Starter quiz
- Between which years is the play 'Small Island' set?
- 1939 & 1948 ✓
- 1914 & 1921
- 1959 & 1969
- 2009 & 2019
-
- What year was the novel 'Small Island' first adapted for stage and performed?
- 2018
- 2019 ✓
- 2017
- 2012
- 2015
-
- What is the definition of colourism?
- The belief in the superiority of certain races over others.
- Discrimination based on skin colour, favoring lighter skin over darker skin. ✓
- The division of society based on wealth and education.
- The exclusion of individuals from a group or society.
-
- In 'Small Island', what connotations does the description "golden life" carry in the context of Little Hortense and colourism?
- It emphasises the idea of darkness and obscurity.
- It reinforces the colonial ideals of privilege associated with lighter skin. ✓
- It represents the concept of gender hierarchy.
- It highlights the importance of education in societal hierarchies.
-
- Starting with the first, put these plot points from Act 1 Scene 1 in 'Small Island' in chronological order.
- 1⇔Hortense hurries to prepare the classroom. Mrs Ryder is standing by the door.
- 2⇔Hortense begins to tell the story of her childhood.
- 3⇔Michael returns from school a grown man.
- 4⇔The hurricane intensifies and Hortense reveals it is Michael she is waiting for.
- 5⇔Michael rushes into the schoolhouse to Mrs Ryder .
- 6⇔Hortense witnesses Mrs Ryder and Michael kissing.
- 7⇔Hortense runs out into the hurricane and reveals what she has seen.
- In 'Small Island' which character says: "There is a whole world out there where real things are happening and people are really living their lives."
- Queenie
- Hortense
- Michael ✓
- Bernard
- Mrs Ryder
-
Exit quiz
- What is the term used to describe the spread of people from their original homeland?
- Exile
- Diaspora ✓
- Colonisation
- Nomadic
-
- What is the term for the control by one country over another?
- Independence
- Diaspora
- Colonialism ✓
- Globalism
-
- 'Small Island' is a stage adaption of a novel by Andrea Levy. What type of context is this?
- Biographical
- Literary ✓
- Social
- Historical
-
- Andrea Levy, author of the novel 'Small Island', was a second generation migrant to Jamaican parents. What type of context is this?
- Literary
- Biographical ✓
- Social
- Historical
-
- In which year was 'Small Island' first performed on stage and what is the significance of this date?
- 2008 alongside the British Banking crisis
- 1962 when Jamaica gained its independence
- 2019 amidst the Windrush Scandal ✓
- 2003 with the start of the Iraq War
-
- In every literature essay, you should include context. Match the type of context to its definition.
- Historical⇔What was happening when the text was written? ✓
- Biographical⇔What are the life experiences of the author? ✓
- Social⇔What were the shared values and ideas of the time period? ✓
- Literary⇔What influenced the text's style or genre? ✓
Worksheet
Loading worksheet ...
Presentation
Loading presentation ...
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Context can refer to key concepts, such as colourism or colonial attitudes, which inform our understanding of the text.
- Context refers to historical, social, literary and biographical information.
- Context should not be presented as isolated facts.
- Context should be relevant to the analysis and woven in the response.
- Context should develop your ideas and give an insight into the writer’s purpose and intention.
Common misconception
That context refers just to historical facts.
Think about the 'big ideas' in the text and what has influenced and informed these. This all comes under the umbrella of context.
Keywords
Colonialism - The control by one country over another. At various points the British Empire controlled 56 countries.
Windrush generation - The people who emigrated on the HMT Windrush between 1948 and 1971.
Stage adaptation - Where a text, for example a novel or a film, is made into a theatrical production for the stage.
Diaspora - The spread of people from their original homeland.
Weave - In relation to context, when you embed into paragraphs rather than including as isolated facts.
+