SPECTRUM

SPECTRUM organizes the full landscape of literary criticism into eight accessible lenses. It's the framework underneath everything — how students investigate texts, how they structure arguments, and how they grow as analytical thinkers across a year.

Click any tile to begin.

S

Symbols

The Symbol Decoder

Semiotics · Formalism

  • Recurring objects
  • Light & darkness
  • Mirrors & reflections
  • Fire
  • Hidden meanings
 P

Power

The Power Analyst

Marxist · Feminist · Postcolonial

  • Who's in charge?
  • Whose voice is heard?
  • Marginalized characters
  • Resistance
  • Who benefits?
 E

Ethics

The Values Detective

Ethical · Existential

  • Moral dilemmas
  • Difficult choices
  • Betrayals
  • Integrity moments
  • What characters stand for
 C

Context

The Context Detective

Historical · Cultural

  • Historical setting
  • Cultural traditions
  • Social norms
  • What was unspeakable then
  • Attitudes of the time
 T

Technique

The Craft Analyst

Formalism · Narratology · Reader-Response

  • Point of view
  • Foreshadowing
  • Unreliable narrator
  • Pacing
  • What's withheld
 R

Ruptures

The Contradiction Finder

Deconstruction · Post-structuralism

  • Things that don't fit
  • Ambiguity
  • Paradoxes
  • What's left unsaid
  • Gaps in logic
 U

Unconscious

The Unconscious Detective

Psychoanalytic Criticism

  • What characters won't admit
  • Obsessions
  • Hidden desires
  • Repression
  • What they avoid
 M

Mapping

The Pattern Mapper

Structuralism · Comparative

  • Opposites
  • Archetypes
  • Foils
  • Character doubles
  • Connections across texts

Eight reference boards · use the nav above to switch

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S

01 / 08The Boards

The Symbol Decoder

Semiotics · Formalism

What recurs, repeats, or carries meaning beyond itself — the objects, images, and patterns the text returns to.

Recurring objects
Colors
Weather
Animals
Seasonal imagery
Names with meaning
Metaphors
Objects characters treasure
Nature symbolism
Light & darkness
Water imagery
Journeys
Architecture & spaces
Clothing choices
Numbers that repeat
Visual patterns
Things that appear multiple times
Double meanings
Cultural symbols
Religious imagery
Mirrors & reflections
Fire
Flowers & plants
Keys & doors
Hidden meanings
← Previous M Mapping Next Power P →
SPECTRUM · The Eight Lenses · 01 / 08
P

02 / 08The Boards

The Power Analyst

Marxist · Feminist · Postcolonial

Who has power, who doesn't, and how the text shows the way that power moves between them.

Who's in charge?
Inequality
Oppression
Whose voice is heard?
Marginalized characters
Class differences
Gender roles
Racial dynamics
Who benefits?
Privilege
Control systems
Resistance
Who's invisible?
Rebellion
Power struggles
Silenced voices
Representation
Stereotypes
Colonialism
Authority figures
Rich vs. poor
Patriarchy
Social hierarchies
Who gets to decide?
Exploitation
← Previous S Symbols Next Ethics E →
SPECTRUM · The Eight Lenses · 02 / 08
E

03 / 08The Boards

The Values Detective

Ethical · Existential

Where characters face the question of right action — and what they choose, refuse, or fail to do.

Moral dilemmas
"What would I do?"
Characters at crossroads
Right vs. wrong conflicts
Sacrifice scenes
Authenticity questions
Loyalty tests
Difficult choices
Betrayals
Redemption arcs
Honor codes
Promises kept or broken
Consequences refused
Standing up for beliefs
Compromising values
Integrity moments
Courage under pressure
Temptation scenes
Truth vs. lies
Self-discovery
What characters stand for
Actions vs. words
Philosophy debates
Inner conflict
Coming-of-age moments
← Previous P Power Next Context C →
SPECTRUM · The Eight Lenses · 03 / 08
C

04 / 08The Boards

The Context Detective

Historical · Cultural

What the world around the text was doing — the conditions, assumptions, and pressures shaping when it was written and what it's set inside.

Historical setting
Time period matters
Cultural traditions
Social norms
Political context
"This was written when…"
Societal expectations
How times have changed
Cultural values
Historical events
Geography matters
Religion's influence
What was unspeakable then
Technology of the era
Economic systems
Social movements
Zeitgeist
Cultural assumptions
Period-specific language
Attitudes of the time
War or conflict backdrop
Family structures
Gender expectations
Class systems
What was "normal" then
← Previous E Ethics Next Technique T →
SPECTRUM · The Eight Lenses · 04 / 08
T

05 / 08The Boards

The Craft Analyst

Formalism · Narratology · Reader-Response

How the text is made — the choices behind the telling, and what they do to the reader.

Point of view
Narrative structure
Foreshadowing
Unreliable narrator
Flashbacks
Pacing
Chapter breaks
Genre conventions
Plot twists
Sentence length
Writing style
Imagery
What's withheld
Word choice
Dialogue vs. narration
How it's told
Beginning & ending
Perspective shifts
Time jumps
Format & medium
Visual techniques
Tone
Mood creation
Suspense building
Why the author chose this way
← Previous C Context Next Ruptures R →
SPECTRUM · The Eight Lenses · 05 / 08
R

06 / 08The Boards

The Contradiction Finder

Deconstruction · Post-structuralism

Where the text contradicts itself, breaks down, or refuses to settle — the cracks that reveal what the rest is trying to hold together.

Texts contradicting themselves
Too-neat categories
Things that don't fit
Ambiguity
Multiple meanings
Unstable definitions
Paradoxes
"Wait, but…"
Unresolved tensions
What's excluded
Binary oppositions
Things breaking down
Hairline fractures
What's left unsaid
Assumptions questioned
Contradictory evidence
Things collapsing
Neither / nor
Undecidable
Both / and
What undermines the argument
Gaps in logic
Irreconcilable differences
What doesn't hold together
The silenced part
← Previous T Technique Next Unconscious U →
SPECTRUM · The Eight Lenses · 06 / 08
U

07 / 08The Boards

The Unconscious Detective

Psychoanalytic Criticism

What characters can't say, won't admit, or don't know about themselves — the wants, fears, and patterns running underneath the surface.

Dreams
What characters won't admit
Slips & mistakes
Obsessions
Fears
Hidden desires
Repression
Denial
Self-deception
Trauma
Irrational behavior
Childhood wounds
Things returning
Projection
Defense mechanisms
What drives them beneath the surface
Unconscious patterns
What they avoid
Symbolic desires
Inner demons
Family dysfunction
Unexplained reactions
Repetitive behavior
What they can't say
Psychology
← Previous R Ruptures Next Mapping M →
SPECTRUM · The Eight Lenses · 07 / 08
M

08 / 08The Boards

The Pattern Mapper

Structuralism · Comparative

The patterns, parallels, and structures that organize the text — and how it sits next to other texts and stories you've already met.

Opposites
Spectrums
Categories
Good vs. evil
Light vs. dark
Hero's journey
Compare & contrast
Archetypes
Parallels
Foils
Binary oppositions
Repeated patterns
Structural symmetry
Character doubles
Mirror scenes
Rankings
Hierarchies
Degrees of difference
Gradual change
Scales
Nature vs. culture
Order vs. chaos
Innocence vs. experience
Similar plots
Connections across texts
← Previous U Unconscious Next Symbols S →
SPECTRUM · The Eight Lenses · 08 / 08
·S·P·E·C·T·R·U·M·

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