This GCSE English Literature quiz tests your understanding of the context of William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. In a work of literature, the term “context” means the environment in which that particular text was written, especially including when and where it was composed and any political or social events of that time. This means that context can sometimes be confused with setting. It might be helpful to think about context as the author’s real-life “setting” and a novel or play’s setting as its fictional “context”. Authors very often respond to political or social events in fiction; their personal views have an impact on the text and these, too, are elements of a work’s context.
Context always has some effect on meaning. When you analyse a work of fiction, it is important to study its historical context too.