Contextual Criticism looks at a story in its world. It asks: How does the time period, the society, or the author's life influence the story? It might also use ideas like feminism or Marxism to understand the story better.
Some major literary lenses include:
Feminist Lens
Examines literature through issues of gender, sexuality, patriarchy, and the social and political conditions of women across cultures and time periods. It looks at how the work portrays women's roles, rights, oppression, identity, etc.
Example thesis statement: "Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale provides a haunting feminist critique of institutionalized sexism and systematic stripping of women's rights."
Marxist Lens
Analyzes literature by examining power structures, economic factors, classes, and their influence on society. It explores how the text reinforces or challenges capitalist, bourgeois values.
Example thesis statement: "Charles Dickens's portrayal of the brutal conditions of the working class in Hard Times exposes the dehumanizing effects of 19th century industrial capitalism."
Psychoanalytic Lens
Approaches the text by understanding the human psyche, unconscious desires, repressed thoughts, and psychological motivations behind the characters and their behaviors.
Example thesis statement: "William Shakespeare's Hamlet poignantly explores the Oedipal complexities and psychological tensions that arise within the dysfunctional relationships of the royal family."
New Historicism
Interprets literary works through their historical, cultural, social, and biographical contexts to understand how the writers and works were influenced by their environments.
Example thesis statement: "Set against the backdrop of the Salem Witch Trials, Arthur Miller's The Crucible uses hysteria over witchcraft as an allegory to indict the broader atmosphere of McCarthyism and persisting intolerance."
Postcolonial Lens
Focuses on the impacts and influences of colonial rule and the struggles of the colonized peoples and nations. It examines power dynamics, oppression, identity issues, and systemic injustices.
Example thesis statement: "Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart provides a postcolonial counter-narrative that critiques the cultural prejudices of colonialism and loss of cultural identity for Africans under imperial subjugation."
Ecocritical Lens
Studies the representation of the natural environment and humanity's relationship to it. It analyzes how the work portrays environmental issues, the nonhuman world, and the impact of humans.
Example thesis statement: "Through vivid nature imagery and mythological symbolism in her novels, Leslie Marmon Silko advocates for respecting the intrinsic relationship between Native culture and the natural environment."
Reader Response
Examines how readers receive, interpret, and make meaning from texts based on their individual backgrounds, personal connections, emotional reactions, and cultural lenses.
Example thesis statement: "As a feminist reader, I interpret the female protagonists in Toni Morrison's Beloved as empowered voices resisting systemic oppression despite their suffering under slavery."
By viewing a literary text through one or more of these specialized lenses, drawn from history, society, or critical theory, you can uncover deeper insights into cultural contexts, power relationships, subconscious motivations, historical influences, and offer alternative perspectives that enrich the interpretation and understanding of the work.