ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT ARGUMENT

Planning Points

Approximate Time Needed: 90 minutes
Correlation to English I SCS 1.02, 3.02, 4.02, 5.01, 5.02
Correlation to NC High School Exit Exam Competencies: C-2, C-3, PI-9

Lesson Objectives:

This lesson is designed to help students understand the use of historical and biographical context in literary interpretation. It is specifically geared toward showing that great literature can be meaningful with or without contextual background. This can also be used as a springboard to literary theory when working with more advanced students.

Materials Needed:

texts of 2-3 poems by one poet; notes on historical period and biography of the poet to be discussed

Description:

• Students should be divided into two groups (or several pairs of groups for larger classes).
• One group should be assigned to defend the position that an understanding of historical context and biography is necessary to the interpretation of the poet's work. The other group should be assigned to defend the assertion that neither history nor biography is necessary to understanding the poems.
• Groups should be allowed 20-25 minutes to work together and come up with evidence from the texts and from their own experience as readers to support the argument they have been assigned. Teacher should circulate and offer assistance/prompting as needed.
• A spokesperson for each group should present that group's findings, pointing out relevant textual information to support his/her statements.
• Once both sides have presented their views, students may respond to what they have heard in an informal debate.
• The activity should end with a journal entry in which students discuss their own ideas about the relevance of context in literary analysis and how this activity has affected those ideas.

Assessment:

Informal assessment will take place during group discussions, spokesperson presentations, and informal debate. Journal responses may be assessed with teacher responses to prompt further thought.

Additional Notes:

This activity works best with more advanced students, but it can be successfully handled by all groups as long as there are stronger students assigned to each group. Teacher input should be minimized, except where necessary to keep discussion going or to help in maintaining order as students debate.

This activity works especially well with the poetry of T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, John Milton, and any others who wrote during pivotal historical periods.

Teacher's Notes:

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