Advanced literary and historical context

What you'll learn

1. 1

   Imagine you're reading a poem from 1916 about a soldier going to war. To really 'get' it, you need to know what was happening in the world then — that's historical context.

2. 2

   What does 'historical context' mean when studying a poem?

3. 3

   Let's look at this line from 'Dulce et Decorum Est': 'Bent double, like old beggars under sacks.' Why did Owen compare soldiers to beggars?

4. 4

   Which of these is an example of applying literary context to a poem about the 1920s?

5. 5

   Drag the context clue to match the poem line. Match 'The war is over, but the silence screams' to its likely context.

6. 6

   Literary context is different — it's about other books, poems, and styles of the time. For example, Romantic poets (like Wordsworth) wrote about nature because everyone was moving to cities.

7. 7

   Which is an example of literary context?