How can I contextualise my essay?

Context can often add a lot to the reading of a text, be aware of the era the work you are analysing was/is written in, as this often impacts the way it is read.

You can also think about how various schools of criticism might read the text ie. feminist, marxist etc. and how this might be different to when the text was originally published.

An awareness of different literary periods eg. Romanticism or Modernism might also help you recognise certain techniques.