There's No Sex in Shakespeare, Kids

Abstract

My personal essay titled “There’s No Sex in Shakespeare, Kids” asks a question common to teachers and authors: How can I include enough sex to make the Shakespearean love believable without cheapening the story? The paper begins by reflecting back to my experience as a high school student reading and watching Romeo and Juliet with a prudish and seemingly old-fashioned teacher, who actively hid the sexuality from the students, which made the sexuality more enticing. “There’s No Sex in Shakespeare, Kids” continues with my experience as an undergraduate student, where we were encouraged to uncover the sexuality within Shakespeare’s plays.  Through an exploration of Romeo and Juliet and several film adaptations, the essay progresses to my early teaching years where as a young, temporary teacher in a small conservative town I struggled to reveal Shakespeare’s sex appeal, while keeping my job.  Finally, the paper demonstrates how as a tenured teacher and Masters student I learn that teaching Shakespeare is about allowing students to discover the sexuality without exposing too much.  Throughout the paper, I explore the ways that Romeo and Juliet’s characters act out their sexuality indirectly and how I, much like Shakespeare, must reveal and conceal.