context

[juicy]

Would you say this was a good definition of context (when looking at a piece of literature): "Any external influence that might have an effect, wheter conscious or not, on the author's writing."

Thanks - am trying to put together a presentation!

[jno]

yes, that sounds good. You could consider The Princess and the Pea (say) in the context of fairytales, or of Danish literature, or of 19th-century childhood, all of which would fit your definition.

[dodgeramus]

umm - i'd say it's the right ballpark, tho may be a little heavy-handed.. at its most reductive, context refers simply to the surroundings/setting of an object/person/phrase that contribute to that thing's meaning.

with regards to your definition (specific to literature), you might want to reconsider the use of both 'influence' and 'effect', as the former necessarily produces the latter. i presume are you're talking about the context in which a book is written, and not the context of a specific passage within said book? in which case maybe somink like:

A book's context = the socio-economic, political, and cultural climate in which the author was/is working (or in which the work is being evaluated).

The question of whether this 'context' influences the text is a seperate one, and need not be included in the definition, tho you may want to add that the artist (and thus his art) is invariably affected by 'context'..

good luck with the presentation!