Following the plot

I realize that our discussion on Friday was more than a bit fragmented. If you are baffled by Henry V, let me suggest three techniques that might help you tackle the text a bit more easily:

1. Read a summary of the play before or at the same time that you read the script. Prof. Dubrow has written study guides for each of the plays we are tackling this semester, which are all online here. If you are interested in detailed scene-by-scene summaries there are, obviously, dozens of options out there. After a quick survey of the options, I have to say that I prefer the Cliffs Notes scene-by-scene summaries of Henry V, available for free online, which seem generally more accurate and articulate than other versions I could easily find. (Ignore their pedantic "commentary," of course.)
   
   
2. It is usually ideal to read the script before watching a movie adaptation of the play so that your reading isn't influenced by any one interpretation of the text. Still, if you are having trouble understanding the characters, arguments, or plots of Henry V it might be worth watching a movie version before you have finished reading, so that the play seems like more than page after page of dull political speeches.
   
   
3. I know I've been advocating this every week, but I'm serious: if you get the audiobook versions of these plays and listen to them either when you're just walking around campus or if you sit down and listen to the audio while you follow along in the script you will become far, far more comfortable with the content of the plays.

It goes without saying, I hope, that the single best way to master any of these plays is to reread them -- twice, if that's possible. Remember that you will be responsible at 7:30 pm on Dec. 21st for every line of Henry V. Unless you have an eidetic memory you won't be remembering every line after one quick reading.