I also want to add: literary analysis doesn’t just reveal things about the authors and the work, it also reveals things about you, the reader.
This is the part that sometimes (maybe even often) gets ignored/avoided in English classes, because it’s so personal, but it’s just as important, and if your teacher isn’t thinking about it then you should be. “I liked this” or “ugh, this one was boring and terrible” are important starting points for analysis, because they open you up to ask:
What part of this piece of writing resonated with me so much? Why do I feel in my gut like this is important? Do I like this because I agree with it? Just because I agree with it, does that make it right?
Why does this put me off? What are the author’s priorities here? Do I dislike it because it’s saying something I don’t want to acknowledge or agree with? Just because I disagree, does that make it wrong?
And those questions really matter too, maybe just as much as trying to figure out what the author is communicating. They’re the questions that lead to thinking and growing, not just in how well we understand other people, but in how well we understand ourselves.