Whether it’s Hamlet or Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare has been a significant figure in the English class curriculum .

English One students got their first taste of Shakespeare’s work through “Romeo and Juliet”.

While “Romeo and Juliet” wasn’t the first piece of literature English One students analyzed, it was their first experience inside the classroom with Shakespeare’s work .

“My first encounter with Shakespeare was in ninth grade with “Romeo and Juliet”. I remember it being very very difficult. However, because of that first exposure , the next year was easier”, said English One Teacher Dawn Walker.

For first time readers, teachers said that it might be a little difficult for students to comprehend Shakespeare’s complex writings.

“I think if she hadn’t given us the legend, you know to translate the words, I probably would’ve have been speaking gibberish throughout the play”, said freshman Cecily Coleman.

While some of Shakespeare’s meanings weren’t exactly clear,  freshmen students said that some of them were easier to interpret.

“I think the wording was just a little scattered but the overall meanings were kinda easy if they were really simple sentences . Then it would be pretty easy.  If it wasn’t , then it would be like the sentence was backward and it would have some kind of synonym in it,” said freshman McKenna Toporek.

Although “Romeo and Juliet” might have been the first Shakespeare piece that freshmen got to read, it won’t be the last.

“It’s something that just starts as a freshman so they’ll get again their sophomore year . They’ll get it again their junior year. They’ll get it again their senior year,” said Walker.

As time progresses, teachers hope that students will grow to fully understand Shakespeare’s work.

“The more they work with it , the better they understand it. And hopefully they’ll walk away with some knowledge,” said Walker .