21st Century Literature from

the Philippines and the World

Quarter 1 – Module 4:
Context: A milieu in Enhancing Text’s
Meaning and Enriching the Reader’s
Understanding
21st Century Literature of the Philippines and the World– Grade 12
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 1: Context: A milieu in Enhancing Text’s Meaning and
Enriching the Reader’s Understanding!
First Edition, 2020

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Writer: JULIANA L. MAYHEW

Editor: CRISTINA F. ABANADOR
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HEIDEE F. FERRER, EPS, LRMS

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21st Century Literature
of the Philippines and
the World
Quarter 1 – Module 4:
Context: A milieu in Enhancing
Text’s Meaning and Enriching
the Reader’s Understanding
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to Module 4 of the 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and
the World- Grade 12 Supplementary Learning Material for the First Quarter on the
Context: A milieu in Enhancing Text’s Meaning and Enriching the Reader’s
Understanding!
This module was collaboratively designed, developed, and reviewed by educators
both from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher, or facilitator in
helping the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming
their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning resource hopes to engage the learners in guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st-century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body
of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners as
they do the tasks included in the module.

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For the learner:

Welcome to Module 4 of the 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and
the World- Grade 12 Supplementary Learning Material for the First Quarter on the
Context: A milieu in Enhancing Text’s Meaning and Enriching the Reader’s
Understanding!

The hand is one of the most symbolized parts of the human body. It is often used
to depict skill, action, and purpose. Through our hands, we may learn, create, and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner is
capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and skills at
your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities
for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

This will give you an idea of the skills or

What I Need to Know competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.
This part includes an activity that aims to
What I Know check what you already know about the
lesson to take. If you get all the answers
correct (100%), you may decide to skip this
module.
This is a brief drill or review to help you link
What’s In the current lesson with the previous one.

In this portion, the new lesson will be

What’s New introduced to you in various ways such as a
story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an
activity, or a situation.
This section provides a brief discussion of the
What is It lesson. This aims to help you discover and
understand new concepts and skills.
This comprises activities for independent
What’s More practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check the
answers to the exercises using the Answer
Key at the end of the module.

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 This includes questions or blank
What I Have Learned sentences/paragraphs to be filled into the
process what you learned from the lesson.
This section provides an activity that will help
What I Can Do you transfer your new knowledge or skill in
real-life situations or concerns.
This is a task which aims to evaluate your
Assessment level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.
In this portion, another activity will be given
Additional Activities to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of the
lesson learned. This also tends to the
retention of learned concepts.
This contains answers to all activities in the
Answer Key module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in developing

this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not hesitate to
consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and gain a
deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
master the nature of Biology. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many
different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level
of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course.
But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook
you are now using.

The module’s lesson title:

Lesson 1 – Context: A milieu in Enhancing Text’s Meaning and Enriching the
Reader’s Understanding
Lesson 2 - Different types of context in literature
Lesson 3 – Contextual analysis of the various kinds of literary genre

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. define what is the context in literature;
2. identify the different types of context in literature;
3. discuss and explain the context of a particular literary piece of work; and,
4. Create a contextual analysis from the given literary text.

What I Know

Before proceeding to the lesson properly, try to answer the questions below.
There’s no right or wrong answer.

The purpose of this activity is to check your prior knowledge about the topic.
1. What are the context and their importance?
2. What are the types of context in literature?
3. What are the steps you need to follow in doing a contextual analysis?
4. Have you done a contextual literary text analysis?
5.

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 Lesson
Context: A milieu in
enhancing the text’s
1 meaning and enriching the
reader’s understanding

This section will help you link the current lesson with the previous one. In your
previous lesson, you learned about the various genres of 21st-century literature and the
literary genres in the earlier time in the Philippine literature. From there, you will
proceed to learn the different contexts to enhance the text meaning and to enrich the
understanding of the reader which is the topic that will be discussed in this lesson.

What’s In

As a reader, it necessary to understand what text is all about. To fully

comprehend a text, you need to know its setting, environment, and surroundings and
this is called context. Through the context, the text meaning becomes clear and relevant
to the reader. Context is an integral component of literary text which helps to engage
the reader. Without context, readers may not be able to see the true picture and value
of a literary work. Contexts help readers to recognize the cultural, social, philosophical,
and political aspects that prevalent in society at the time of writing the text.

All literary texts were written by different authors with different backgrounds,
cultures, societies, and languages. According to Twomey, without a clear understanding
of the text you read, you cannot fully comprehend the views and values of the author,
nor the overall meaning of a text.

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 Notes to the Teacher
This part of the lesson contains some examples of context in
literature, sample Philippine literary texts and useful activities to
help you guide your learners to do the activities and to engage them
to study and learn the lesson.

What’s New

What is Context?

Context is the background, environment, setting, framework, or surroundings of

events or occurrences. Simply, context means circumstances forming a background of
an event, idea, or statement, in such a way as to enable readers to understand the
narrative or a literary piece. It is necessary for writing to provide information, new
concepts, and words to develop thoughts.

Types of Context for Literary Works

1. Authorial Context
Authorial context is also called a biographical context. In most cases of
writing, authors tend to connect a particular work to their personal life
experiences and things that happen in their life. This means that their lives often
influence their work.

2. Social Context
The social context of a text is how the features of the society it is set in
impact on its meaning. There are two aspects to social context: the kind of society
in which the characters live, and the one in which the author’s text was
produced.

3. Historical Context
The historical context of a text is entangled with its social context, as
underlying norms and conventions are historically specific. The historical context
is important to note especially when large changes have occurred between the
time the work was produced, and our current day, so it is not assessed by our
concerns alone.

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 4. Culture Context
Culture refers to a particular ‘way of life’, involving religion, race, and
nationality, as well as things like food, dress code, and manners. Furthermore,
culture can relate to art, music, writing, and literature itself. Cultural context,
which is similarly linked with social, historical, and ideological context, is
especially important to note if the author is attempting to comment on an aspect
of culture or the clash of two cultures.

5. Ideological Context
Ideology refers to the systems of beliefs and ideas that underpin our attitudes
and behavior. Such ideology may be valued by society as a whole, or be the basis
of conflict. Ideology is a context that is in many ways ‘invisible’.

6. Critical Context
Any published materials are it in written or others, it tends to attract
criticism from the readers. Critics begin to write their thoughts, expressing what
they admire and what they dislike about it. Early criticism typically takes the
form of book reviews, which are usually brief and concentrate mostly on
explaining to prospective readers what a work’s subject matter, theme, tone, and
style are and whether it is any good. But now, critics try to point out hidden
meanings, influences, and patterns and make connections between this work and
others, and between this author and others. This is the realm of serious literary
criticism.

7. Literary Context
Authors respond to other authors positively, negatively, or both. Most
writers’ works are influenced by some literary theories such as Romanticism,
Realism, Naturalism, Existentialism, Modernism, or Postmodernism, etc. They
can be the pattern of the author’s literary work or piece of writing.

What is It

The following are examples of context in the 21st-century Philippine literature.

1. Authorial Context
Stupid is Forever by Miriam Defensor-Santiago
Miriam Defensor-Santiago was known for her wit and sense of humor. She often publicly
expressed her mind bravely without any sense of hesitance and fear. The central theme
of her literary works revolves around her political career and her experiences in the
realm of politics. Her book “Stupid is Forever” points out the unpleasant things which
she thinks are not according to the ethical human standards.

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2. Historical Context
Dekada ’70 by Bautista of Lualhato Bautista

Dekada ’70 by Bautista of Lualhato Bautista is an example of the historical

context in which the story revolves in the life of a woman who experienced
discomfort during the difficult years in Philippine history specifically during the time of
Martial Law under the leadership of Ferdinand Marcos. Dekada ’70 gives us a glimpse
of the kind of life women had lived during the time of Martial Law.
3. Social Context
100 Tula Para Kay Stella by Jason Paul Laxamana
The 100 Tula Para Kay Stella or “100 Poems for Stella” in English presents the social
conflict between the two main characters in the person of Fidel and Stella. The two
characters have opposite characteristics and personalities, but despite their differences,
they seem to complement each; as the famous saying says “opposite attracts”. This kind
of predicament does not only exist in stories or fiction story like in the “100 Tula Para
Kay Stella of Jason Paul Laxamana. But this also happens in a real-life context.

What’s More

Using Contextual Analysis in Evaluating a Text

“A contextual analysis is simply an analysis of a text by using any forms of the

medium that helps the readers to assess that text within the context of its historical and
cultural setting, but also in terms of its textuality or the qualities that characterize the
text as a text.
A contextual analysis combines features of formal analysis with features of
“cultural archeology,” or the systematic study of social, political, economic,
philosophical, religious, and aesthetic conditions that were concurrent at the time and
place when the text was created.” Retrieved from
http://english.unl.edu/sbehrendt/StudyQuestions/ContextualAnalysis.html

Steps in Creating Contextual Analysis

1. Write the introduction
2. Describe the body
3. Move on to the theme
4. Move on the style
5. Write a conclusion

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Before Reading
Read the text below. While reading, take note of some significant details for the
post-reading activity.

Back to Nature by Harold Magna

For centuries towns and countries have been regarded as being in opposition to each
other. It has been suggested that the superficial differences between the two-wide-open
spaces contrasting with brick and concrete-are less important than the contrasting
attitudes of town and country.
I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we would
prefer to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city. I have managed
to convince myself that if it weren’t for my job I would immediately head out for the open
spaces and, go back to nature in some sleepy village buried in the country. But how
realistic is this dream?
Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population lives in massive tower
blocks, noisy, squalid, and impersonal. The sense of belonging to a community tends to
disappear when you live fifteen floors up. All you can see from your window is the sky,
or other blocks of apartments. Children become aggressive and nervous- cooped up at
home all day, with nowhere to play; their mothers feel isolated from the rest of the world.
Strangely enough, whereas in the past the inhabitants of one street all knew each other,
nowadays people on the same floor in tower blocks or condominium apartments don’t
even say hello to each other.
Country life, on the other hand, differs from this kind of isolated existence in that a
sense of community generally binds the inhabitants of small villages together. People
have the advantage of knowing that there is always someone to turn to when they need
help. But country life has disadvantages too. While it is true that you may be among
friends in a village, it is also true that you are cut off from the exciting and important
events that take place in cities. There’s little possibility of going to a new show or the
latest movie. Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the
country, you have to go on an expedition to the nearest large town. The city-dweller who
leaves for the country is often oppressed by a sense of unbearable stillness and quiet.
What, then, is the answer? The country has the advantage of peace, but suffers from
the disadvantage of being cut off: the city breeds neurosis and a feeling of isolation-
constant noise batters the senses. But one of its main advantages is that you are at the
center of things, and life does not come to an end at half-past nine at night. Some people
have found a compromise between the two; they have expressed their preference for a
quiet life by leaving the suburbs and moving to villages within commuting distance of
the large cities. They generally have about as much sensitivity as the plastic flowers they
leave behind-they are polluted with strange ideas about change and improvement which
they force on to the unwilling original inhabitants of the villages.
What, then, of my dreams of leaning on a cottage gate, chewing a piece of grass and
murmuring good morning to the neighbors as they pass? I’m keen on the idea, but you
see there’s my cat, Toby. I’m not at all sure that he would take all that fresh air and

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exercise in the long grass. No, he would rather have the electric imitation-coal fire any
evening.

After Reading
Do a contextual analysis by following the steps in creating a contextual analysis.
Write your analysis in the Microsoft word format.

What I Have Learned

1. Context refers to the background, environment, setting, framework, or

surroundings of events or occurrences that influence the writer’s text mode.
2. Context is important in deriving meaning from the text as it likewise proliferates
the reader’s understanding of a certain text.
3. To fully comprehend a text, a reader needs to know its setting, environment, and
surroundings and this refers to the so-called context.
4. Context has different types of context namely; authorial, historical, social,
ideological, cultural, critical, and literal. Each is distinct from one another in
determining the meaning of a text.
5. Context is an integral component of literary text which helps to engage the reader
in reading a text.
6. Context helps readers to recognize the cultural, social, philosophical, and
political aspects that are prevalent in society at the time of writing the text.
7. The contextual analysis does not only help the readers to assess the text within
the context of its historical and cultural setting but also in terms of its textuality
or the qualities that characterize the text as a text.

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 What I Can Do

After studying the lesson about context, I can now do the following:
1. define what is the context in literature.
2. identify the different types of context in literature.
3. Discuss and explain the context of a particular literary piece of work.
4. Create a contextual analysis from a literary text.

Assessment

You have just learned about context and its different types. To check your full
understanding of the lesson, you need to answer this assessment activity.
Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your answer in a
separate piece of paper.
1. A reader needs to have knowledge of the setting, environment, and surrounding
in order to _______________________ a text.
A. evaluate
B. comprehend
C. criticize
D. recognize
2. It helps the reader in determining the meaning of the text.
A. setting
B. framework
C. context
D. knowledge
3. It is the main purpose of context in literature.
A. to show to the reader the value of a text
B. to lessen the difficulty in writing
C. to get the meaning of the text easily
D. to help the readers recognize the cultural, social, political aspects
Are prevalent at the time of writing a text.
5. It refers to a particular ‘way of life involving religion, race, and nationality, as
well as things like food, dress code, and manners.
A. Social Context
B. Cultural Context
C. Historical Context
D. Authorial Context
6. It is one type of literary context that is also called a biographical context.
A. Literary Context
B. Historical Context
C. Critical Context
D. Authorial Contex

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 Additional Activities

This activity will deepen your understanding of the lesson on the different types
of context in 21st-century literature. Here you are going to apply what you have learned
from the lesson.
You have to read the following literary works of some Filipino writers in the 21st
century. After you have read them, you have to discuss what literary context is implied
in the writer’s text. Write your answers in the Microsoft word document. Each
explanation is ten (10) points.
1. Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan
2. The Last Time I Saw Mother by Arlene J. Chai
3. Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco

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 Answer Key

D
B
D
C
B
Assessment

References
Creating A Strong Contextual Analysis Essay In 5 Easy Steps. Easy
Knowledge Guide. Science Issues.Net. Retrieved from
https://scienceissues.net/how-to-write-a-solid-contextual-analysis-
paper-effective-tips
Five Types of Context for Literary Works Retrieved from.
http://mason.gmu.edu/~rnanian/305context.html
Literary Devices. Definition and Examples of Literary Terms. Retrieved from
https://literarydevices.net/context/
Magna, H. Back to Nature. Retrieved from. https://stories-in-the
sand.blogspot.com/2007/04/back-to-nature-by-harold-magna.html
The 10 Best Books in Modern Philippine Literature. Culture Trip. Retrieved
from https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-10-best-books-
in-modern-philippine-literature/
Twomey, E..(2016, June 2). The Importance of Context in Literature. Lisa’s
Study Guide. Retrieved from https://www.vcestudyguides.com/blog/the-
importance-of-context-in-literature
Using Contextual Analysis to evaluate texts. Retrieved from
http://english.unl.edu/sbehrendt/StudyQuestions/ContextualAnalys
is.html

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