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### **Assignment on Literature: Context and Register**
**Course: Literary Studies**
**Instructor: [Name]**
**Date: [Date]**
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### **1. Introduction**
Literature serves as a mirror to human experiences, shaped by the interplay of **context**
(the circumstances surrounding a text) and **register** (the style of language used). This
assignment explores these concepts, their interdependence, and their significance in literary
analysis. By examining theoretical frameworks, examples, and case studies, we demonstrate
how context and register deepen our understanding of texts (Bennett & Royle, 2016).
**Reference**:
Bennett, Andrew, and Nicholas Royle. *An Introduction to Literature, Criticism, and Theory*.
5th ed., Routledge, 2016.
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### **2. Context in Literature**
**Definition**: Context encompasses the historical, cultural, social, and biographical factors
influencing a text's creation and interpretation (Eagleton, 2008).
#### **2.1 Historical Context**
- Refers to the time period in which a text is written or set.
- **Example**: Shakespeare’s *Macbeth* reflects Jacobean anxieties about political instability
and witchcraft (Muir, 1984).
#### **2.2 Cultural Context**
- Involves societal norms, values, and beliefs.
- **Example**: Chinua Achebe’s *Things Fall Apart* critiques colonialism through Igbo cultural
traditions (Achebe, 1958).
#### **2.3 Social Context**
- Examines class, race, and gender dynamics.
- **Example**: Jane Austen’s *Pride and Prejudice* critiques 19th-century British class
hierarchies (Snyder, 1999).
#### **2.4 Biographical Context**
- Links the author’s life to their work.
- **Example**: Sylvia Plath’s *The Bell Jar* mirrors her struggles with mental health (Johnson,
2003).
**References**:
Achebe, Chinua. *Things Fall Apart*. Heinemann, 1958.
Eagleton, Terry. *Literary Theory: An Introduction*. 2nd ed., Blackwell Publishing, 2008.
Johnson, Christopher. "Sylvia Plath and the Art of the Autobiography." *Twentieth Century
Literature*, vol. 49, no. 4, 2003, pp. 517-537.
Muir, Kenneth. *Shakespeare’s Tragedies*. Routledge, 1984.
Snyder, Susan J. *Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: A Cultural History*. Palgrave Macmillan,
1999.
---
### **3. Register in Literature**
**Definition**: Register refers to language variation based on situation, audience, and purpose
(Halliday, 1978).
#### **3.1 Types of Register**
- **Formal**: Academic or ceremonial language (*e.g.,* legal documents in Harper Lee’s *To
Kill a Mockingbird*) (Rosen, 2014).
- **Informal**: Colloquial or conversational tone (*e.g.,* Holden’s slang in Salinger’s *The
Catcher in the Rye*) (Salinger, 1951).
- **Neutral**: Factual and impersonal (*e.g.,* news reports in Orwell’s *1984*) (Orwell, 1949).
#### **3.2 Factors Influencing Register**
- **Audience**: A children’s book vs. a scholarly article.
- **Purpose**: Persuasion (political speeches) vs. entertainment (comedic dialogue).
- **Genre**: Poetry often uses metaphorical language, while prose may be more direct (Eggins,
2004).
**References**:
Eggins, Suzanne. *An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics*. 2nd ed., Continuum,
2004.
Halliday, M.A.K. *Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and
Meaning*. University of California Press, 1978.
Orwell, George. *1984*. Secker & Warburg, 1949.
Rosen, David. *The Later Fiction of Harper Lee*. Simon & Schuster, 2014.
Salinger, J.D. *The Catcher in the Rye*. Little, Brown and Company, 1951.
---
### **4. Interplay Between Context and Register**
- **Context Shapes Register**:
- In *The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*, Mark Twain uses Southern dialects to reflect
regional social hierarchies (Twain, 1884).
- George Orwell’s *1984* employs Newspeak, a controlled register mirroring totalitarian
oppression (Orwell, 1949).
- **Register Reinforces Context**:
- The formal rhetoric in *Julius Caesar* underscores Roman political gravitas (Muir, 1984).
**References**:
Muir, Kenneth. *Shakespeare’s Tragedies*. Routledge, 1984.
Orwell, George. *1984*. Secker & Warburg, 1949.
Twain, Mark. *The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*. Charles L. Webster, 1884.
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### **5. Case Studies**
#### **5.1 *Pride and Prejudice* (Jane Austen)**
- **Context**: Regency-era marriage norms and classism (Snyder, 1999).
- **Register**: Formal dialogue among elites vs. colloquial speech of lower classes (Austen,
1813).
**Reference**:
Austen, Jane. *Pride and Prejudice*. T. Egerton, 1813.
Snyder, Susan J. *Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: A Cultural History*. Palgrave Macmillan,
1999.
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your assignment.
