Reading Chaucer, Middle English lyrics, or even Shakespeare, is no breeze,
especially for students unused to reading poetry in modern English! It's
much easier to read the dialogues of Plato in translation than Shakespeare
in his Elizabethan English. So let's give Robert's colleague the benefit of
the doubt and credit his opinions. Robert, what if you selected
well-annotated student editions of the texts you want your students to
read--with "beginners" notes. Might that allay some of your colleague's
concerns?
 
Tim Romano