Reference no: EM133367335

Question:

Part of understanding a play is understanding the context within which it is written. You get some sense of this from the prefatory notes before the play, but sometimes you need a little legwork to construct the world at the time the play was written. Think of plays as a historical snapshot of a historical time.

For this week's reading consider the year the play takes place, the year it was written, the location of the play, the politics of the country during the time the play takes place.

You will need to research to understand what was happening in Cuba during this time period. We've talked about historical context before in literature so we'll focus the lens now onto drama.

Make an essay about the historical context of the drama (keep in mind politics and society) and discuss how the two main characters either do or don't have a choice in the decisions they make. Why is understanding the historical context of the play important to understanding the play itself? Which character do you empathise with the most and why?

Careful not to give a history lesson on the setting or to simply relate the events of the plot or summarise the story. State the context(s) you are working with and analyse how they are important to the story/characters and how it influences them.