And I'm afraid I don't understand your argument. Admittedly the English language might look rather different now from how it did in Elizabethan times, but, as you say, scholars work to preserve the original poetry, whereas what seems to be happening now is that translators are working to eliminate it, so that young people will find it easier to understand.
Are you suggesting that translating Shakespeare's English into modern parlance, is no different from translating Chinese or Japanese into English? Or any other language for that matter? In other words, as long as the plot survives, it doesn't actually matter what the characters say. So Romeo wouldn't say "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?", but something along the lines of "Quiet! A light's gone on in that window."
I have no objection, to young children being just given the stories as an introduction to Shakespeare, though some of them might be deemed a bit gorey, but surely by secondary school, we should be seeking to help students understand the original.
Sorry to everyone else if we have got off topic a little, but I do believe that attitudes to music and literature are connected.
You would see little difference because you probably haven't seen the original folios. Few people actually have. The scholarily texts have been edited tremendously.
Observe:
Act II, Scene II is one of the most famous scenes in all of Shakespearean drama. I'm sure you'll recognize this passage from the Arden Edition:
What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor Arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O be some other name
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
Now that's the version we are all familar with. Let's take a look at the original:
What's Montaue? It is nor hand nor foote,
Nor arme, nor face, O be some other name
Belonging to a man
What? in a name which we call a Rose
By any other work would smell as sweet
Quite different, eh?
Try this one: What's Montague? It is nor hand nor foote,
Nor arme, nor face, nor any other part,
What's in a name? That which we call a Rose,
By any other name would smell as weet
There is in fact no early text that reads as our modern text does- and this is the most famous speech of the play. The original 'poetry' to use your term, has been altered greatly. Modern English translations can help bring down linguistic barriers to Shakespeare. Read some original passages of Shakespeare's folios and you will find that he often takes words from Scots, French, Old French, and German, without warning. It's not easy to read. That is why we have edited texts which are based on the original folios. What's important about Shakespeare's texts, is, and will always be meaing. He confronted the nature of man more completely than any other writer in the Western World. Preserving ancient language, at the expense of clarity doesn't make much sense. I say if someone needs a Modern Edition, let them have one. I read the Arden Texts, the original folios, and modern translations.
Editing Shakespreaean texts is nothing new.