Contextual Reading Approaches: Noribel I. Dimen 12 - Gasprts Chloei Pancy

Noribel I.
Dimen 12 - GASPRTS
Chloei Pancy
Contextual Reading Approaches

All literary texts were written by different authors with different background,
culture, society, language, etc. On the other hand, you, as a reader, also differ from
the writer and other readers of the literary text.
Biographical Context
The biographical context of an author provides greater understanding of
factors which may have influenced the author's writing. Through studying the
author, the readers may be able to connect the characters and their morals to the
author's life, and analyze the patterns of behavior shown between and among the
characters, the author, and the reader himself.
Here are some examples of literary works written by authors of different

backgrounds. In their sample writings, their personal stories and beliefs reflect the
way they project the characters in their narrative:
1. “Under My Invisible Umbrella” by Laurel Fantauzzo is a literary essay that

talks about a Filipino-Italian who was born in the United States. Because her
features are more Italian than Filipina, she had encountered problems with
people treating her as “extra special” in the Philippines, but she finds it more
isolating than welcoming. Fantauzzo’s way of writing reflects a lot about her
personal encounters within the Philippines. To understand her essays better,
the reader must know her background first so that they may know the
reasons behind her dilemmas.
2. “Catch a Falling Star” by Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo is a collection of realistic
short stories that revolve around a child character named Trissy or Patriciang
Payatot. In the narratives, you would find out that Trissy is not much
involved in outdoor games; she was more inclined to writing, paper doll
making, and other simple crafts. If one tries to research about the author,
she may be classified as a female Filipino writer who belongs to the
intellectual elite; that’s why her writings are influenced by upper-middle class
situations.
Sociocultural Context
It is important to note the year or period of a literary text for as the readers
to identify the historical events that took place in the given year. It is also helps to
find out the roots of an event's cause and the reasons behind the character's
motives and interests.
Several sociological, economic, and cultural perspectives can be used when reading
using the sociocultural context:
1. Marxism - According to the Marxist perspective, literature shows class
struggle and materialism.
2. Feminism - The feminist perspective examines the role of the women in the
literature.
3. Queer Theory - The queer perspective is concerned with the queer or the
third gender.
4. Historicism - Historicism or traditional historical criticism is a perspective
dealing with the history that influenced the writing of literature.
5. Postcolonialism - Postcolonialism is a literary perspective that looks into the
changes in the attitude of the post colonies after the colonial period.
6. New Historicism - New Historicism is another perspective in the sociocultural
context. It focuses not only on the history when the literary text was written,
but also how the history happened.
Linguistic Context
Reading the text on its own, regardless of the author’s biography and
sociocultural context, may help you understand the literary text through analyzing
the words, sentences, patterns, imagery, etc. of the text. Analyzing the literary
text’s grammar, syntax, or phonemic pattern may help you find the meaning of the
text within its form and help you interpret it by simply analyzing the content of the
literary work.
Some literary approaches can be used when reading using the linguistic Context:
1. Structuralism - Structuralism relays the texts being examined to a larger

structure. The structure may be a particular genre, a range of intertextual
connections, a model of a universal narrative structure, or a system of
recurrent patterns or motifs.
2. Formalism (or New Criticism) - Formalism is a school of literary criticism and
literary theory that focuses on the structure of a particular text. It examines
a text without taking into account any outside influence.
3. Poststructuralism - Poststructuralism is the reaction to structuralism. In the
linguistic context, there may be underlying structures that may have
different interpretations based on how the words or phrases were used in the
text.
Recall:
Biographical Context
This context requires the reader to analyze the life and experience of the
author to understand the literary text.
Sociocultural Context
This context requires the reader to analyze the social, economic, political,
and cultural standpoint of the literary text.
Linguistic Context
This context requires the reader to analyze the language, form, and structure
of the text.

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Noribel I.

Contextual Reading Approaches

Here are some examples of literary works written by authors of different

1. “Under My Invisible Umbrella” by Laurel Fantauzzo is a literary essay that

1. Structuralism - Structuralism relays the texts being examined to a larger

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