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1. His plays show how people lived in his time, so they have historical as well as literary value.
2. The plays are available with margin and foot notes to explain archaic words or objects.
3. Students can expand their minds and thinking processes by making a little extra effort to understand passages and plots.
4. They show that, although language and technology change, some basic things about human nature remain the same throughout centuries.
5. Numerous everyday expressions come from Shakespeare's plays, so they are still relevant.
6. Shakespeare's eloquence is unmatched by any other writer that I know of. Students deserve to be exposed to it.

Regarding other good literary works that you mentioned, there is no reason why they can't be covered, too, over 4 years of high school. It does not need to be either/or.