MODULE 3 - Context in Literary Works
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Splendor HyalineMODULE 3 - Context in Literary Works
Uploaded by
Splendor HyalineMODULE 3
Context
in Literary Works
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MODULE 3
CONTEXT
The simple definition of context is the
background information surrounding a
subject. It provides meaning and
clarity to the intended message of the
literary text.
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Basic Facts
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Context clues in a literary work
create a relationship between
the writer and reader, giving a
deeper understanding of the
intent and direction of the
writing.
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Basic Facts
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Literary context is background
information or circumstances the
author provides to inform why
something is taking place;
context can also be the backstory
of a character, provided to inform
their behavior and personality.
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Basic Facts
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The reason that context is
important when studying
literature is that it gives us an
idea of what was going on
around the time that the text
was produced especially when
it is an older text.
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Basic Facts
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Researching the context of a text
acknowledges that literature is a product
of the culture and politics of its time. Its
themes may still be relevant in the
modern age, but it is difficult to fairly
judge, critic, and interpret these texts if
we do not consider the context in which it
was written.
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Basic Facts
MODULE 3 Types of Context
for Literary Works
• Author's Context
• Reader's Context
• Social Context
• Cultural Context
• Historical Context
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• Ideological Context
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1. Author's Context
It is knowing about the writer's
life, values, assumptions, gender,
race, sexual orientation, and the
political and economic issues
related to the author.
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2. Reader's Context
It is about the reader's
previous reading experience,
values, assumptions, political
and economic issues.
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3. Social Context
The social context of a text is
the way in which the features
of the society it is set in impact
on its meaning.
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There are two aspects to social
context: the kind of society in
which the characters live, and the
one in which the author’s text
was produced.
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4. Cultural Context
Beliefs, religion, marriage, food,
and clothing, are all elements of
cultural context that sometimes
need to be provided in order to
fully understand an author’s story.
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5. Historical Context
Providing the time period and its
current events can inform the general
mood of the era, setting the stage for
the tone of your piece of writing and
creating an understanding of the
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society at the time.
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Historical context can inform the
atmosphere for your audience, giving
them context for how people felt and
behaved during that period in history,
the clothing styles of the time, or even
the specific word choice (like slang) that
was used in that era.
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6. Ideological Context
Ideology refers to the systems of
beliefs and ideas that underpin our
attitudes and behavior. Such
ideology may be valued by society as
a whole, or be the basis of conflict.
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Ideology is a context that is in
many ways ‘invisible’. This is
because our own is largely
internalized and normalized, we
act accordingly to our
assumptions and social norms.
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MODULE 3 Basic Steps In Analyzing Context
in a Literary Work
1. Read the carefully.
2. Identify the following in a literary
text:
▪ Who is speaking
▪ What experience each brings to
the conversation
▪ What they are speaking about
▪ Where the conversation is taking
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place
MODULE 3 Basic Steps In Analyzing Context
in a Literary Work
3. Research on the following:
▪ author’s life
▪ the social and cultural setting
where & when the text was written
OR where & when the characters
in the story (or persona in the
poem) have lived
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Padre Faura Witness
the Execution of Rizal
Danton Remoto
I stand on the roof
Of the Ateneo municipal,
Shivering
On this December morning.
Months ago,
Pepe came to me
In the observatory.
I thought we would talk
31 About the stars
That do not collide.
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In the sky:
Instead, he asked me about purgatory
(His cheeks still ruddy
From the sudden sun
After the bitter winter
In Europe)
And on this day
With the years beginning to turn,
Salt things my eyes.
I see Pepe,
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A blur
Between the soldiers
With their Mausers raised
And the early morning’s
Star:
Still shimmering
Even if millons of miles away,
The star itself
Is already dead.
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Padre Faura Witness
The Execution of Rizal
Danton Remoto
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https://www.facebook.com/manilaobservatory/posts/jose-rizal-and-padre-faura-sj/2087998054563833/
MODULE 3 Earnest Wish
Lydia S. Villanueva
I will
Count the multitude of stars
The leaves in all the branches
The flock of birds perched in the loft
The blades of grass in the meadow
And the cogon flowers in the air.
I will
Listen to the sound of breeze
To the rustling of leaves
To the chirping of birds
34 To the buzzing of the bees
To the flapping of butterfly’s wings.
I will
MODULE 3 Tend the garden
Rearrange the stones in a pile
Weed the grass in the field
Harvest the fruits in season
And do again all of these.
Let us
Bring the front liners back home
Fight the unforeseen enemy
Help the new beginning
Contribute to the humanity
Flatten the curve
Stay at home! perched in the loft
35 The blades of grass in the meadow
And the cogon flowers in the air.
MODULE 3 Earnest Wish
Lydia S. Villanueva
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