For subject line, see icon...that says it all

[prosodic]

Just came across this editorial in the Toledo Blade...it was from April of this year, but this is the first time I've seen it.

To say I'm shocked is an understatement.

A quote:

Just 15 of 70 institutions surveyed require their English majors to take a course on the 16th-century author. And since a similar study was done in 1996, at least six of those schools either dropped or weakened those requirements.

Let's review...

English majors...NOT required to study Shakespeare.

How is that possible? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE????

It is estimated that the man introduced 1700 new words into the English language. And let's not even discuss his plays or sonnets and how essential they are to the canon. He has had more influence on the English language than any other writer...how is it possible for any English major to get a college degree without studying him?

Of course, my specialization was Shakespeare (and medieval and Renaissance lit.), so if someone can enlighten me as to why Shakespeare isn't necessary...well never mind. It just isn't possible to enlighten me. I will NEVER understand it.

Comments

Re: Beware ye tricksie journalists

[dimwit68.livejournal.com]

Well, the other big hit on English was Norman French, which German never suffered so it had a less troubled evolution :) I like your quote!

Knowing German did help a bit with Chaucer, that and copious footnotes :) I can't really deal with Beowulf though - too much for me.

Re: Beware ye tricksie journalists

[dimwit68.livejournal.com]

Mind you, there are a lot of very different German dialects (Bavarian springs to mind :). I wonder if the apparent continuity of Hochdeutsch is due to Germany being a relatively recent creation, so the language picked up a lot of the common bits of the different dialects,etc, etc ???

Re: Beware ye tricksie journalists

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

Well, I know the dialect in this particular part of Germany is a bit weird, and in some instances, not unlike Dutch. They pronounce Ich like "ish" instead of with a hard c sound.