text vs context

Text refers to material which is available to read--whether manuscript (written by hand) or printed. (Manuscript also means an unpublished work, writing or written music.) Context means the setting of a written work, in terms of other text before or after the material being looked at, or in terms of what is known or believed about what motivated the author. Sometimes, when members answer questions about English usage, they may ask for more context, what came before or after the quoted material, in order to better to understand what is presented.

As regards what motivates a writer or composer, that is an interpretation, combining what is known about the author, and what is believed by the person writing about the author or composer--and is, in effect, the creation of context. William Shakespeare wrote many historical plays. At any event, it is alleged that the plays are historical. Shakespeare lived during the Tudor dynasty of kings and queens in England. Therefore, in context, it is reasonable to question the historical accuracy of what he wrote. Ludwig von Beethoven wrote (only) nine symphonies. When he moved from Bonn (then a part of Prussia) to Vienna, in the Holy Roman Empire (Austria), he applied to study with Mozart and was rejected by him for not having sufficient skill as a performer on the piano. Beethoven then applied to study with Franz Joseph Haydn, the greatest composer of the day, and a very innovative composer. Haydn had invented the string quartet, and "revolutionized" the brief and minor composition known as a sinfonia concertante, producing the modern symphony, of which he wrote more than one hundred. Beethoven's first two symphonies were pallid imitations of Haydn. His third symphony was innovative, so innovative that it transformed European musical composition. In context, one can see why his first two symphonies were imitations of the work of Haydn, and one could reasonably allege that his innovative third symphony was also a product of having studied with the most innovative composer ot the day, Joseph Haydn.

Thanks, Setanta.