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minitiger's avatar

Yeah, I should revisit some Shakespeare. We read Macbeth when I was in the seventh grade, but back then I was just doing the work and writing the papers. I’d probably enjoy it a lot more now.

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Atma's avatar

@minitiger

They started us in High School with "Julius Caesar" WAY too much for the High School stage of development. "Romeo and Juliet", maybe, but not the *truly heavy plays. In my humble opinion, giving seventh graders "Macbeth" should require that *some school administrator should be shot at dawn !

I took Shakespeare *again in college, after having been off to war four years *first, and by then, there was sufficient brain development that I LOVED it. Then I understood why this stuff has been staged continuously over the Four Hundred Years since Shakespeare "shuffled off this mortal coil". YES !

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minitiger's avatar

Haha, yeah, the grade school I went to was pretty intense. I don’t think Macbeth is too much for a seventh-grader, though. We read Lord of the Flies in seventh grade, too. Two years of Latin, two years of anatomy. Algebra I and Algebra II by the end of eighth grade. I’d be up until 4am, thirteen-years-old, hand-writing twenty-page essays in fucking CALLIGRAPHY haha. Calligraphy! And this was in 1989 haha. Honestly, I probably could’ve gone to college after eighth grade; I didn’t learn very much in high school, which was also a crazy-intense place. In morning assembly, at the end of the year, they’d announce where all of the seniors were going to college (because obviously everyone is going to college. Duh!). One dude was going to the local community college and everybody laughed at him. Like, out loud. The whole place erupted. And he was only even going to community college because his girlfriend was a junior and he wanted to stick around for her. Thinking about that stuff now, I’m like,”Man, maybe that shit was a little fucked-up…” haha.

Incidentally, I never even went to college. Glad they didn’t announce that… haha.

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Atma's avatar

@minitiger

Seventh Graders can *read Macbeth, but even the brightest of AP Students of those tender years lack the adult development to *comprehend Macbeth. I myself was a straight A student in high school, but I am here to tell you, MOST of Julius Caesar went *completely over my head. The wonder of Shakespeare, however, is that I did not know at the time, how *much was going over my head !

Shakespeare wrote for a public audience that often included the highly educated nobility who attended his plays (One time Elizabeth I herself) all the way down to the bawdy and fully illiterate "groundlings" who got in for a penny, but who were obliged to *stand in front of the stage for plays that could last from three to five hours. They came to town on market day, and if the writer could not keep them entertained, they threw (fresh) vegetables at the stage. So, Seventh graders and High Schoolers will find *something to enjoy at the plays, but nothing like the well-educated adults are being turned on to !

To see the difference, if you ever get the yen, just re-read Macbeth *now. You will discover that this is a play that you *really

never fully comprehended before. The Seventh Grader is in for the blood and guts, as were the "groundlings" in Shakespeare's time.

There is an entirely different play there for those able to enjoy the more elevated levels.

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Atma's avatar

@minitiger

Never bemoan the fact that you did not go to college. Neither did such luminaries as Mark Twain. Twain's father died when Samuel (Mark) was 12 years old, and the boy had to drop out of school to help his brothers provide for their mother.

I love one of Twain's quotes on the matter:

"I have never allowed my schooling to interfere with my education."

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