Excerpt from On the Teaching of English
[The above subject has been recommended to the Executive Committee as suitable for treatment in a leaflet. The scheme outlined below has accordingly been drawn up and considered, and is now sent out to members as material for discussion by Branches and subsequently by the whole Association at a General Meeting. After such discussion it is hoped to issue a further report on the subject. It has therefore been decided to send this leaflet to associate as well as full members.]
While some Shakesperean teaching may well form part of the lessons in literature at an earlier date, the study of the plays as a regular part of the curriculum should be deferred until the age of twelve. It should be as general as possible, and should not necessarily include the reading of the whole of any play. It should be concerned with(1) the stories of several plays(2) selected passages in these (some being committed to memory)(3) the characters in their leading features so far as young boys and girls can appreciate them.
The plays suitable for such study between the ages of 12 and 14 are limited in number, the themes of many, e.g., Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, or again, Hamlet, or Much Ado about Nothing, being beyond the pupils experience and range of understanding. From several points of view, the eleven plays named below are specially suitable, and some such order as the following may be suggested: Julius Caisar, The Merchant of Venice, Twi Ifth Night, King John, A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest, As You Like It. Henry V., Richard II, Macbeth, Henry VIII.
The selected passages should be chosen at this stage for their poetic beauty as much as for their dramatic quality, and a song or a few detached lines may serve the purpose as well as the familiar sustained speeches. They should not at present be made a vehicle for grammatical or linguistic instruction, only such explanation being given as is necessary to their comprehension. Enough time should be secured lor Shakesperean work to allow of the study of one play each term. This will uecessitate as a rule two lesson periods a week.
With pupils from 14 to 16, considerable advance may be made upon the simple introduction which has In en given at the earlier age.
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