Teaching Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" "Sometimes parents just don't understand.' What teenage student does not understand the importance of this truth in his or her daily life? And what phrase more succulently sums up the basic theme of "Romeo and Juliet?" This is why so many modern composers and filmmakers with an eye upon drawing in an adolescent audience have found inspiration with the Elizabethan tragedy. Over the course of this century alone, audiences have been treated to modernized retellings of the classic, like Baz Lurman's recent film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes to "West Side Story's" contemporary musical setting of the Montagues and the Capulets in New York City. Yet teachers are often almost as intimidated about teaching Shakespeare as their students are about learning about him.

Why are we as teachers do intimidated by Shakespeare? Of course, teachers wish to make the play historically comprehensible, rather than to merely encourage students to see themselves in the lives of the main characters. I as a teacher wish to give more to my students than they can glean from attending a screening of a modern film or listening to a motion picture soundtrack. But the play's issues of individual choice and free agency in marriage, versus parental control are the same issues gripped the Elizabethan era as well as our own era. If students can appreciate this thematic connection, then they can become 'hooked' on Shakespeare, through "Romeo and Juliet."

Also, the prevalence of violence and...

The attractiveness of some of the most verbally dense and difficult characters of the play, like Mercutio and his 'Queen Mab' speech, and the Nurse, can be overcome, at least in part, by stressing the nature and construction of these character's personalities and emotional lives, to give students an incentive to unpack some of these character's most dense phrases and speeches.
Language -- there's the rub! The issue of language is perhaps the most difficult thing for a teacher to overcome, as it is one of the reasons students claim to dislike Shakespeare. Again, having a personal connection to the characters helps give students an incentive to want to understand what the characters are saying, especially if it is slightly 'naughty' as with Juliet's 'Gallop apace, ye fiery footed steeds' soliloquy before she receives Romeo, some of the Nurses' ribald jests about virginity to Juliet, and Mercutio's frequent taunting of his friends. However, the romantic nature of the language, as well as its difficulty might be one reason to discourage students immediately acting out the play as a way to engage them with the text. Acting out is important, but must come at the end of a series of stages. It cannot be jumped into with the same heady impetuousness as the young lovers of the text jump into marriage!

Instead,…