To Read or Not to Read? TAC Juniors Contemplate Shakespeare

To read or not to read Shakespeare, that is the question. And for the students of Thomas Aquinas College, the answer is “Yes, and lots of it!”

In Junior Seminar — a course packed with authors who have shaped the development of modern thought — Shakespeare stands out among major philosophers, theologians, political thinkers, and historians. Students delve into nine of his plays and several sonnets alongside works about skepticism, empiricism, the natural state of man, and the proper role of government. They read the historical works Julius Caesar, King Richard II, and King Henry IV: Part I between works by Machiavelli and Luther; the tragedies of Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, and King Lear in the midst of Descartes, Pascal, and Hobbes; and Twelfth Night and The Tempest beside Spinoza and Kant.

“Shakespeare puts many of the philosophers we read for Junior Seminar into a situation where we can see what actually follows from what they believe.”

The placement of Bard of Avon’s plays among these writings is no accident, as students quickly discover. “Shakespeare puts many of the philosophers we read for Junior Seminar into a situation where we can see what actually follows from what they believe,” says Rose Grimm (CA’26). “It’s very easy to get pulled into some of the teachings of, say, Machiavelli, and Shakespeare shows the reader what a follower of those beliefs actually does.” Whether delving into the amoral philosophy of King Lear’s Edmund in light of Machiavelli’s The Prince, or scrutinizing Hamlet through the lens of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, students are able to put the theories proposed by the authors in the Junior Year curriculum to the test, evaluating how they play out in Shakespeare’s stories. 

Juniors also come to appreciate the genius of Shakespeare in his own right, not only because of his mastery of the English language in both poetry and prose, but also because of his ability to portray the complexity of human nature. As his characters contemplate their most evil inclinations, blur the lines between sanity and madness, or rage against the injustices that befall them, Shakespeare paints vivid portraits of the human experience. 

“Shakespeare reveals his hand to us in Hamlet, Act III, Scene 2, when Hamlet says: ‘For anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is to hold, as t’were, the mirror up to nature, to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure,’” observes Max Alvarez (CA’26). “He writes his plays for the sake of holding a ‘mirror up to nature,’ so we can see ourselves for what we are, showing the virtuous as beautiful and the vicious as revolting. His stories are not two-dimensional, but are rich with real human ideas, problems, desires, risks, consequences, and characters.”

“He writes his plays for the sake of holding a ‘mirror up to nature,’ so we can see ourselves for what we are, showing the virtuous as beautiful and the vicious as revolting.”

This insight into human nature is illuminative for TAC students, especially in contrast to many of the Enlightenment-era authors, who veer ever closer toward a total denial of the beauty and meaning of human life. In their study of Shakespeare, juniors see that, even in his darkest tragedies, meaningless suffering and despair are not the end of the story. “In many Shakespeare plays, the readers do not, at least in my experience, get what they want or expect,” reflects Marianna Favarato (CA’26). “Oftentimes, it seems that an injustice has been allowed by some divine power. But, if one takes the time to read carefully and attentively, there is always a redemptive hope to be found in Shakespeare’s works.”

Students’ appreciation of Shakespeare at Thomas Aquinas College is not restricted to the classroom; it often results in groups coming together to produce live performances of favorite plays. In the fall semester on the California campus, students directed and performed King Lear. This semester, the California campus will stage A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, and the New England campus will produce The Winter’s Tale, allowing students on both coasts to experience Shakespearean plays that are not part of the curriculum.

Whether reading his works or seeing them performed on stage by classmates and friends, students have plenty of opportunity to be moved by Shakespeare’s words. With his sharp wit, rich writing, and thoughtful insights into human nature, Shakespeare is a master at leading his audience through alternating awe and dread, tears and laughter. As they read and discuss his works, the juniors of Thomas Aquinas College come to appreciate why Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright in the English language.