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I think Shakespeare should stay, as there are shakespeare coursework. For the prose study coursework, they should have a choice to study one book which is quite popular instead of the pre/post-1914 books. By the way, I'm referring to GCSE english.

As for A-level english literature, I think they should include recent books (e.g. Harry Potter, LOTR, Divinci Code, etc...), so students could get a understanding about literature written in the olden days and the present day.
Reply 2
Im with Trev, shakespear has a lot of historical and cultural facts which make it what it is, shakespear is simply classic and traditional and i think personally comparing shakespear to Harry Potter is a poor comparison to make. Thousands of people would go to watch shakespears play for many many years, harry potter is merely a set of childish fantasy fiction, lol i did like reading the book but shakespeare in really good.
Markus505
Im with Trev, shakespear has a lot of historical and cultural facts which make it what it is, shakespear is simply classic and traditional and i think personally comparing shakespear to Harry Potter is a poor comparison to make. Thousands of people would go to watch shakespears play for many many years, harry potter is merely a set of childish fantasy fiction, lol i did like reading the book but shakespeare in really good.


See that's the weird thing - I didn't like Shakespeare because of the time period it was from (possibly because I didn't like that time period), but what one of the people who was being interviewed said was interesting.. that Shakespeare plays aren't meant to be disected and read.. they're meant to be watched.

And yeah Da Vinci code would be great to study.
Reply 4
hearthethunder
See that's the weird thing - I didn't like Shakespeare because of the time period it was from (possibly because I didn't like that time period), but what one of the people who was being interviewed said was interesting.. that Shakespeare plays aren't meant to be disected and read.. they're meant to be watched.

And yeah Da Vinci code would be great to study.


I agree da vinci code would be great, maybe it was a slight generalisation but i think that shakespeare would out run potter, especially with the middle - older generation
Markus505
I agree da vinci code would be great, maybe it was a slight generalisation but i think that shakespeare would out run potter, especially with the middle - older generation


Yeah I don't know about Harry Potter, never really liked it.. yeah it makes an OK film but I'm just not into all that wizard magic scenery. I'd rather study the political messages between Freedom is Slavery :biggrin:
Reply 6
hearthethunder
Yeah I don't know about Harry Potter, never really liked it.. yeah it makes an OK film but I'm just not into all that wizard magic scenery. I'd rather study the political messages between Freedom is Slavery :biggrin:


lol me too! Ive always preferred non fiction, but i did enjoy being wrapped up in the magical plot of hp...
Reply 7
I've read the Harry Potter books, 1984 and studied a bit of Shakespeare in GCSE english. I'd say by far the most interesting to look into (and most intellectual) would be 1984. It's a good book too.
Reply 8
Shakespeare > Harry Potter

Everyone should study Oscar WIlde though; he's far better than either of them.
Xulfer
I've read the Harry Potter books, 1984 and studied a bit of Shakespeare in GCSE english. I'd say by far the most interesting to look into (and most intellectual) would be 1984. It's a good book too.


Yeahh I mean - if you study a book you don't like, chances are you're not going to study it properly and just bear your way through the exam whereas if you're interested you're more likely to have opinions on it and get a higher mark
Shakespeare is a classic! yet hary potter is a classic book of out time!
but there is no way you can compare them. they are afterall completely different and both very good....


.'~!*!*!~'. shakespeare rules, harry potter also .'~!*!*!~'.
Reply 11
I'd wanna do some Aldous Huxley personally.
Shakespeare Kicks Ass!!!!


Shall I compare thee to harry potter?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Reply 13
MightyMeanie
Shakespeare Kicks Ass!!!!


Shall I compare thee to harry potter?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

harry potter speaks english i understand, why learn old english if it is no longer the language we speak?
Reply 14
in a couple or few centuries time, harry potter will be recognised as a major work from the last 20th/early 21st century.
Reply 15
lil penguin kid
harry potter speaks english i understand, why learn old english if it is no longer the language we speak?

english post-1500 is generally thought of as modern english. in fact, shakespeare is a pioneer of modern english as in we've got more stuff from him than most of his contemporaries.
Reply 16
Shakespeare's work is brilliant in its own right, but is it not also important that we study him because of the impact he has had on virtually all subsequent English literature? Of course we should look at modern literature as well (though I'm not convinced about studying Harry Potter or The Da Vinci Code - I'd rather have, for example, The Life of Pi). But in my A level lit, I've studied texts ranging from Chaucer to A Clockwork Orange, I know people who've gone from The White Devil to The Poisonwood Bible, and I think it's our duty to study a range of different texts from different periods, different cultures, in order to gain a better understanding of the scope of English Literature. And given Shakespeare's place within English Literature, I feel it is necessary for people to study him. However, I think there can be too much of a focus on him (generally dependent, at A level, on teachers' choices) - my class has studied both Othello and Shakespeare's sonnets, and while I (along with the majority of the class) enjoyed both, I do feel that perhaps we could have benefited from, for example, Emily Dickinson.
Harry Potter=fun
Reply 18
lil penguin kid
harry potter speaks english i understand, why learn old english if it is no longer the language we speak?


If Shakespeare is spoken properly you can understand it quite easily. I played Juliet last year (long story, auditioned on a dare), and one of the members of the audience was French - so she was only semi good at English, let alone Shakespearian English! But she told me that by the way I spoke it she could completely follow and had no problem understanding.

I think that Shakespeare should definitely be continued to be taught, although I reckon it should be compulsory for students to go and watch decent performances!

On a side note I also think that you can't replace plays with books.. they're slightly different things! And, I think that plays are more sociable than books. Reading a book is in many ways quite a solitary activity - plays bring people together.

(yes, I know he wrote sonnets too.. :rolleyes: )
Reply 19
Shakespeare has gotta stay, its a classic! :p:
How could it be replaced by Harry Potter, I mean, lets be serious here. Shakespeare will survive for centuries, I don't think Harry Potter will last for more than 20 years tbh!
The sheer quality and imagery etc. makes Harry Potter seem like a joke!
:cool: