What it means is that if you perform a literature review, you can see what other researchers are doing in your field, and what has already been done. You can also see what their declared motivations for the work are. You can then see how your work compares with the other work that you have reviewed. Sometimes when you start your work, you are focused on the work of those around you, and what they know of the area. You might be carrying on from a predecessor in your institution, or your supervisor. Your focus is therefore somewhat 'internal' to your organisation. Doing the literature review can help you get a better perspective, but also to focus your work on specific areas if necessary.

More context is needed. There's two possible perspectives here. An author putting HIS work up for review, or a writer (reviewer/critic) who reviews the literature of others.

It means 'the meaning your work (writing) has, not just to itself, but also to a bigger perspective outside your work'. Basically it means how your writing means something when you think of the situation it's in. So not the setting of a story but the setting of the writer and what the story tells about that. I feel like this is a complex concept and I'm not good at putting complex ideas into simple terms so I'm probably just confusing you more, sorry.