Shakespeare In The Classroom: Response To Selfe Article

In this reading, Selfe discusses how English classes have evolved to use silent, writing-based techniques to teach their students about compositions that once were performed aurally. When discussing about this change, Selfe says, "Written literature, although including artifacts of earlier aural forms, was studied through silent reading and subjected to written analysis, consumed by the eye rather than the ear" (Selfe 623).

This reminded me of the classes I've taken on Shakespeare. Throughout high school and college, I have studied numerous Shakespeare plays. One thing that consistently has stood out to me is how much more clearly I can understand and appreciate the plays when I see them performed, instead of just reading them in a book.

Take scene 1.5 from Romeo and Juliet, for example. First, read it here (starting at line 97).

Then, watch this YouTube clip:

With this scene, I think the meaning and beauty of the characters' lines can be much better understood in the video. This is because Shakespeare wrote his plays to be performed, not read. So, when modern English classes teach Shakespeare as written literature (as many do), students will not get as much out of it as they could.