Scribd
Upload
186 views

Text and Context

Text refers specifically to the written words on the page of a literary work. It is a physical object that can be interpreted to infer meaning. Context refers more broadly to the situation or surroundings in which something occurs, including the narrative context created within the text or the historical context in which the work was written. Understanding the context can provide deeper insight when interpreting the text and determining the author's intended meanings.

Uploaded by

frederick maglinte
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
186 views

Text and Context

Text refers specifically to the written words on the page of a literary work. It is a physical object that can be interpreted to infer meaning. Context refers more broadly to the situation or surroundings in which something occurs, including the narrative context created within the text or the historical context in which the work was written. Understanding the context can provide deeper insight when interpreting the text and determining the author's intended meanings.

Uploaded by

frederick maglinte
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

These two terms differ in a number of ways, but on a basic level they can

be said to differ in terms of scope and specificity. Text is a highly specific


term and refers to the written word as such. Context, as a term, can be
employed on various levels within a work of literature and outside a work
of literature. 

In literary studies, the term, "text," refers solely to the written word on the
page. When discussing text, we are discussing that actual and literal words
used by a writer. Thus, when we use the term we are not discussing what
is implied (which would be subtext). We are instead only referring to what
is explicitly and physically on the page. 

While text can imply and text can express, our reference


to textnonetheless is always to the actual words that are being
interpreted to imply and express. An analogy for this situation might be to
compare text to a painting. The painting is a physical object capable of
communicating ideas and emotions to an audience, but when we talk
about the painting we are always referring to its physical being, its surface
and actual existence. We interpret that physical object and thereby
discern its meaning. 

Text can also be used in generalization to describe a book (as in, "let us
turn to the text itself for an answer"). 

Context refers to a situation (or surroundings). This term can describe the
situation created within a narrative (or within a text). If a character is
stranded on a desert island after a boat has sunk, we would describe this
state of affairs as the context. 

Also, context can describe the situation within which a book has been
written. A novel written after WWII concerning relations between the U.S.
and Russia has a specific cultural and political context that provides a
framework wherein we can discern some particular meaning(s) in the
text. 
"Understanding the context in which a work of literature was produced
often leads to a deeper understanding of the work itself; for instance,
understanding the social and economic position of women in the early
Nineteenth Century can provide a greater insight into the
characterizations of women in Jane Austen’s novels" (eNotes).

You might also like