Remember: a play was written to be performed on a stage.
Imagine the characters on the stage as you read the play.
This will help you:
see how the play is constructed
how dramatic crises are reached
how tension is created
how themes are linked through characters.
Think how the lines would sound if spoken by actors and actresses.
Read the play as a whole in as few sittings as possible. (It will take you approximately 2 - 3 hours). Read quickly and don't be put off by passages which don't make sense' because you will get the general sense and understand the shape of the whole play.
You now have an overview of the play. Read it through more slowly, making notes as you go. This reading of the play will help you understand the ways in which the author has created his characters.
Remember: Notes are made to remind you of different points when you are revising. Making notes helps you concentrate on what you are reading.
Notes help you to work systematically.
Notes help you to support points in an essay with quotations from the text.
You should know what all the words of a play mean; i.e. you should be able to explain or paraphrase in modern English any given passage. This is hard work, probably boring but you do need to be familiar with the test if you are going to be able to criticise with authority.
Work at the play in small units - a scene or two at a time. (If you concentrate hard for more than 40 minutes you will get fed up, so plan your study in 30-40 minutes time slots).
The more you do the easier it gets!!
Once you have-made these detailed notes of each scene read the play through again from start to finish in one go.
It is at this stage that you should try and see a performance of the play.
*Helpful hint (No-561)*
Try and get hold of a recording of the play and listen to it as you follow through the test. Again use your imagination and try to visualise the action on stage.
