Third of children have not heard of Shakespeare

The survey, which involved 1,000 pupils aged between six and 12, revealed that 30 per cent are unaware of the country’s most celebrated writer.

About a quarter of adults (27 per cent) have never read a play by Shakespeare and 12 per cent are unaware that he was a British playwright.

A number of stars of stage and screen are now backing calls for a rethink of how Shakespeare’s works are taught, including actor Jeremy Irons who said: “I think so many people are put off Shakespeare at school and like so much of drama, you have to see it in order to be moved by it. Then you begin to go back to the text and you begin to understand the world, the imagination behind those words.”

The survey also questioned 2,000 adults, showing that 49 per cent are unable to complete the line: “O Romeo, Romeo ...” from Romeo and Juliet.

The study, by market researchers Vision Critical, found that 49 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds identified Macbeth as Shakespeare’s most recognisable character.

Meanwhile, 63 per cent learned about Shakespeare through television and not school or other traditional educational outlets.