The four years that any average American spends in high school are jam packed with a variety of different lessons, assignments, papers, exams, and just generally stressful things. In math class, you learn how to solve quadratic equations and how to prove that a trapezoid is, in fact, a trapezoid (I still don’t know how to do this, but I digress). In biology, you dissect fetal pigs and write lab reports on its respiratory system. In English, you focus on delving into the classic literature of the past, written by some of the most renowned writers of their time.
However, with all of the things that high school students have to do, it’s hard to develop a proper appreciation for the subjects they study. Common complaints that I heard when I was in high school surrounded the books we were “forced” to read, which confused and disappointed me. To an extent, I understood the grumbling about the assignments for the books, because I definitely know that I had my fair share of grievances with certain essays. What I never could wrap my head around, though, were the gripes about the books themselves. Classic literature does have its flaws at times, such as length and diction. But the plots of said books are often so creative and hilarious that it transcends its time and relates to the modern audience. Once you look past the perplexing vocabulary, you’ll find that these dead authors were a lot more clever than teenagers give them credit for.
Jane Eyre is what you could consider the Victorian Era Cinderella. She grows up with awful cousins, gets verbally abused by her borderline evil aunt, and eventually lives happily ever after with a rich British nobleman in a gorgeous mansion. This is where the similarities between the stories, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Cinderella, comes to an end. Jane’s life quickly turns into a wild adventure after leaving her teaching position at her childhood boarding school to be a governess for a wealthy French girl; from alleged ghosts, to mysterious love interests, Jane experiences it all. Underneath it all, though, are melodramatic subplots that turn this serious novel into one that causes the readers to break into hysterical laughter from its absurdity. For example, at one point in the book, the tall, dark, and handsome Mr. Rochester, our protagonist’s soon-to-be beau, disguises himself as an old fortuneteller who appears at the house under murky circumstances to tell the party guests their futures. Mr. Rochester, still in disguise, proceeds to ask Jane if she had feelings for him! This scene was so funny that I started uncontrollably laughing for a solid minute, much to the confusion of my AP Literature class. My peers couldn’t read past the dated language to see the plot at its prime, which is a shame.
The Taming of the Shrew is technically is play, but since English teachers tend to teach Shakespeare along with novels, I figured I’d discuss the hilarity behind this notable work too. First of all, I think that it’s funny that Shakespeare is regarded as such a profound and transcendent playwright. This isn’t to say that he doesn’t deserve recognition, it’s just that I think that even he would laugh at his fame and reputation through the eyes of the modern person. Shakespeare’s specialty was not only pleasing noblemen and royalty, but also appealing to the unwashed masses. There are so many vulgar and immature jokes included in The Taming of the Shrew that go unnoticed because of the difference in speech patterns today. Aside from that, this play’s entire concept is priceless. A beautiful girl wants to marry this tourist after knowing each other for a short period of time, but can’t because her older sister isn’t married. The issue is that Katherine, the older sister, is unappealing and temperamental, causing all of her previous suitors to give up their pursuits. This leads to a man being paid to wife her up, where he uses the most hilarious tactics to “tame” her (Get it? She’s the shrew, haha). While the plot is meant to be comical, modern students don’t perceive it as such. They get stuck on phrasing and how it’s set in a different time period.
If teenagers were able to look past the publication date, and look closer at the author’s purpose, I think that every English class would be much more enjoyable for everyone.
RED INC. 
Jane Eyre is under appreciated by high school readers.