Comparison Of Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

From the very first, textbook editions of Shakespeare have been, "badly edited, ineptly glossed, and inexcusably bowdlerized" (Levin, 1976). What is studied in schools is a version, or rather a "perversion" of Shakespeare controlled by narrow religious, sexual, racial, and social interests. A fear of laughter and cultural elitism, among other things, informs the choice of "Romeo and Juliet,""Julius Caesar,""Macbeth," and "Hamlet" for inclusion in the current high school curricula. An alternative curriculum, which might be called "The Other Shakespeare," could represent the balance of tragedy, history, comedy, and romance that readers and viewers have come to expect since the publication of the first folio. The purpose of such a curriculum would