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Wherefore art thou, teens who like "Romeo and Juliet"?
I was thrilled when my 15-year-old daughter told me her language arts class would be reading "Romeo and Juliet."
Finally, some real literature! A short respite from the FCAT essay-writing and fill-in-the-correct-answer obsession!
Unfortunately, my joy was shortlived. She told me she could hardly understand a word. She said she would blank out until the teacher translated into modern English.
I got out my college Shakespeare text and reread it myself. And even I had difficulty getting through it. In our age of e-mailing, texting and Twittering, Shakespeare seemed dated and foreign.
How depressing. "Romeo and Juliet" has drama, teen lovers, sex, priests, poison and death. We could learn a lot from the silly family rivalries that prevent the pair from going public. Shakespeare's final line still holds true: "For never was a story of more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
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Comments
If you want your teen to relate more to the Shakespearean-style language of Romeo and Juliet, have her watch the Baz Luhrman movie of the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, filmed back in the 90's. You can find it at Blockbuster. The speech in the movie uses the same Shakespearean style, but the scenes are plotted out so that the speech is easily understood and even relatable - even if it does leave out some portions of the well-known play.
Posted by: Jessica A | April 29, 2009 1:19 PM
I couldn't agree more. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and I see well intended parents every day forbidding their kids from seeing a boyfriend or girlfriend. Take it from me, it doesn't stop anything, when there is a will there is way, and the kids find a way to stay in touch. The only real thing it is preventing is a parent's watchful eye or from being able to give them good advice when the relationship goes sour. Parent's need to ask themselves if they want to be involved in their kids lives or if they are prefer to be left in the dark.
Posted by: Sandra Moenssens, M.S., LMFT, LMHC | April 29, 2009 3:31 PM
I have experience with my parents forbidding my boyfriend and I to be together.. Like above, it didn't stop anything. It just made our will to be together even stronger, and we tried harder and took more risks just to be with each other for a short amount of time. We did everything in our power to keep in touch. Our friends even covered for us everywhere we went, and everybody knew not to mention any of our names to our parents. Yes, we have been caught again together many times.. but for us, that didnt stop it either. It made us want each other even more, and go that much further to make things work out between us. Its been a year now, and we are still going strong.
Posted by: Eunice Yang | May 11, 2009 7:29 PM
I have experience with my parents forbidding my boyfriend and I to be together.. Like above, it didn't stop anything. It just made our will to be together even stronger, and we tried harder and took more risks just to be with each other for a short amount of time. We did everything in our power to keep in touch. Our friends even covered for us everywhere we went, and everybody knew not to mention any of our names to our parents. Yes, we have been caught again together many times.. but for us, that didnt stop it either. It made us want each other even more, and go that much further to make things work out between us. Its been a year now, and we are still going strong.
Posted by: Eunice Yang | May 11, 2009 7:29 PM
I have experience with my parents forbidding my boyfriend and I to be together.. Like above, it didn't stop anything. It just made our will to be together even stronger, and we tried harder and took more risks just to be with each other for a short amount of time. We did everything in our power to keep in touch. Our friends even covered for us everywhere we went, and everybody knew not to mention any of our names to our parents. Yes, we have been caught again together many times.. but for us, that didnt stop it either. It made us want each other even more, and go that much further to make things work out between us. Its been a year now, and we are still going strong.
Posted by: Eunice Yang | May 11, 2009 7:29 PM
I have experience with my parents forbidding my boyfriend and I to be together.. Like above, it didn't stop anything. It just made our will to be together even stronger, and we tried harder and took more risks just to be with each other for a short amount of time. We did everything in our power to keep in touch. Our friends even covered for us everywhere we went, and everybody knew not to mention any of our names to our parents. Yes, we have been caught again together many times.. but for us, that didnt stop it either. It made us want each other even more, and go that much further to make things work out between us. Its been a year now, and we are still going strong.
Posted by: Eunice Yang | May 11, 2009 7:29 PM
I find it odd how many students in my school don't enjoy Shakespearean literature, but here's one teen that does! I'm probably the only student in my class that will shoot my hand up when answering to "So, which of you enjoy Shakespeare?"
Posted by: Dana | August 21, 2009 4:40 PM