To Focus on the Alphabet, or not to Focus on the Alphabet, that is the Question

To focus on the Alphabet, or not to focus on the Alphabet,
that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous ignorance,
Or to take arms against a sea of confusion.
And, by opposing, vanquish it? To learn, to speak—
No more—and by a speech to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That language learners are heir to: ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished! To learn, to speak—
To speak! Perchance to dream! Ay, there’s the rub,
For in the fluency of thy speech, what dreams may come true?

But look! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the Alphabet, the rising sun!
Arise, fair Ophelia, and embrace it with heart and mind,
There shall be no more madness within thee,
Just be resolute and master a solitary letter at each turn.

O Alphabet, Alphabet! Wherefore art thou Alphabet?
Bestow upon me thy consonants and all thy vowels,
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I shall cherish thee for all eternity.
Thy letters are not my adversaries;
‘Tis the sounds I have not yet mastered, entangled within the words.

And what’s in a letter? That which we call a sound
Within any word would always sound as sweet;
So letters, let me hear thy sound,
And for that sound, which is part of thy being,
I can understand, sans a shadow of uncertainty,
Who might thou be.

Forsooth, the Alphabet is the foundation
Of language learning, and to focus on it
Is to triumph in the mastery of speech.
For if we do not know the letters and its sounds,
How can we hope to understand the words?

Therefore, let us embrace the Alphabet,
And in mastering it, master language’s very essence.
For within such mastery, great dreams may come true.