Note: The sample play for the Stages and Strategies section is El viejo celoso by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.

Reading drama requires an active imagination and the ability to visualize the written word. In theater, what is not said and only seen is just as important as what is said and seen. The language of the play, both verbal and nonverbal, becomes the vehicle for the dramatist's message. As the audience/reader, you play a critical role in the communication of that message. It is your responsibility to read between the lines, to see the shadows in the light, and to give life to the depth and breadth of the characters by knowing more than what is printed on the page. Thus, your exploration of drama must begin with pertinent cultural/historical knowledge.

Stage I. Develop Cultural/Historical Framework

Strategy 1. Create/Add to Graphic Organizer

Task 1. Create Graphic Organizer. If this is the first genre you study, you will need to create a graphic organizer to serve as your cultural/historical framework. For more specific guidelines, refer to Stage I, Strategy 1, in Chapter 1: La narrativa.

Task 2. Enter Information. Determine the chronological placement of El viejo celoso and enter the information into your graphic organizer.

Task 3. Make Mental Connections.

1.			If drama is not the first genre you are studying, there already will be some writers in your cultural/historical framework. Contemplate the structure you have created so far and make note of the historical and chronological relationships between writers in the genres you have studied.

Strategy 2. Expand Background Knowledge

Task 1. Activate Background Knowledge. Refer back to your answers in Task 1 of Panorama histórico. Brainstorm examples of "drama" or "theater" you see in your everyday life, on television, or in the classroom. Do you ever find yourself in a position in which you are "performing"? Pick one example and jot down the five W's related to the example.

2.			Example:
3.			Who?
4.			What?
5.			Where?
6.			When?
7.			Why?
8.			How do your examples support Shakespeare's perception that the whole world is a stage?

Task 2. Key Word Search.

9.			Use the key words you listed in Task 1 of Panorama histórico to do a computer and/or library search within the topic of drama or theater. Document the key words you use, and provide a brief summary of the information you find.

Task 3. Expanded Key Word Search.

10.			Do a computer and/or library search of the same key words but within a broader, related category (for example, music, art, culture, architecture). What information did you find and how does it relate to the dramatist you are studying, in this case, Cervantes?

Task 4. Personal Research. Find a personal source of information (a professor, instructor, local teacher, friend, graduate student, librarian) who is interested in the genre, the dramatist, the cultural/historical perspective of the epoch in which the dramatist lived and wrote, or a related topic. Try to expand your knowledge base by talking to that person about the topic(s) of your research. Document your discoveries here.

11.			With whom did you talk?
12.			What did you learn?
13.			What could you do to find out more about the topic?

Strategy 3. Use Textbook as Resource

Task 1. Skim and Scan. Skim Vida y obra (263.0K) to get a general idea of the quality of Cervantes' life. Was his life difficult or easy? Now scan the same paragraph for answers to the following questions.

14.			Was Cervantes' life difficult or easy?
15.			What are some key words or phrases that indicate the quality of his life?
16.			How often was Cervantes imprisoned?
17.			Did Cervantes die rich or poor? How do you know the answer?
18.			How might the quality of Cervantes' life have influenced his writing? What kind of attitude, sense of humor, opinions, perspectives, and so forth, might you expect?

Task 2. Skim and Scan. Skim the second part of the introduction to Cervantes, El autor y su contexto, and comment on how Cervantes' quality of life affected him as a writer. Then scan the same paragraph to determine the answers to the following questions.

19.			How did the quality of Cervantes' life affect him as a writer?
20.			Where did Cervantes find his inspiration?
21.			The authors list four characteristics of Cervantes' style that make his literary contribution "una joya de las letras de todos los tiempos." What are those stylistic characteristics?
22.			What do the authors say specifically about El viejo celoso?
23.			Define the origin and meaning of the word "cuckold."