Agreed "It's a classic so it's good, don't argue" doesn't wash. It's just conformity impressed on one by conformists. Some things need to be allowed to die on their own dis-merits, not forced to remain alive like tithonus (Vanity Fair, OMG)

(A bit more precisely, people should be allowed to make up their own mind. If I don't think Shakespeare is as good as I'm supposed to think he is, it's all subjective so my opinion carries as much weight as anyone else's. Nobody, especially at school, should be forced into reading what doesn't work for them. I'd much rather have read Greek legends myself).