Cole's notes

[Valerie Senyk]

Yes, I know Cole's Notes can be problematic in many ways. However, they do
redeem themselves when I'm doing a Shakespeare production with students who
haven't done Shakespeare before, and who are fearful of so many things, like
the language...But if I can give them the scene by scene summaries that Cole's
has, it helps to show them that really the action and events are quite simple,
and the summaries can serve as one of the interpretive tools for the young
actor. Of course, as a director I might wish to emphasize one thing from a
scene that may be rather subtle -and certainly not covered in Cole's - but the
notes help give my choice a context.
Howver, in pure academia, "Cole's notes" have a reputation equal to some other
grave political incorrectness...I think this discussion is healthy.

Valerie Senyk

Don Perkins wrote:

> Cole's, Cliff's, Barron's, etc. do pop up in the oddest places--Goodwill,
> Salvation Army Thrift stores, Value Village, garage sales, rummage sales,
> etc.  A small personal or departmental collection of them is useful, since
> the contents have changed over the years for some titles, and tracking
> down oddly recurrent phrases or plot summary errors sometimes means
> looking at different imprints.  I once had a student come to see me about
> a low mark on an essay, hauling along her Cole's Notes on Antony and
> Cleopatra to support her claim--hadn't actually read the play yet, so was
> surprised to find the event didn't actually happen that way.  We can warn
> and warn, but hope springs eternal, or old habbits die hard.
>
> Don Perkins