symbolism, irony, and vibrant productions of visionary scenes. This type of literature helps the reader to think differently about characters, and struggle to think about what the author is really trying to say, what he means behind his words, and why he is writing or presenting the conflicts, relationships, and tragedies. It can help pull you away from everyday books and bring you into a deeper understanding of history, you learn more about the era, the unique language, and the the way the people reacted to their surroundings. It can help you learn more about yourself, your life, and your choices.

Shakespeare can only be a positive influence if you actually give it a chance; you need to read, (not just go through the action of reading) you need to look for hidden meaning, you need to stop and see what's going on, in the setting, in the atmosphere, in the character.. everything is important in a Shakespeare novel and if you don't stop to think about everything as a whole, (not just as some dumb, pointless book) then you can actually come away from the literature with a sense of meaning.

Yes.. the words are hard to understand and yes, you are not used to the grammar or the pronunciation, but it does have meaning and it IS important to the high school English curriculum. In a sense, it's problem solving. You're only using words instead of numbers. It all lays in the way you perceive the article of work, But then again, this is my opinion, and I am personally greatful that the cirriculum had shown me the world of shakespeare.