To think that Shakespeare is a little intense for Yr 7 English?

[mids2019]

My daughter is studying Romeo and Juliet for Yr 7 English. Am I being unreasonable that this play may have more impact at A level when pupils have greater critical analysis techniques and possibly a greater appreciation for English literature?

I think Shakepeare is a genius of English literature but the language is so dense and tied to contemporary Elizabethian society that I think a Yr 7 pupil could struggle and in some cases actually put pupils off a more gradual approach to literature appreciation.

I also find it difficult explaining to a 12 year old daughter how Juliet (13) is capable of making so such life changing choices such as marriage and ultimately suicide and with the perspective of 21st century society the play does seem remote in experience.

Is the bard best taught at a slightly older age?

My 10yo is doing Romeo and Juliet in Yr 6 and loving it, so I'd say no 😂

Nah. Shakespeare is taught from KS2. There are ways to teach it to very appropriately to different age and ability groups.

Did you not study Shakespeare at that age? I did, so did my children and grandchildren.

I think Shakespeare is fine in y7 but that they would better off starting with a comedy rather than a tragedy. A good teacher will make this accessible and engaging for them.

I think R and J works better in y9 and y10. My son's class did a performance of King Lear in y6 which I was at given that it's the most desolate of all the tragedies.

We did A Midsummer Night's Dream in Yr 7 and Macbeth in Yr 9, both felt age appropriate at the time.

@IScreamAtMichaelangelos

The language is utterly beautiful but can a 10 year old completely comprehend the themes involved.......It is quite a dark play

It’s not brain surgery. I’m sure a 12 year old can follow it.

We did a Shakespeare play each year, all through school, Chaucer too (state school)
DD also did Shakespeare in yr7, think it's fairly standard. Dd's school rarely reads whole texts though, they don't have funds for a book for everyone, so they just get photocopied sections.

My 6yo likes watching the cbeebies Shakespeare shows, my 2 yo likes the smeds and the smoos (Romeo and Juliet via Julia Donaldson). I think they way the stories are taught and analysed will vary by age, just as year 7 students studying rocks wont be going into as much detail as a Masters in Geology.

We did this in yr7 30 years ago. Yabu.

Did you not study Shakespeare in Year 7?

I remember doing A Midsummer Nights' Dream at that age, and then we moved on to Macbeth and Othello in year 8/9. We also studied Chaucer at a similar age - maybe year 10 or so.

I really can't see a problem with it at all.

I think the play can be followed but I feel it interesting contrasting R and J with contemporary teenage romance which is a little more relatable though obviously from a literary perspective relatively badly written. I think a comedy might be better than a tragedy at that age. Is it being a bit snowflakey to suggest themes such as teen suicide are treated with care?

YABU. It's not a particularly difficult story to follow. And it's not as if the teacher's going to chuck a copy of it at them and tell them to get on with it. I'd say R&J is a good introduction to Shakespeare. The dark/romantic/violent story is more likely to hold their attention!

Why does she need to 'completely comprehend' it? When does anyone completely comprehend anything? Surely we're all always learning and developing, and R&J (or any play, or any work of art come to think of it) hits differently on a 12 year old and a 15 year old and a 25 year old and a 50 year old. Part of the joy of books and literature and art is that you see new things in it every time as you get older.

When I was in the equivalent of year 7 back in the early 1970s, I remember we were introduced to Shakespeare using this anthology

Tragical Comical Historical Pastoral

I did Macbeth in Yr6. Loved it. Our teacher used to wait until a dark and stormy winters day and read it to us with the lights off. I still love Macbeth!

Both DC started in yr7. How do you think they build critical thinking skills unless they start early?

We did Hamlet at that age.

Given the diet of harmful bilge our adolescents are subjected to via our internet overlords, I really don’t think being exposed to Shakespeare is going to do the slightest bit of harm.

Missing the point but your year 7 is 10 years old???

Is it being a bit snowflakey to suggest themes such as teen suicide are treated with care?

Why would you assume it wouldn't be handled with care? All teachers are expected to be able to deal with themes like this sensitively, and are used to dealing with groups of students which might always contain children who have been through all sorts of awful things.

YABU

DD loves Shakespeare but I've introduced her slowly and from a young age. I've taken her to a few of the Chamberlain's Mens productions which are fantastic. Prior to each play we read the children's versions first, illustrated by Quentin Blake and then read Spark notes online which has the everyday translation next to the original.

Also you have the likes of Gnomeo and Juliet, I think as long as the children have a general idea of the story the language falls in place afterwards. However, I also know lots of the children I work with find it difficult, especially those with a relatively low reading age.

I think this is young for Shakespeare, but then again I live in Canada! We don't study it until age 13-14. I do think R&J is the ideal introductory play for young teens, because it's about young teens and it's easy to follow. It's also got a "cool" factor in youth culture that others lack. It's probably a decent choice.

DS and I watched the 90s version of the film, the one with Di Caprio and Danes. He got all the themes and was quite taken with it tbh!

It’ll be presented and studied in an age appropriate way.

My son is 8 and they’ve started looking at Shakespeare in his school. He also has Shakespeare young reader books which he loves.

The younger they’re exposed to it the better.