I always assume that Romeo & Juliet is still the most popular, but I have nothing to back that up except my own experience which is now pretty old :). I also have no true appreciation of the breadth of plays that some teachers choose.
So, enlighten me. Whether you teach high school, you’re in high school, or, like me, high school is a distant memory, what plays did you read? The more you remember, the better. I’m trying to develop a spectrum from most commonly read all the way down to never read, so it’s equally important that we learn which plays *arent* being taught. If you’re a teacher, a little extra info on frequency (“I’ve taught Hamlet every year for 20 years but this is the first year we’re doing All’s Well That Ends Well”) would help as well.
I remember reading: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Othello and Taming of the Shrew. I think I can also include Richard II, the Henry plays, and Troilus and Cressida – but truthfully, I can’t remember whether I read those in high school or early in college. Maybe Midsummer?
Who else? If you’re a teacher and know teachers in other schools, please take a moment to forward this post. The more information, the better!
I think it will be interesting to see what people who are still interested in Shakespeare first experienced. Mine were:
R&J in 9th
JC in 10th
nothing in 11th
Macbeth in 12th
Othello in Freshman Comp
Roles in college in Midsummer, Taming, R&J, Tempest, AYLI.
Othello and Hamlet
In my college Shakespeare classes, I always ask what people have read. Recently, there are more comedies in the curriculum. But even just 5 years ago–mostly tragedies.
Good question!
9th: R&J
10th: Macbeth, As You Like It
11th: Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra
12th: King Lear, Hamlet
I think there were others, but I've read and reread so many of them over the years that I'm not sure when I read what. 🙂
Romeo & Juliet (freshman year)
Macbeth (sophomore)
Hamlet
King Lear
Twelfth Night (those three all in AP English, senior year)
I teach HS English & theatre, so I'll say it this way:
As many others have said, all of our students read R&J in the 9th grade. Regular students get JC in 10th (sometimes with a Midsummer kicker) & Macbeth in 12th. Honors kids get Macbeth in 11th, and Hamlet & Othello in 12th.
As a theatre teacher, we do a Shakespeare unit every semester, and we try to produce at least one Shakespeare show per year (sometimes in class, sometimes after school). Shows I've taught and/or produced through the theatre program: Macbeth, The Tempest, Midsummer, Two Gents, Much Ado, R&J, Henry V, Richard III, Hamlet.
9th: Romeo and Juliet
10th: Julius Caesar
7th grade- Romeo and Juliet & A Midsummer's Night Dream
8th grade- Macbeth
9th grade- Julius Caesar
10th grade- Hamlet
11th grade- Macbeth
12th grade- As You Like It
I was supposed to read Romeo and Juliet freshman year, but the class never got around to it. Sophomore year, my British Literature class went through Macbeth, and my senior English class read The Taming of the Shrew. Between those two, I read Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar (which I later performed senior year, my first acting experience), A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Hamlet. As high school winded down and I didn't have classes, I managed to read The Tempest, King Lear, and the Merchant of Venice before, or around the time I graduated.
Grade 9 – Romeo & Juliet
Grade 10 – Macbeth
Grade 11 – The Tempest
Grade 12 – Hamlet
Lets see…..
Gr9: Romeo and Juliet
Gr10: Romeo and Juliet (changed to a new highschool)
Gr11: Macbeth
Gr12: Hamlet
8th Grade: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
9th Grade: Romeo & Juliet
10th Grade: Julius Caesar
11th Grade (Honors): Hamlet
12th Grade (AP Lit): Othello & Macbeth
I’m currently in AP Lit right now and we’ve just began Othello!
I’m currently a high school senior in a single semester Shakespeare course and we have covered Much Ado about Nothing, Hamlet, and Othello. I really loved all three, I have a great teacher because I always had though Shakespeare was dull until I took this class. I also read Romeo and Juliet in Freshman year. Earlier this year I did an independent study during which I wrote a research paper on Pygmalion (Shaw) and I compared it to Taming of the Shrew, but never formally was taught that play.
We had one play every quarter, both in NJ (9th grade) and in NY (grades 10 and 11); the first book we read was The Merchant Of Venice, strangely enough. Others I remember were Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Hamlet, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Othello. Graduated from high school a year early, don’t know about grade 12.
We do Hamlet in 8th grade…