Context
The The factors surrounding a text that help us to understand it; the background events that help to explain something. in which a poem was written can sometimes tell you more about its themes, message and meaning.
Some questions you might ask include:
- are aspects of the poet鈥檚 life reflected in the poem?
- is the time or place in which it was written reflected in the poem?
You will need to research the poet鈥檚 background to discover answers to these questions. But if you do write about a poem and its context, be careful to include only details that reveal something about the poem.
Context of 'The 脡migr茅e'
Carol Rumens was born in South London and grew up there. In addition to her own verse, she has published a number of translations of Russian poems and has, according to the critic Ben Wilkinson, a 鈥榝ascination with elsewhere鈥. This fascination is clear in The 脡migr茅e, which deals with a land and a city which for the speaker is permanently 鈥榚lsewhere鈥.
More guides on this topic
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- Extract from the Prelude by William Wordsworth - AQA
- The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson - AQA
- Remains by Simon Armitage - AQA
- Walking Away by C Day-Lewis - AQA
- Tissue by Imtiaz Dharker - AQA
- Letters from Yorkshire by Maura Dooley - AQA
- Kamikaze by Beatrice Garland - AQA
- Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy - AQA
- Exposure by Wilfred Owen - AQA
- Winter Swans by Owen Sheers - AQA
- Climbing My Grandfather by Andrew Waterhouse - AQA