The Contextual Analysis

The contextual analysis should be 1200-1400 words (4-6 pages). The four different focus areas for the analysis are listed below. You will choose one of the focus areas for your contextual analysis:

1. Critical Reception History
• Immediate popular reception (magazines and newspapers)
• Revival reception
• Scholarly reception
• Provide a representation from several time periods
• Discuss trends among the critics
2. Historical Context
• What is necessary to know about the political/sociocultural world the play was originally written and performed in?
• Think nationally, but also regionally and local to the author
• Author biography
3. Production and Performance History
• Where was the play originally written and over what time period?
• What were the conditions of composition?
• When was the play initially published?
• When and where was the original production of the play?
• Who directed and starred in it? Did it follow the original text, or were alterations made for the stage (as in Elia Kazan's changes to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)?
• Discuss notable productions after the original.
4. History of Printed Editions
• When was it first produced as a printed text?
• Is it often included in anthologies?
• List other published editions after the original. Is the edition scholarly? If so, who is the editor and what additional information do they frame the text with? Is it a stage reading edition? 

Due date: November 15