Some well-known examples of literary analysis show the variety of approaches that can be taken:

• Eve Kosofky Sedgwick’s book Between Men analyzes Victorian literature in light of more contemporary perspectives on gender and sexuality.
• Roland Barthes’ S/Z provides an in-depth structural analysis of a short story by Balzac.
• Harold Bloom’s The Anxiety of Influence applies his own “influence theory” to an analysis of various classic poets.