Namibia: Are Shakespeare's Plays Relevant to Today's Society?

26 February 2013

THIS article is prompted by the research conducted by Kangira (2011) on the relevance of Shakespeare's works to today's society. In his research he communicated with some English teachers. Some respondents stated Shakespeare's plays use Old English which is difficult for learners to understand, and the content is totally outdated. Let me take you back into history. Shakespeare's plays are written in Modern English not Old English. Old English was written and spoken in Britain from the 4th century to the middle 11th century and is closer to the Germanic mother tongue of the Anglo-Saxons.

With the arrival of the French speaking Normans in 1066, Old English underwent dramatic changes and by 1150 it had evolved into Middle English. By 1500 Middle English was replaced with Modern English - the language of Shakespeare which is almost identical to contemporary English.

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