Canon fire

"Whatever Hamlet meant in 1603 it meant something different to Dr Johnson, to Freud and to us. It will mean something different in future."

Did Hamlet really have one uniform meaning in 1603, or for succeeding generations? Whatever the viewpoints from differing historical perspectives, the value they share is that of finding a contemplation of this text deeply enriching. We are talking poetry here.

It seems unlikely that future generations will have equal opportunity to share this value - with school Shakespeare study in steep decline and English literature losing out to business or media studies.

"Englit"- that casual term of disparagement - says it all. Syllabuses and the teaching of literature undoubtedly do need thorough scrutiny but that is not the way to go.

Peter Dean Little Shelford, Cambridge