I. Preparation

The presentation of a few matters to arouse interest and to anticipate some of the difficulties of a first reading.

II. First Reading

The aim of the first reading is to familiarize the pupil with the main facts of the play. General questions may be asked to guide the student, or directions given to note the progress of each scene in the development of the play. He should not be hindered, however, from as rapid a reading as he can make intelligently.

III. Second Reading

This careful reading will have for its purpose the interpretation of the author's thought. Other matters, however interesting to a Shakespearean scholar, should, for the most part, be avoided. In this thorough study many of the matters treated under the next topic will naturally come up for discussion.

IV. Study of the Play as a Whole

Here it will be possible to sum up the work already done and to correlate it with new work in some such order as the following:

A. Content

  1. Setting
  2. Plot
  3. Characters