Is Shakespeare just "Words, words, mere words"?

Recent comments from the dean of a small liberal arts college remind us why Shakespeare's mastery of language is not just "Words, words, mere words," (Hamlet, Act II, Scene II) but still resonates today.

If the curriculum is to be a useful instrument in perfecting nature, then there are certain elements in it that will remain substantially the same, given the essential aspects of human nature, namely, the capacity for thought and reflection and the ability to express those thoughts.  Language is the tool that we use for thinking, making comparisons, discovering relations, and communicating them to others.  Thus, language, with its functions of communication and thought, must form the core of the general education curriculum.

Hamlet in prison...

Just a caught a fascinating program this weekend from This American Life on National Public Radio: 218: Act V (Hamlet in Prison).

The audio story followed a group of convicts at a high-security prison for six months as they rehearsed and then performed Act V of Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Interesting to hear in the time-lapse segments how the dialogue developed over the six months.  From the website:

Shakespeare might seem like an odd match for a group of hardened criminals, but Jack found that they understand the Bard on a level that most of us might not.  It's a play about murder and its consequences, performed by murderers, living out the consequences.

This weekend's program was originally aired August 9, 2002.  Find the program here (note: because of the prison environment, some of the content deals with mature themes).