Teaching Shakespeare Using Dialogic Literary Argumentation

Abstract:Despite Shakespeare's appeal, many students remain skeptical. In response, I begin my English language-arts methods class by asking my preservice teachers this question: "Why do we still teach Shakespeare?" When my preservice teachers' future students inevitably ask them, "Why are we reading a 400-year-old play written by some dead white guy?" I want them to be able to respond with a clear and compelling answer. We read Shakespeare because his writing allows us to explore what it means to be a person in different times and spaces in ways that other texts do not. In this essay, I assert that English teachers can involve their students in rigorous academic conversations and engage them in reading Shakespeare to explore important questions regarding what it means to be human.