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They should show the Baz Luhrman and also Al Pacino and other updated adaptations of Shakespeare, and then studying the source material seems more interesting by comparison to the modernized versions >

Lion king and hamlet would be fun too. >

Would showing trained actors help at all in understanding the language? At that point it’s just reading body language or tone, grasping at some words you do know. Basically like watching another countries theater. How much are you really understanding? >

Actually yes it would help.  Watching Laurence Olivier or Ian McKellen perform a role makes it much easier to follow and grasp the words.  A trained actor will bring to life the play.  The language is old, but not THAT old. >

I didn't learn Shakespeare in English. I learnt it in Drama. We had to compare the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet to the fire escape scene in West Side Story. We had to perform each scene and then identify similarities and differences. We also used it to learn iambic pentameter.
I think the 6th form English classes watched the 1996 movie as their film study when I was at High School, but I was in a slightly different class... we watched the original Psycho instead. >

I said this in another post related to this, but I totally agree.  Shakespeare wrote plays, not novels.  They were meant to be performed and watched, not studied in a classroom full of bored teens.  A good peformance with actors that understand the roles makes Shakepeare infinitely easier to follow. >

To be shit literature or not to be shit literature, that is the question. >

"Yes." Shakespeare >

Oh my god, I will never forget the time in 8th grade English we had to find a Shakespeare poem that was at least like 12 lines long, and this other kid and I both absolutely fell in love with the short poem about “doubt thou the stars are fire…” and so we each just tacked on another Shakespeare poem to make it a beautiful, not true 12 liner, and then presented them on the same day. All because we both thought it was beautiful, which it was. We laughed, the teacher didn’t. 
Anyways, Shakespeare is a good poet lol >

Thank you!