30 percent British kids clueless about Shakespeare

Three in ten schoolchildren below the age of 13 do not know who William Shakespeare is, a new survey has revealed.

Hundreds of pupils from across the country took part in a study to discover whether they knew of the playwright.

The survey, which involved 1,000 pupils aged between six and 12, revealed that 30 percent are unaware of the country's most celebrated writer, the Daily Express reported.

The researchers also found that around a quarter of adults (27 percent) have never read a play by Shakespeare and around one in eight (12 percent) are unaware that he was a British playwright.

The survey also questioned 2,000 adults, showing that half (49 percent) are unable to complete the line "O Romeo, Romeo ..." from Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' with the correct answer being "wherefore art thou Romeo?"

The study, by market researchers Vision Critical, found that 5 percent of people aged 18 to 34 believe Shakespeare's most famous play is 'Cinderella', while 2 percent from the same age group think he is a fictional character.

Half (49 percent) identified 'Macbeth' as Shakespeare's most recognisable character.

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