English LiteratureYears 12–13Critical Approaches

Critical theory

Apply feminist, Marxist, post-colonial and other critical lenses to literary texts

What you'll learn

  1. 1

    Imagine you're reading a book about a dragon 🐉. A 'critical theory' is like wearing special glasses that help you see hidden things in the story.

  2. 2

    What does a critical theory help you do?

  3. 3

    Here are three different 'glasses' you can put on to read the same story. 👇

  4. 4

    Let's try a Marxist lens on a story about a poor boy and a rich queen.

  5. 5

    Now you try: drag the correct 'lens' to match the question.

  6. 6

    Which lens asks about hidden feelings and dreams?

  7. 7

    Which lens asks about how men and women are treated differently?

Practise Critical theory with Whizlo

Free AI-tutored lessons, unlimited practice questions, and progress tracking for ages 16–18. Aligned to the UK National Curriculum.

Start free →Sign in