Historical context refers to what was going on in the world during the timeframe in which a work is set or was written. It involves factors like economic conditions, societal norms of the day, major events, technological advancements, etc. Physical context refers to the setting in which a work of writing takes place.
It is the physical environment in which the story, or an event within the story, occurs. The rhetorical context refers to the circumstances under which a particular piece of writing is created. It includes factors such as who the author is, the purpose of or occasion for the writing, and its intended audience.
Context adds richness to a work of literature and helps to truly engage readers in the text. Context is important to writers and readers alike. It is essential to accurately conveying writers and understanding readers the meaning of a work of writing. So what is context? When the text was written What the society was like at the time the text was written What or who influenced the writer What political or social influences there would have been What influences there may have been in the genre that may have affected the writer When the text was written and when it was set may also have an important part to play in what is written.
The context hinted at by the examination question. Literary context also considers how a text fits into broad categories of literature, such as the aforementioned literary movements.
Writers use context to engage, inform, and entertain readers. Like most literary tools, moderation is essential when it comes to context.
Too much of it can burden a story, rendering it boring or incomprehensible. Context can be conveyed through just about anything— characterization , setting, backstory, memory, dialogue, and so on.
However, specificity is key. They can also incorporate specific details to better anchor a story in a particular time or place. Consider the HBO miniseries Chernobyl. The show uses the context of Soviet Russia to elicit nostalgia and cultural memory, emphasizing how modern politics echo that of the Cold War era. Context can also inspire. A writer might reflect upon their life and realize they have a unique point of view worth sharing.
They can use the context of their lives to communicate that perspective to the world. When a writer does this well, they spark understanding within readers, helping them make new connections and realizations. Publication opens a work up to criticism, including literary analysis, which dissects and evaluates literature to make connections that general audiences may have missed.
Literary analysis hinges on context. Scholars and critics engage in close reading to discover deeper meaning, identify narrative patterns or themes, and detect influences, then analyze and synthesize their findings.
Did this author write something like that? Or did someone else write an essay like that with which the author either strongly agreed or disagreed? How does the work reflect or react against these principles?
Those essays are your best sources here. Of course, critical works that attempt to answer some of these questions are useful, too. That is, critics begin to write about it, expressing what they admire and what they dislike about it. Over time, however, critics begin to reflect more deeply.
They are no longer concerned with recommending that people read a work; rather, they assume a significant number of people have already read it, and they attempt to explain something about it that the average reader might not have noticed or considered. They point out hidden meanings, influences, and patterns, and they make connections between this work and others, and between this author and others.
This is the realm of serious literary criticism. For any paper for this class, critical works are essential, but you need to distinguish between contemporary reviews and later, deeper reflection.
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