Any piece of writing is the product of the author and the experiences, ideals and historical context that affected the author. Contextual reading is studying the author of a text, the period in which it was written and the world events occurring during the time the piece was written, providing you with clues you can use to interpret the piece. Once you understand the world, which produced the work, begin applying this information to the events in the piece to gain a deeper understanding of the author’s view of these issues.
By identifying the main points in a piece of writing, a reader understands the author’s primary purpose and the direction of a story. The main points in a piece of writing include the main theme of the piece, additional themes, the sequence of events in the story and the situations that support these points. A critical reader identifies each of these points, and compares their significance within the story to understand the significance of each of these events.
Many literary themes are seen in multiple literary pieces, allowing a critical reader to compare the presentation of these themes across multiple works, multiple genres or multiple literary periods. This allows readers to study these themes against the specific backdrops of each piece. For instance, a critical reader could compare the idea of independent female strength in both “The Mysteries of Udolpho,” written in 1794, and “Twilight,” written in 2005, and consider the differences in the author’s perceptions of women from each society.
Critical readers learn to ask questions to themselves as they read a selection of literature, forming strategies to answer those questions. As an example, a reader who sees a character acting oddly in one scene should ask herself why the character is reacting this way and consider evidence from elsewhere in the piece.
As a critical reader examines a piece of literature, she considers the themes and ideas in the piece against her own experiences and understandings. Through this examination, a reader develops a deeper understanding of the story’s ideas, while examining her own beliefs and ideas.