Literary theory

Literary theory is like playing dress-up with a story. When you read a book, you put on a certain costume (lens) to look at the story differently.

For example, if you want to focus on how the author wrote the book, you might put on a grammar costume. In this costume, you look at the sentences the author used and how they create meaning.

Or, if you want to explore how the story is influenced by the author's experiences or the time period it was written in, you might put on a history costume. In this costume, you think about what was happening in the world when the author wrote the story and how that might have affected the way they wrote it.

There are all kinds of costumes you can wear when you look at stories - some people like to dress up in a gender costume to explore how male or female characters are portrayed, or a psychology costume to look at the characters' motivations and feelings.

The most important thing to remember is that none of these costumes are "right" or "wrong" - they are just different ways of looking at a story. Some people might prefer one costume over another, or might even mix and match costumes to get a fuller understanding of a story. But, just like playing dress-up, literary theory is all about having fun and exploring different perspectives on a book.