Why Romeo and Juliet suits the 14 year old
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009The most surprising of changes made to Key Stage Three English subject teaching in recent years was the removal of Romeo and Juliet coursework from the syllabus. Whilst the provision for the teaching of Shakespeare was maintained by the introduction of Macbeth into the KS3 programme of Study, alongside the other texts by the bard offered as alternatives, the omission of Romeo and Juliet was surely misguided because that story is so popular with children of that age group.
Year Nine pupils, about to understand the rigours of examination coursework and assignment completion, always found themselves able to turn dread and unwillingness to study Shakespeare into intrigue and captivation as they found themselves keenly embroiled in the travails of the star-cross’d lovers. The reason for this is simple. Romeo and Juliet, about two teenagers, who, despite being the children of warring families, fall in love and take desperate measures in order that they can be together, represents to Year Nine pupils, a vision of themselves as they are, want to be or would accept being, that is, so in love they would do anything, even defy their parents. For that reason, Romeo and Juliet was an ideal introduction to developing complex, analytical English coursework for the inexperienced, uncertain school pupil. When children can relate to what they are studying, it makes writing about it an easier process.
Romeo and Juliet can be as complex or simple as needed
Although Macbeth also has proved to be a popular study, it is more suited to GCSE coursework because of the complex analysis needed of human greed, ambition and influence. Producing a reasonable Macbeth essay appears to involve more experience than Year Nine pupils can normally possess. Whilst work on Romeo and Juliet demands levels of complexity pupils of that age group are perhaps previously unused to, the themes are so much more accessible to them at this age. Furthermore, as is its intention, working on Shakespeare helps them to understand how to unpick character, plot and theme and to write extended analysis of those discussions. In that, Year Nine pupils can learn how to produce essays, learning about essay structure and just generally begin to have an understanding of what it takes to produce good coursework. Year Nine pupils can accomplish these already enthused by the passions of the two lovers and the wit and ribaldry of Mercutio, as well as the threat and menace of Juliet’s firebrand cousin, Tybalt.
With Romeo and Juliet, the range of engaging essay writing possibilities is rich and varied, for such age-group of pupils are able to feel enthralled with the vacillating mix of humour and tragedy. From having, especially the humour, explained to them, they are able to appreciate the emotions being presented to them much more than, say Hamlet, Midsummer Night’s Dream and even Macbeth, thus making Romeo and Juliet coursework, for pupils coming to the end of Key Stage Three study, the ideal platform from which to jump into studying literature text.
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