Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Hemingway, Orwell: all names that we know well. As we hold the ancient paperbacks in our hands, some of us smile in excitement, some groan with annoyance, and others of us stare blankly at the pages with confusion. We write essays on the interior themes and motifs, analyze the characters, and examine lifestyles that may be wildly different than our own. But many of these classic novels can seem outdated, making it difficult to understand the dialect, let alone relate to it.
Shakespeare in particular can be a grueling task to make sense of without stopping every three lines to clarify. It’s true that Romeo and Juliet is an essential of modern literature and is doubtlessly the foundation of centuries of love stories. But for teens who are more concerned with their social lives than reading, Shakespeare’s Old English is more likely to confuse than to build a love for reading that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Even so, it’s important to remember that classics are inestimably valuable. Many of these books have stood the test of time and will always be beloved. They express themes and ideas that play at the most vital instincts and morals of the human nature. At their hearts, these books will always remain meaningful, and their inspirational lessons help us to understand human nature and become better people for it. It is for this reason that classic literature shouldn’t be removed from the English curriculum. Many of them are cherished reads that everyone should experience at some point during their lifetime.
However, let’s face it: even for the book-lovers among us, many of us find ourselves feeling blasé when faced with the classics. But imagine if your English teacher assigned a book whose characters faced similar problems as you and the people around you. Especially for those who don’t consider reading to be a favorite task, reading contemporary literature could help students to actually connect to a book, or even find themselves impacted by content relevant to their daily lives, rather than it feeling like just another assignment. Books like They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, Divergent by Veronica Roth, and books by John Green could prove to be more interesting while also creating discussion topics relevant to modern events. In the end, passing along a love of reading is one of the most important objectives of any English teacher. Imagine how much easier that would be if the students were excited to read, rather than drooling over the pages.
Clearly, there has to be a compromise, one that balances the benefits of the old with those of the new. In fact, this artistic dilemma has always been with us; the books that are regarded as modern staples today were once new and often seemingly unsuccessful. Vincent Van Gogh liked to paint because it made him happy, but he only sold a single painting during his lifetime. Edgar Allan Poe tried his hand with poetry and short stories, but remained financially insecure until his death. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his first musical compositions before he was ten years old, but he was buried in a mass, unmarked grave. Today, these people are idolized, and we look to them for guidance and inspiration, even generations later. Their works are considered features of every museum, or every library, or every concert hall. But during their lifetimes, these brilliant artists went largely unappreciated because their talents were ignored. Their would-be audiences were too focused on the books and music and artwork from the last generation. The same is true today; if we only pay attention to the books that were written twenty, thirty, forty, or even a hundred years ago, who will be left to listen to the great works of tomorrow?
Of course, it is important to never forsake the novels that have been around for generations. But also don’t forget that there are always more books on the horizon; new opinions, new ideas, new voices. Growing up with a mother who is a children’s and young adult librarian, I learned to appreciate the value of books, both old and new. My mother recently said, “We are in the midst of the golden age of young adult literature, which engulfs all of the current day issues, concerns, and social and political experiences that young adults are facing in today’s world. These books are extremely intense and some are difficult to read, but all of them leave an imprint.”