Direct your focus to the word Context. When one hears this word as referred to analyzing a text one should consider background information. What historical references could have influenced the author, what prior knowledge do you have of the time period in which the text was written that might help you understand the text.
The next word to direct your focus to is Broader. Broader, meaning to expand, or view in a greater length, or to see the bigger picture beyond the surface level. When attempting to analyze a text one should think of the who, what, when, where, and how. Must be careful, however, spending to much time on a literary analysis on these concept may turn it into a summary instead of an analysis. The key word to always remember that is paramount above all these other concepts is the word WHY. I address the importance of the word why in a previous blog and I encourage you to go read it if you haven’t yet.
When seeking the broader part of context your observations or opinion should remain generalized to avoid making inaccurate statements that would have the opposite effect of what one is trying to achieve in the analysis.
The last word in this statement that is of merit is illuminate, bring to light. Put the statement together and your goal is to observe and identify the general background that might have inspired the writer.
Two other ideas to consider when seeking the broader context is who the audience is and what is the exigence. Exigence is the spark that ignited the story, the inspiration that lead to the text being written. To help remember this concept I tell my students to think of the word exist, that something had to exist before the text was created. An example: a hurricane is coming to destroy the town and a journalist writes an article that tells the people they need to evacuate before the hurricane hits the town. The exigence of this article is the hurricane, if it had never existed the article would never have been written. When considering the audience I am referring to the author’s intended audience. Who did they write the text for? This can help a reader better understand the writer’s intent for the text. For example the fable “The Tortoise and The Hare” is written with animals that are personified to appeal to a specific audience that being children. The author used animals instead of humans to entice children to listen and hopefully learn an invaluable lesson at the end. When a reader is able to identify the audience it becomes more clear as to what the purpose of the text is.
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