Question

Think about the experiences you've had with dramatic texts, including seeing live performances or film adaptations. How does the era in which a play was written affect your ability to enjoy it or understand it? How is it different to read or see a play written more than two millennia ago (such as tragedies and comedies from ancient Greece) compared to a few centuries ago (for example, Shakespeare or others from the Renaissance) or one produced in the last 100 years? Is there something like a modern sensibility to more recently written dramatic works that helps you connect better to them than to works from past centuries? Are there traits in older forms of drama that engage you because they are NOT modern? Describe the traits of drama that keep you engaged as well as characteristics that make it challenging to do so.

Answer 1

It can be said that the context in which the play was written (for example Shakespeare time) would be relevant to understand the context of the story. Background information about dates, customs role of the men and women, religion and politics might be crucial to understand the play better. These ideas might help the reader to set a context and be able to comprehend some character´s action and decision.
It is sometimes difficult to judged a play with a modern eye because society has changed a lot since then that is why reading about context would help.