Classic literature is often described as timeless, but the context in which a work was written is always relevant to our understanding of it. For example, we interpret the treatment of women in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew as a product of its time, and were that play to be written now, it would be received very differently. Understanding historical backgrounds is key to inferring a text’s themes and messages, and it also enhances our overall reading experience. Let’s look at some specific examples to understand how context helps us understand these classic works.

Written in 1818, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is regarded as the world’s first science fiction novel. Reflecting the suspicions many people had of science at the time, it explores the theme of the potential dangers of knowledge. In the novel, scientist Victor Frankenstein creates life, crossing the bounds from human to god in doing so. Frankenstein was set in the 18th century, at the end of the Enlightenment Period, when science and individualism gained importance in Europe, threatening the world-views of many traditional, religious people. Inspired by these attitudes, Shelley created the scientist who played god by unlocking the secret life, with dangerous and tragic consequences. If we understand this context, the story is much more significant than it first seems.

To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960 by Harper Lee. By portraying the unfairness of racism, Lee sends the message that empathy and respect are the most important life lessons that one could learn. In the story, narrator Scout Finch’s father, Atticus, is a lawyer who is asked to defend a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman. Atticus takes the case even though everyone knows he has little hope of winning due to the blatant racism towards black people. Set in the mid-1930s in Alabama, To Kill a Mockingbird delves into the deeply racist American society that treated black Americans as second-class citizens. Atticus’s empathy and respect towards others teaches Scout and her brother some valuable life lessons, which is a recurring theme in the novel. The novel’s impact in the 1960s was especially significant due to the ongoing Civil Rights movement taking place in America at the time. Though Harper Lee’s novel appeared to be a piece of historical fiction, it was in fact a reflection of the struggles in her contemporary society.

These are only two examples as to how classic novels’ historical backgrounds are relevant to their themes and messages. To enhance our reading experience, it is definitely worthwhile paying attention to the context in which a book was written.