Analytical lenses

Historicist lens

Focus: historical and cultural context, how time reflects/critiques the values of its historical moment

Theme: Identity, change, social norms, cultural beliefs

Character portrayal: do they align with or challenge the dominant ideologies of that time period, do they fit in?

Feminist lens

Focus: How women are portrayed in literature, gender roles, power, how literature reflects/challenges patriarchal values

Theme: Gender inequality, female agency and societal expectations

Character portrayal: Independent, dependent, objectified or empowered

Marxist lens

Focus: Class struggle, economics, power - how wealth class and capitalism shapes a character and the plot

Theme: inequality, oppression, labour, who holds the economic power

Character portrayal: Social class, oppressed, exploited, privileged, alienation

Post colonial lens

Focus: power dynamics between colonizers and the colonized, how it represents colonisation, imperialism and cultural identity

Themes: displacement, racism, resistance and legacy of colonial rule

Character portrayal: stereotyped, silenced, empowered

psychoanalytical lens

Focus: unconscious mind, desires, fears, motivations

Theme: symbols, dreams

Character portrayal: analyses characters like patients - what do their actions reveal about inner conflicts and repressed emotions