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Reflecting The World: Equality And Diversity In The Plays Of Shakespeare

The importance and relevence of Shakespeare in the educational curriculum

Date : 04/06/2013

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Jayne

Uploaded by : Jayne
Uploaded on : 04/06/2013
Subject : English

The New Zealand government announced controversially last year that Shakespeare was no longer relevant to students and that they would be removing his works from their school curriculum in 2012. The ensuing furore internally (and internationally) that still surrounds that decision (Neale [online]), have led to educators elsewhere openly debating as to whether there is still a place in our diverse communities for plays written over 400 years ago and whether or not they promote inclusion within the learning environment.

I have studied renaissance drama as a graduate and post graduate as well as having taught the subject at university and at present at Grimsby Institute on their performance courses. I would argue that if anything Shakespeare is as important as he ever was within the curriculum, if not more so. Inclusion, equality and diversity are issues that all educators have to respond to within the classroom environment and taught correctly and sympathetically, the plays of Shakespeare can prove a valuable resource in helping students reach an understanding of their own traditions and values. Through challenging learners to comprehend the shared issues of today and the past, the lessons can go beyond the boundaries of a particular subject and through performance, can have a profound effect on them as they participate emotionally as players to the scri pted language and experiences.

There is no doubt that there are discrepancies in how the majority of people perceive Shakespeare's period of history to be in socio, economic and political terms and this has a tendency to colour their opinion of the plays themselves. Historically we are led to believe that Tudor England was a country of religious turmoil, against which backdrop we place the victories in war over Spain, and the status of a number of explorers and sea borne adventurers who brought wealth and learning back to the golden country of good queen Bess as well as earning it's reputation for seafaring prowess and isolationism.

In essence though, we should talk about a debt ridden country with high unemployment, spiralling living costs and poverty, riots in the streets of London and other big cities, together with a disunified Europe and wars abroad. Sounds familiar? Yet this isn't just about 2012, but England towards the end of the 16th century when Shakespeare was at the zenith of his literary powers. This version of events can come as a surprise to students but in turn becomes the basis of lively debates within the classroom in which they can reflect on similarities between now and then and how easily a production of a Shakespearean play can be retuned with a contemporary twist.

He and his contemporaries also lived, worked and wrote for a far more varied society than is widely acknowledged. Immigration into this country from persecuted minority groups such as Huguenots and Jews on mainland Europe, as well as other foreigners brought into the country through trade and exploration, helped to enrich the cultural diversity of many of the large English cities. In addition, women gained a higher level of recognition during this period through education - largely introduced at the beginning of the 16th century by Catherine of Aragon - and a degree of social freedom that waned towards the beginning of the reign of Charles I which would not re-emerge in the same sense until the beginning of the 20th Century and the suffragette movement. Certainly the women in Shakespeare's plays are characteristically learned and scholarly - even the female maidservants can write and are numerate (Cook 1980).

Traditionally, Shakespeare has been seen as the "leading dead white male" in the literary canon (Bradley, 1904), bolstered by the 19th century conventions of acting and theatre presentation, which adhered to the then accepted viewpoint, taught historically in educational institutions until quite recently, that the Bard had written his plays in a male white dominated world where plots involving different races and cultures would have been gleaned from travellers tales or reading of texts rather than first hand knowledge.

However, if one strips away the Victorian veneer from these plays, replacing it with a coating of modern historical research, it is easy to see how they can accommodate more socially and politically acceptable interpretations for our society, for Shakespeare fully understood inclusion - and the lack of it. For this reason his plays, with their moral subtexts, their strong women and portrayal of social values and relationships have stood the test of time and are as equally relevant and timely today as they were when they were fresh from the quill.

This background knowledge allows students not only to access Shakespeare by another route but imbues performing the roles with extra relevance, for as play scri pts they need informed understanding to bring them alive:

"Ask them to comment on a great work of literature and they will shrink away. Give a child the part of Tybalt, Bottom, Lady Macbeth or Viola and watch them unlock their imagination, self esteem and a treasure trove of insight into what it's like to be alive that will feed them for a lifetime. Shakespeare remains the worlds favourite artist because his living dilemmas of love, mortality, power and citizenship remain unresolved, vivid and urgent today." (Boyd, 2008)

This year heralds the World Shakespeare Festival during which the work and relevance of the Shakespearean canon will be explored, acted, discussed and exhibited through Globe to Globe, a series of 37 performances (all the plays) performed in 37 countries, reflecting different cultures, religions, politics and values - but always, being true to Shakespeare's words and themes, "like a barbers chair that fits all buttocks" (Alls Well that Ends Well, Act 2,scene 2: 18). In addition, the British Museum holds a major exhibition on the man himself this summer and there will be a series of conferences and related events across this country and many other participating countries (including, I might add, New Zealand).

The range of adaptations during this festival, taking into consideration the culture, religion, politics and gender of each nation, clearly demonstrates that there should be no obstacle in exploring all such issues through performance and analysis within the classroom, using discussion and interpretation to make the play relevant to the student group involved.

To illustrate these points, I wish to briefly look at two plays out of the long list - Romeo and Juliet and Merchant of Venice . Romeo and Juliet has become a staple of examination boards and school curricula. Examining as it does the star crossed love affair of two young teenagers it is believed that it holds a certain resonance with students of a similar age. As with all plays of this period, students usually find that the Elizabethan form of speech can be a barrier. However, once this hurdle is overcome - adopting , for example, techniques to put the words into modern parlance or even by using music or hip hop beats to appreciate the pace and cadence of the lines - we find that students easily identify with the characters and stories, appreciate the poetry of words and can see parallels with their own cultures.

During the World Festival, this play is being performed by the Iraqi Theatre Company in Baghdad "infused with the countries tradition of poetry, music and ritual"(Globe [online] 2012) and exploring the love affair of the young across the conflict that exists between Shia and Sunni Muslims in the new regime. The play therefore becomes a political as well as a personal tragedy that has real relevance to a nation emerging after the years of Saddam . We do not have to look far afield, for within our own society we too can realise new weaves on the theme born from ethnic, religious or cultural inequalities. I have personally worked with students from Asian backgrounds where the students were of differing religions. It was a truly insightful project, in both the breadth of discussion and the willingness of the students to explore prejudice and cultural differences through the play which was set within modern day Leicester.

It is easy to see Romeo and Juliet coming from different ethnic , religious or class cultures, but what about staging the play from an LGBT angle - Romeo and Julian? These issues are as important to address within the classroom as the others and ticks all the equality and diversity boxes whilst still being true to Shakespeare, particularly as sexuality and gender issues were as rife then as they are now (Ressler 2005). After all, we are reminded that in the original performance , both parts would have been played by young men, women not being allowed to perform in public theatres, and same sex relationships, although officially outlawed by the state and religious institutions, were also widely acknowledged to exist.

The Merchant of Venice explores slightly different themes although class, race and culture are still very much in evidence. Shylock might be rich, but he is a Jew and therefore not seen to be the equal of the patrician Antonio who owes him a substantial debt. Justice is on the side of the establishment of which Antonio belongs, but Shakespeare subtly questions this and allows us to debate and explore with students these moral issues that are sadly still with us.

He also comments on the power of women. We cannot help but understand that although Portia's father has sought to control her destiny ,she resolves differently and not only marries the man of her choice but also defends in an intelligent and scholarly way his kin Antonio in court against the Jewish merchant - albeit disguised as a man (Howard 2007) . Similarly, Shylocks daughter disowns him to run off with her Christian suitor- only to be abandoned. This allows us to ponder on the autonomy of women in society as well as deliberating the age old question of whether children should follow their own hearts or the wishes of their parents - still a contentious issue in many cultures.

This play will be performed during the festival in Hebrew by Habima, the Israeli state theatre company who were originally formed in Moscow in Tsarist Russia in 1905 (Globe [online]). This has in turn raised the question again as to whether Shakespeare was anti-Semitic in his treatment of Shylock in the play. I would contest that he was only reflecting the anti-Jewish attitudes rife at the time due to an influx of marranos - converted Jews who had escaped the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal - some of whom were trading as wealthy merchants in London and Bristol. Could students find parallels within their own communities and reflect on the present day immigration laws and their impact? Certainly they could.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that Shakespeare will continue to be a lynchpin within educational institutions both here and wider afield. However, the debate raised by the New Zealand government has given new impetus to those teaching Shakespeare to redefine the continuing relevance his works have on the curriculum and ensure that students are given every opportunity through diverse teaching methods , resources and in performance, to engage with the extraordinary wealth of knowledge and insights that these plays can give. For, in a world that is both fast changing yet, thanks to emerging technologies, shrinking and accessible, it is even more essential today that education plays a forward role in advocating diversity within society and within the study of English literature, drama and the performing arts, there is, in my opinion, no better advocate than Shakespeare to inspire, challenge and connect with students in a totally inclusive approach.

Also, given the response world wide to this years festival, it would appear that the education board of New Zealand is widely out of touch and one can only hope that they listen to the arguments that have been arrayed before them, for " There can therefore be no doubt that substantial knowledge of the works of William Shakespeare is necessary for any education of English literature to be considered complete and well rounded. The extraordinary writing skills with which Shakespeare created his accurate portrayals of human truth have not been rivalled or replicated since his death, nearly four hundred years ago. To simply "skim over" such an integral part of literary history would be to take the innards out of a living, breathing creature. A creature cannot survive incomplete, and literature cannot survive without William Shakespeare" (Mabillard 2011)

Bibliography and References

Aebischer, P, Esche, E.J, Wheale, N,(2003) Remaking Shakespeare: performance across media, genres, and cultures, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan

Bradley, A.C., ( 1904) Shakespearean Tragedy, OUP, Oxford

Cook, J (1980) Women in Shakespeare, London, Harrap Press

Howard, A (2007) Women as Hamlet: Performance and Interpretation in Theatre, Film and Fiction, Cambridge, CUP Lander, D.A. (2001) Re-casting Shakespeare: gendered performances and performativity of leadership in Studies in Cultures, organisations and societies, Vol 7, I, pp 55-79 O'Dair , S (2000) Class, critics, and Shakespeare: bottom lines on the culture wars, University of Michigan

Ressler, P (2005) Challenging of normative sexual and gender identity beliefs through Romeo and Juliet in The English Journal, Vol 95, 1, pp 52-57

Robinson, E.L. (2009) Shakespeare Attacks Bigotry: A close reading of six plays, N. Caroline, McFarland & Co

Rutter, C (1988) Clamorous Voices: Shakespeare's Women Today, London, The Women's Press Shakespeare, W (1974) Alls Well That Ends Well, Act 2, sc2, 18, in Complete Works of , Oxford, OUP Online references Globe Theatre - http://www.shakespearesglobe.com

Neale, Imogen (2011) Bard's death scenes played out at school - http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5561035/Bards-death-scenes-played-out-at-school

Mabillard, A (2011) The Importance of Shakespeare on http://www.shakespeare-online.com/essays/importance.html

Boyd, M (2008) Stand up for Shakespeare - a manifesto Royal Shakespeare Company, www.rsc.org.uk

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