Area of Exploration (AoE):

Time & Space

Context refers to the circumstances that surround creation and reception of a work—all of
the external factors that shape or influence its meaning. The context of composition refers to
the author’s circumstances at the time of writing or composing a work. This type of context is
fixed; a writer will have created his or her work at a specific point in time and certain
cultural, historical, and biographical elements will have influenced that creation. The context
of interpretation, however, is fluid; different audiences will respond to works in different ways
at different points in time.

INQUIRY QUESTIONS:

1. How important is cultural or historical context to the production and reception of a

literary text?

2. How do we approach literary texts from different times and cultures to our own?

3. To what extent do literary texts offer insight into another culture?

4. How does the meaning and impact of a literary text change over time?

5. How do literary texts reflect, represent or form a part of cultural practices?

6. How does language represent social distinctions and identities?

How does someone's background affect their interpretation of the text?

How does the author's own background influence their work?

Cultural and Historical Contexts:

Cultural context refers to the values, beliefs, and attitudes that are shared by a group of
people in a particular time and place. Societal forces such as social or economical status or
class, education, politics, religion, family structure, gender roles, language, shared beliefs
and customs all play a role in shaping cultural values. These values directly affect an
individual’s worldview. Cultural context is reflected in a work of literature through
narrative elements such as characterization (including their relationship with other
characters), their environment, conflicts, narrative events, symbols, and themes.

Historical context refers to the historical events, attitudes, and trends that define a
particular era or period of time and how these aspects shape a work of literature. Many
writers are influenced by the political and social climate in which they live. As interpreters,
it is crucial to build schema and background knowledge of the specific time periods (both
cultural and historical) of each text in order to become the “implied reader” previously
discussed in Readers, Writers, and Texts.

Biographical Context:

Biographical context refers to the author’s personal background that directly influences his
or her writing. As previously discussed in class, an author constructs a piece of literature
through their own experiences and worldview, drawing heavily on their own schema in
order to produce meaning for others. However, it is important to remember that neither
the narrator, nor a character in a work of fiction, nor the speaker in a poem, is the author.
The ideas and opinions coming through, though undoubtedly influenced by the author’s
background and perspective, will not necessarily represent the author’s own personal
beliefs.

Debate Activity:

Ø​ ​Would it be more effective to study the cultural, historical, and biographical

context before reading a text or after? Examine each one individually.

Methods of Approaching Unfamiliar Texts:

v​ ​Plot Structure:

When approaching a text from a different time and space, it helps to look for the familiar
elements that are universal in literature. Christopher Booker, author of ​The Seven Basic
Plots: Why We Tell Stories​, claims that there are seven elementary plots that recur, in
different guises, throughout time and across space.

1. Overcoming the Monster: Examples:

The protagonist (main hero/heroine) -Hercules
conquers a threatening antagonistic force. -

2. Rags to Riches: Examples:

The protagonist gains wealth and/or -Annie
power, often losing it before finally
regaining it.
 3. The Quest: Examples:
The protagonists and companions set out -Jumanji
to achieve a priceless goal, encountering -Fast and Furious
and defeating obstacles and temptations
along the way.

4. Voyage and Return: Examples:

Similar to the quest, the protagonist -Harry Potter (4)
journeys to a strange land, overcomes the -Cast Away
threats that it poses, and returns to his or
her homeland having gained wisdom and
experience along the way.

5. Comedy: Examples:
This is not simply a story that generates -I feel pretty
laughs—instead, it involves a “chaos of
misunderstanding,” which ultimately gets
sorted out and leads to a pleasant ending.

6. Tragedy: Examples:
The protagonist has a tragic flaw that -Romeo and Juliet
inevitably leads to his or her downfall.

7. Rebirth: Examples:
The protagonist falls under a “dark spell” -Sleeping Beauty
(literal or metaphorical), trapping him or -The Little Mermaid
her in a damned state. A miraculous event
or twist of fate occurs, liberating the
protagonist from this state.

Although Booker argues that most stories fall within these seven basic plots, he also admits
that they are not steadfast rules that all authors abide by. Good writers will work within an
established structure and then adapt certain conventions to suit their individual style,
audience, and purpose.

v​ ​Archetypal Characters:

Just as stories follow certain narrative patterns, literary characters can also be categorized
by common stereotypes. Recognizing certain familiar characters can help us to connect
with works from other times and places. The concept of the ​archetype​ is traced back to
Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who believed that everyone’s personality is composed of four
common standards, which provide a model for behavior and influence the way people
think and act. He postulates that all people are fundamentally composed of: 1) the self; 2)
the persona/mask; 3) the shadow, or the dark side of psyche; 4) the anima/animus, or the
balance of masculine and feminine energies within the psyche.

However, most literary archetypes fall within the follow chart:

v​ ​Universal Themes:

At the heart of every work of literature is a theme or central message, which tend to
transcend culture or time, and reflect the universal nature of the human experience.
Although it is impossible to summarize every major theme in a comprehensive list, the
following themes are overtly prevalent throughout literature from all countries, cultures,
and languages:

❖ The conflict between good and evil

❖ The individual’s search for identity and self-awareness
❖ The rite of passage from childhood to adulthood and the consequential loss of
innocence
❖ The individual’s struggle against greater odds (physical, emotional, societal, etc.)
 ❖ The inevitability of fate

v​ ​Universal Symbols:

Although some symbols are specific to time and space, there are numerous universal
symbols that help readers interpret foreign texts, for most writers rely on common objects
or abstractions when representing specific ideas. Here’s a quick flashback activity to
English 2 Honors:

Symbols Possible Interpretation(s)

Seasons:
Spring: -rebirth
Summer: -reflection/
Fall: -coming to an end/maturity/anticipation
Winter: -despair/death/isolation/end

Weather:
Rain: -hopeless/lost/sadness/cleansing/renewal
Storm: -tension/hopeless
Sunshine: -joy/happiness/rebirth
Fog: -ominous/mystery/foreshadow/conflict

Colors:
White: -purity/innocence/cleansing /enlightenment
Black: -evil/death/dark
Yellow: -positivity/happy/fortune
Green: -nature/full of life/rebirth/disgust/sick/envy/greed
Gold: -power/prosperity
Purple: -elegance/royalty/upstanding

Animals:
Dogs/Wolves: -aggressive/predatory/loyal/stupid
Cats/Lions: -powerful/control
Birds/Ravens/Owls: -freedom/wise/intelligent
Rodent/Rats: -filth/clever/disgust/lower class

Critical Theory: Meaning and Impact of a Literary Text

Critical Theory​ is a method of looking at literature through a particular lens. This allows the
interpreter to track changes in attitude over time and understand the progressive ideas
that the author engages in. Some of the theories that we will focus on in this course include:
Feminism, Marxism, and Post-colonialism.

Refer to this ​handout​ for further study.

Translation vs. Adaptation:

Some authors alter an original text in some way, which is commonly referred to as
adaptation​; they keep core aspects of the original work, while changing the meaning and
the impact in some obvious way. Modern artists constantly adapt older works to keep them
relevant and to bring fresh understanding for the current generation, mainly adapting
works into graphic novels, film and television, or updating dialogue to more common
colloquial language.

However, adaptation still requires interpretation, translation, and re-contextualization.

Listen to the two following videos and analyze the difference in the two depictions of the
Greek myth of Icarus.

Practice Activity:

Ø​ ​“The Myth of Icarus and Daedalus” by Amy Adkins on TED-Ed

Ø​ ​“Icarus” by Kate Tempest on YouTube.com

Ø How do adaptations change the way that we understand a text or
interpret it?

Ø How do adaptations change the themes or global issues represented?

Common Artistic Movements in Literature:

An artistic movement in any form, whether it is painting, sculpture, literature, etc., does not
function in a vacuum, but is a result from previous developing movements throughout time
and space. Therefore, think of artistic movements as responses to other movements, and
responses to the cultural context from which they are formed. Some of the movements that
we will be focusing on in this course include: realism, magical realism, modernism, and
postmodernism.

Refer to this ​handout​ for further study.

Difficulties with Works in Translation:

When approaching a work in translation, it is important to remember that the text has
passed through the hands of an interpreter who has chosen his or her own interpretation
of specific words and meanings when translating it into another language. This fact,
coupled with the possible lack of knowledge of the culturally specific literary techniques,
allusions, and symbols by those reading the translated work, creates specific problems
when it comes to accurately interpreting the original author’s meaning.

Refer to this ​handout​ for further study.

Possible Links to TOK:

Links to TOK are related to the questions of how far the context of production of a text
influences or informs its meaning and the extent to which the knowledge a reader can obtain
from a text is determined by the context of reception. Examples of such links to TOK include:
​
· How far can a reader understand a text that was written in a context different
from their own and which may have addressed a different audience?
· What is lost in translation from one language to another?
· How might the approaches to a given time and place of a poet, a cartoonist or a
diary-writer and a historian differ?
· Is the notion of a canon helpful in the study and understanding of literature?
How does a canon get established?
· What factors influence its expansion or change over time?