With your pre-reading observations and the information from the first reading, your task here is to determine what happens to whom by breaking the text down into parts and putting the parts back together in a way that makes sense to you. You create this thematic structure through a thorough exploration of the text's surface structure, or syntax.

Strategy 1. Review Relevant Syntax

El viejo celoso (263.0K)

Task 1. Review Stage Directions. Skim through the text and re-read all of the stage directions in order to reactivate your understanding of the basic unspoken action and interaction of the actors. Make sure you understand the stage directions.

Task 2. Transfer and Paraphrase.

1.			Transfer the stage directions to the numbered pages that correspond to your segmented working copy of the text. This way you will know when in the text the specific stage directions occur. As you transfer the directions, paraphrase them so that you understand clearly what the actors are doing.

Task 3. Decode Verbs.

2.			In Stage III, Strategies 1 and 2, you identified the verbs that create the action of the play. Decode those verbs so that you know who does what to whom, and record the information on a Verbal Elements chart (see Appendix).

Task 4. Identify and Decode Pronouns.

3.			Scan the segments and identify critical pronouns. Decode them and record the information on a Pronoun Identification chart (see Appendix). Make sure that you can identify the antecedent of each pronoun.

Task 5. Decode Sentences.

4.			If you are not completely clear on "who does what to whom or what," decode the sentences that contain the verbs and pronouns you decoded in Tasks 3 and 4. Use a Parts of Speech chart (see Appendix) to record the information.

Strategy 2. Relate Actions to Characters

Task 1. Complete Word Wheels.

5.			Expand your existing word wheel for each character or fill in a character/event diagram (see Appendix) with information that relates actions to characters. Focus on what the characters do to create the action of the play in relationship to themselves, to other characters, and to the story itself. Support your information with textual references that include page numbers.

Task 2. Compare and Contrast.

6.			Use a venn diagram (see Appendix) to document relationships between characters, indicating their similarities and differences.

Study Hint: Dramatic Representation

7.			Now is a good time to practice what the authors of Aproximaciones call "la representación dramática." Although this aspect of theater is not formally addressed in the text, it is through the dramatic representation or performance of a play that the dramatist ultimately delivers the true message. Based on the work you have done so far, select a segment or scene that either appealed to you or that gave you some trouble, and read it out loud. While reading, think about the poetic elements you studied in Chapter 2: La poesía, including rhyme, rhythm, accentuation, and intonation. Project yourself into the character(s) in the play based on what you know about the author as well. Which words or phrases should be emphasized? Are there written and/or implied stage directions to which you need to respond? How might they affect your reading? Can you relate other dramatic components to the segment? If you were a director, how might you stage the scene? Try to breathe the kind of life into el plano espectacular that cannot be created when you work solely with the words of the play. Take risks! Have fun!

Strategy 3. Summarize Each Segment

Task 1. Identify Topic Sentence.

8.			Using your working copy of the play, bracket or underline the topic sentence(s) of each segment. If there is no clear topic sentence, invent one and write it in the margin next to the segment.

Task 2. Delete Information. Skim your working copy, segment by segment, and draw a line through redundant information or information that is not central to the action of the play.

Task 3. Generalize.

9.			Look at the information left in the segments. Can it be generalized?

Task 4. Summarize.

10.			Based on the information from Tasks 1, 2, and 3, summarize each segment and determine its function in the play. Is it a descriptive paragraph, does it just provide information, or does it move the action of the play forward?

Strategy 4. Create Thematic Structure

Task 1. Identify Thematic Elements.

11.			Using the chart from Task 2 of Estructura de la obra dramática as a guide, identify in the text the components of the dramatic action in the play (la exposición, el incidente o la complicación, el nudo o clímax, and el desenlace). Write each component next to the segment in which it occurs.

Task 2. Complete Thematic Structure.

12.			Take all of the information you have gathered so far and use a story map (see Appendix) to set up the chain of events in the text. Each event in the story map should move the story toward the solution. The event may be a change in state of mind, emotion, opinion, or perspective, as well as a situation or an action. Substantiate your selections with textual support. NOTE: Upon completing the four stages, you have fulfilled your responsibility as the reader of the play. You know who did what to whom, why, and when. You can talk about the communicative code and the roles of the dramatist, the performer, the dialogue, the scene and stage directions, and the spectator. At this point you are ready to go to class and enter into a well-informed discussion of the play.