AO3 Context Flashcards
Context for A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens wrote and published A Christmas Carol in 1843. This was a time when poor people were perceived to fall into two categories: the deserving poor and the undeserving poor. The deserving poor were seen as people who were poor through no fault of their own – the sick, the elderly, the disabled. The undeserving poor were assumed to be lazy, and wasteful.
During this time, the Poor Laws and Malthusian laws were in effect, meaning that the poorest people in society were forced to go to workhouses instead of receiving charity aid. Workhouses were feared and avoided – despite them being built to provide shelter and employment, they were brutal places where families were broken up and there was little chance of leaving. The workhouses were full of the people deemed to be the ‘deserving’ poor, meaning that all poor people were being punished for being in poverty.
Dickens had spent a large part of his childhood in poverty, and his father was sent to a debtor’s prison. Dickens’ early life informed a lot of his writing, and he wanted to draw attention to the harsh conditions that the poor faced. He felt that the middle class ignored the issue of poverty and that it was his duty to show them what it was like. This is one of the main reasons he wrote A Christmas Carol. One of the other reasons that Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol was because he loved Christmas and wanted to share that love!
In the 1800s, Christmas traditions were only starting to take off. Christmas trees and carols were gaining popularity at this time, and each year new traditions seemed to be added. Dickens loved Christmas and thought it was the perfect time to help people in need. A Christmas Carol was published a few weeks before Christmas and ended up selling out on Christmas Eve. The popularity of A Christmas Carol created some traditions that still exist today, such as family gatherings and festive generosity.
Context for An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls is set in 1912 but written in 1945. The play is set before both world wars and at a time when the British Empire was still a force to be reckoned with internationally.
This is the key moral point of the play. Priestley’s message is that we all have a duty to society and it will collapse if we don’t honour that duty.
Class is also a very important theme in this play. Class was still very rigid in Edwardian times and it was thought that the upper classes should never mix with the lower classes.
Context for Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet in 1594 which was based on Arthur Brooke’s poem of 1562.
This period was ‘The Elizabethan Era’ which was also known as ‘The Renaissance’: a time of significant change in the fields of religion, politics, science, language and the arts.
Romeo and Juliet was set during a time of religious and political turmoil.
Europe was a traditionally Catholic society with a strong belief in damnation for mortal sin. Suicide and bigamy were both considered to be mortal sins.
Shakespeare was writing following ‘The Reformation’ and this was when England became a Protestant nation, having broken away from the control of the Catholic Church.
In this Protestant society, life became more open and less oppressed.
The father was the head of the household in this patriarchal society.
Women had no rights or authority in law: they could not own property or money but could influence their husbands.
Children were regarded as property and could be given in marriage to a suitable partner. This was often a political or financial transaction to secure and retain wealth.
It was not unusual to be married very young.
In high society, children were often raised by a ‘wet nurse’ and did not have a strong bond with their parents.
Courtly love (like royalty) should be polite, ceremonious, restrained, intellectual, courteous and those involved should be in love with the idea of being in love.
There was no contact, just an exchange of gifts, letters and poems. Divorce was impossible.
Family honour was important to the Elizabethans.
There was a strong belief that the slightest wrong or insults must be avenged as a matter of personal pride or to protect reputation.
Most Elizabethans believed in the ideas of fate and astrology; rich people often paid for horoscopes for their children, and before major decisions such as marriage or travel, one would often consult an astrologer to see if the stars favoured it.
Many people believed that they had no free will: that they had no choice to change their destiny because everything was already ‘predestined’.
The theatre was a popular source of entertainment in Elizabethan England.
Audiences included servants, labourers, the wealthy and they could become quite rowdy during performances.
The poorer people in the audience stood on front of the stage and the more wealthy people sat in the covered galleries above.
