A constant whine among stupid people — professors and students alike — is that Literature classes should no longer have to read Shakespeare because he’s “not relevant to today’s world” or some such nonsense.
Now I can understand why students whine about reading Shakespeare, because they’re ignorant and immature, and “that’s not English, dude” — IDK wht u sez LOL — as though if it’s not “modern” then it’s not worth learning.
I will also disregard the usual cant about Shakespeare being beyond the pale because he’s, like, old and a Dead White Male Patriarch to boot.
Over at Taki’s place, David Cole has written an absolute masterpiece on Aaron, the arch-villian in Titus Andronicus (one of my favorite of all the Bard’s works, because if you think that Brian De Palma is the be-all and end-all of violent writing, Andronicus has him beaten by a country mile).
What Cole proves (as though any proof were needed) is just how relevant Shakespeare is in today’s world. And what Shakespeare proves is that when it comes to the human condition, there’s very little new under the sun.
Go there now and read it all.
And then read Titus Andronicus, for the full treatment of malevolence and violence.