It is worth remembering that there are only a maximum of 5 marks available in the Shakespeare question for context. Therefore, your response would predominantly focus on AO1, which includes links to contextual factors. If you understand how to incorporate contextual understanding of your studied play effectively into your essay, it can boost your mark in AO1 and help you create a more sophisticated and conceptualised response.
When responding to this question, you should try to:
- Ensure your exploration of context is linked to the themes and ideas Shakespeare is exploring in the play and the question you have been set
- Understand that context is about understanding ideas and perspectives:
- Some of these ideas are universal, which means you do not simply need to think from the perspective of an Elizabethan or Jacobean audience
- Your own understanding of these ideas and perspectives are equally valid and useful to explore
- Imbed social, cultural and historical contextual comments throughout your response, rather than including them as a bolt-on section at the end of your paragraph:
- Context needs to be interspersed throughout your response and needs to relate to the point being discussed
- Focus on the analysis of the exemplification in relation to the theme being discussed
- Give discerning references from throughout the whole of the play:
- Students are awarded higher marks for doing this
There are different kinds, or categories, of context which affect an author’s work and the audience’s response to it. It is therefore important to remember that context can refer to any of the following:
Context
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- The writer’s own life and individual situation, including the place and time of writing ONLY where these relate to the text
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- The historical setting, time and location of the text
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- Social and cultural contexts (e.g. attitudes in society, expectations of different cultural groups)
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- The literary context of the text, for example, literary movements or genres
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- The way in which texts are received and engaged with by different audiences, at different times (for example, how a text may be read differently in the 21st century than when it was written)
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It is important that your approach to context illustrates how that character or event in the text reflects or challenges social, political or historical perceptions. Your textual analysis and discussion of context need to be balanced and relate to each other.
As an example, we will explore the same theme above (the importance of close relationships elsewhere in Romeo and Juliet) and consider contextual points which could be included in your response to this question.
Consider the importance of close relationships elsewhere in the play
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AO3: Context
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In Elizabethan society, the practice of arranged marriages, especially among the more affluent classes, was deeply entrenched in the cultural and societal norms of the time. This practice was particularly pronounced for daughters, whose marriages were often regarded as a strategic manoeuvre to secure advantageous alliances, enhance family prestige and ensure the continuity of lineage. Shakespeare presents the tension between individual autonomy and societal expectations through the characters of Romeo and Juliet as their close relationship is based on love rather than factors such as social advancement.
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Here is another example:
Consider the importance of close relationships elsewhere in the play
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AO3: Context
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In certain historical periods, including the Elizabethan era, the practice of employing a nurse to care for a child was a prevailing custom, particularly in wealthy families. Entrusted with the responsibility of nursing the child, the relationship could often surpass the connection with the biological parent and this is evident through the close relationship between the Nurse and Juliet. The Nurse’s role as a surrogate mother is evident in her interactions with Juliet. She is not only responsible for the practical aspects of Juliet’s care but also serves as a confidante and advisor.
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