Mate, just be grateful that you're not having to study the current syllabus. The kids who are studying at high school now get to de-construct TV ads and the sleeve notes on CDs. The poor buggers wouldn't have a clue who Shakespeare is, let alone know that he wrote Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice etc. We might have found it hard going at times (I know I did) but at least we have a clue where phrases like "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" come from.
I read an article the other day where someone commented that newspaper sub-editors tend to fall back on Shakespeare when composing headlines. He came up with a list of about 20 from the previous week's papers that were all derived from good ol' Bill. Things like: "To Vote Or Not To Vote"; "Into the Britches, Dear Friends" etc.