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

B. _Form_
1. Meter
2. Style

C. _The Life and Character of the Author_

OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

I. Preparation

This will probably be one of the first plays that the class will
attempt. Hence there will be little or nothing to say about the drama,
Shakespeare, or the development of his art. A short account of the
theater in Shakespeare's day may be made interesting. Pictures of
Venice, with an account of its wealth and magnificence in the sixteenth
century; some facts about the condition of the Jew in England in
Shakespeare's time; and a statement of the strange ideas concerning
interest may prevent difficulties in the first reading.

II. First Reading

A good plan is to assign an act for a lesson; to use as much of the hour
as necessary to test the class on what they have read; to have some
passages read aloud; and to discuss the purpose of the act and its
relation to the rest of the play.

III. Second Reading

This should be slow enough to give time for study and explanation of the
difficulties of language, and for the study of important passages as
they throw light on plot and character.

IV. Study of the Play as a Whole

SETTING.--When and where are the events supposed to have taken place?

What, in the dress of the people and the customs of the time, shows that
Shakespeare had England in mind?

How long a time is probably covered from the beginning to the end of the
play? Where do the scenes follow one another without loss of time and
where do they not?

PLOT.--What are the two main stories in this play? What three minor
stories are also part of the play?

How has Shakespeare mad