Getting ‘in the know’
In almost every written communication there is a context which helps the reader to make sense of the words, and often a subtext - an assumption by the writer that the reader shares an understanding as to what is being referred to.
Context
For example, in one of Wilfred Owen’s poems, Hospital Barge, the reader of the poem understands that it is written from the perspective of a First World War soldier (Owen himself) in northern France, enjoying rare time away from trench bombardment. Sitting by a canal, he observes a barge take away those wounded at the Western Front – that is the context.Subtext
The departure of the wounded, symbolised by the scream of the barge’s funnel, makes the poet think of Avalon and Merlin. Owen is assuming that, just by mentioning these mythic names, his readers will understand the subtext he is referring to – the legends surrounding the heroic British King Arthur. Owen had recently re-read a well-known Victorian poem by Poet Laureate Lord Tennyson, with which he might have been confident his original readers were familiar.Unlike many of the upbeat legends about Arthur, the mood of Tennyson’s poem is one of grief and loss. It chimes in with the idea that Arthur’s chivalric code ultimately did not withstand human corruptibility. By drawing on this understood subtext Owen is therefore communicating that the valiant glory of battle/the First World War is superseded by the cost of suffering and loss… But if you aren’t familiar with the subtext, you will miss this additional layer of meaning.
The most shared subtext of all
In the Western literary tradition, the most shared subtext of all is the Bible. Every writer from Chaucer onwards has assumed that readers will ‘get it’ when, within their work, they create parallels or counterpoints to famous biblical narratives, that alluding to biblical characters or events will serve as a shorthand to a shared understanding.- When in King Lear Edmund cheats his brother out of his father’s affection (Act 1, scene 2; Act 2, scene 1), playing on the infirmities of an ageing parent, Shakespeare would expect his audience to think of another brother who tricked his sibling out of his rightful status - Jacob cheating Esau Genesis 27:1-41.
- When Dr Frankenstein is aghast at the ugliness of the monster he has created (Frankenstein, vol 1, chapter 4), Mary Shelley expected her readers to see that as a counterpoint to the goodness of God’s creation emphasized by Genesis (Genesis 1:26-31; Genesis 2:2; Genesis 2:7. The contrast of narratives highlighted Shelley’s theme that any such human creation could only come to a bad end.
Light shining in darkness
If you already know this stuff, it’s like having a light to illuminate the texts you are studying. Yet many today do not have the time or brain-space to read the entire sixty-six books of the Bible. However, this week Crossref-it.info is adding to its range of handy paraphrases of famous biblical narratives. For example:- To find out about the cheating younger brother, go to Famous stories from the Bible > Jacob cheats Esau
- The creation account can be found at Famous stories from the Bible > The biblical account of creation
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment