English 10 - Quarter 3 - Lesson 12: The Text as a Time Capsule: A Historical Critique

English 10: Quarter 3

Lesson 12: The Text as a Time Capsule

Lesson 12: The Text as a Time Capsule: A Historical Critique

I. Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Knowledge: Define "historical critique" and "historical context" and explain how events shape literature.
• Skill: Analyze a poem by connecting its specific imagery and message to the historical context (WWI).
• Affective: Appreciate that literature is a "product of its time" and a window into the past.

II. Introduction

Good morning, class. Have you ever looked at a very old photograph, maybe of your grandparents? You don't just see them; you see the time they lived in—their clothes, their hairstyles, the car in the background. Literature is the exact same.

No book, poem, or play is written in a vacuum. They are all products of their world. Today, we are learning to read as "literary historians." We'll be using the Historical Critique, which asks: 'How is this story a conversation with, or a reaction against, the time in which it was written?'

III. Definition (Key Terms) - Part 1

1. Historical Critique:
A type of literary critique that evaluates a work by connecting it to the social, political, and cultural events of the time period in which it was produced.

• To Expand: To understand a text, you must understand the author's world. It asks: "What historical event was the author reacting to?"

2. Historical Context:
The specific social, political, and cultural "atmosphere" of the time and place a text was created.

• Example: A story written in the 1960s would reflect the Civil Rights Movement or the Vietnam War.

III. Definition (Key Terms) - Part 2

3. Author's World vs. Author's Life:
An important distinction.

• Biographical Critique: Cares about the author's personal diary (e.g., their father went to prison).
• Historical Critique: Cares about the public events (e.g., all of Victorian England had widespread debt and child labor).

IV. Spring Board: Dulce et Decorum Est

Part 1: The Historical Context

The following poem was written by Wilfred Owen, a soldier who fought and died in World War I (1914-1918). This was a new, brutal kind of war. But back home in England, many people still promoted an old idea: that it was glorious and noble to die for one's country. The Latin phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" means "It is sweet and proper to die for one's country." Owen wrote this poem from the trenches to show the reality.

Part 2: The Text (Excerpt)

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
... If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs...
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

V. Essential Questions

Analyze the poem as a Literary Historian.

1. What is the "Historical Context"? What "old Lie" was common?

Answer: Context: WWI. The "old Lie" was the idea that it was "sweet and proper" (glorious) to die in war.

2. What specific textual details does the poet use to show the reality of war?

Answer: Brutal details: "Gas," "clumsy helmets," "drowning," "blood come gargling."

3. How is this poem a critique of its historical context?

Answer: It reacts against the popular belief. It uses the ugly reality of modern war to expose the heroic idea as a "Lie."

4. Why is knowing the historical context necessary to understand the poem?

Answer: Without context, we wouldn't know what "The old Lie" refers to, or that Owen is arguing against a specific idea from his time.

VI. Exercise: Historical Detectives

Read the short text below. Based only on the clues, deduce the historical context.

"The factory whistle screamed at 5 a.m., waking the children in their cramped, one-room tenement. Seven-year-old Tom shared a single cot with his two brothers. He'd have a piece of stale bread, then walk to the textile mill, where he'd spend the next 12 hours crawling under the dangerous looms to fix broken threads. He was small, which was good for the job. He'd be lucky to make a few pennies."

1. List the textual details (clues): 2. Inferred Context: Describe the society this text comes from (3-5 points).

Teacher's Model (Context): This text describes the Industrial Revolution. The society had many factories, no child labor laws, dangerous working conditions, extreme poverty/crowding, and long hours for little pay.

VII. Generalization

Today, we learned to read as historians. We learned that literature is a two-way street: the time influences the text, and the text gives us a window into the time.

While a formalist critique asks "How is this built?", a historical critique asks "What world built this?"

This skill turns texts into "time capsules," showing us that stories were part of a real, living world and a conversation happening long ago.

VIII. Evaluation

English 10 - Short Quiz No. 12

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question.

Full Name:

Result: English 10 - Short Quiz No. 12

Name:

Score:

Attempts:

IX. Additional Activity (Enrichment)

Assignment: Choose one popular song from the last 5 years that is clearly about a "historical context" of our time (e.g., pandemic, social media, climate change).

Write one paragraph answering:

1. What is the song?
2. What social issue or historical event is it commenting on?
3. What is the song's message about that issue?

Congratulations! You have completed Lesson 12.