The classic Shakespearean story of Romeo and Juliet plays with themes of passion, desire, death, and overall forbidden love. These themes are portrayed through two teenagers from two feuding families that find themselves madly in love. Teenagers and people in our grade can learn from this story and about young love. It gives kids a sense of freedom and independence when reading and this is why I think many eighth graders like this.
Although teenagers do like the themes in this book, because it's told through old shakespearean language it creates a barrier that many teens are not willing to try and cross or attempt to understand the language. This is why I am very happy the teachers are helping to interpret this text with kids and teach it to them. It creates a basic foundation for the english language. Being able to interpret prefixes and suffixes and everything that makes up a word will help in the future when trying to understand more complicated modern text.
When reading this book I have found that I was neither scared by romeo and juliets love nor in love with it. It just fascinated me how far they would go for eachother. For kids these days they need guidance in terms of relationships but enough freedom to feel like they are making their own decisions. This play helps show some kids who do not have that guidance to see the possible consequences of their actions even if it is dramatized.
Dearest Katya,
ReplyDeleteThis is such a thoughtful and perfectly worded blog post! I, too, am very glad that we are reading Romeo and Juliet and I'm also happy that we are learning how to understand/interpret Shakespeare's works. It is clear to see how Forbidden Love is a strong theme in this text, but I think that theme really intertwines with the spontaneity of it all. It seems almost magical! Anyways, keep up the good work, Buckaroo!
-Henry!!!