I've quoted the American poet John Ciardi several times before, and I'm about to do so again: "Poetry is like vodka;" he once wrote, "it has to be diluted". I bring this up because in trying to make my case for Shakespeare being at the center of the high school English Language Arts curriculum, one of the greatest attributes that the study of his work entails is the fact that it requires peripheral reading. Just as we would not visit a distant country without reading about it first, the same is required to understand and appreciate poetic literature. Criticism, history, philosophical parallels, performance practices, etc. are all areas of further, and necessary, study in trying to grasp the width and depth that Shakespeare contains, and this is precisely what schools should be encouraging. And, to put it simply, there isn't a better way to do it.

Over the next few posts, I'm going to try to outline my case for restoring Shakespeare (and poetry and literature) back to its proper place at the center of the high school curriculum. In Quebec (and other places too), instruction in English, over the last decade or so, has moved away from literature and toward what used to be called Social Studies. This, in my opinion, is a serious mistake, and I'll be doing my best to convince you to agree with me. At some points I may reiterate arguments that I've made in earlier posts - I apologize in advance for this - but at the very least I'll try to shape them so as to emphasize their relevance to this issue. I'll start tomorrow.

On another note, there are two lectures left in the 2010 Shakespeare Lectures series: Macbeth on Wednesday, Nov. 10 and Romeo and Juliet on Wednesday, December 1. Both begin at 11 am, and both will be held in the lecture hall of the Atwater library. Admission is $20 per lecture. I'll hope to see you. Also, I'll be announcing the program for the 2011 Winter/Spring Shakespeare Lectures in a week or so.