ABSTRACT
This chapter look at the bigger picture of the writer’s relationship to the material, what the play is about and how to identify the genre. It has three steps:
The writer and the play The ideas that underpin the text The genre or style of the play
The writer and the play
If you are working with an older play, written by an author who is now dead, first find out the basic facts about the author and ask: ‘How do these facts shed light on the play?’ For example, here are some key facts about Chekhov.
