New Criticism

New Criticism is a literary movement that emerged in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by a focus on the close reading of literary texts, particularly poetry and fiction, as exemplified in the works of T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and William Faulkner. This movement was influenced by the ideas of Imagism, Symbolism, and Modernism, as seen in the works of James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Ernest Hemingway. New Criticism emphasized the importance of understanding the literary work as a self-contained, autonomous entity, rather than as a reflection of the author's biography or historical context, as argued by Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren in their seminal work, Understanding Poetry. The movement's key figures, including John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, and Robert Heilman, were associated with the Southern Agrarians and the Fugitive Poets, and their ideas were influenced by the works of Aristotle, Plato, and Immanuel Kant.

Introduction to New Criticism

New Criticism was a response to the prevailing literary criticism of the time, which focused on the author's biography, historical context, and literary history, as seen in the works of Matthew Arnold and Herbert Spencer. In contrast, New Critics, such as Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, emphasized the importance of close reading and textual analysis, as exemplified in their work, Understanding Poetry, which was influenced by the ideas of T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. This approach involved a detailed examination of the literary work's structure, imagery, and symbolism, as seen in the works of William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. New Critics, including John Crowe Ransom and Allen Tate, also drew on the ideas of Aristotle and Plato, as well as the works of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, to develop their critical approach, which was influenced by the Southern Agrarians and the Fugitive Poets.

History and Development

The New Criticism movement emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, primarily in the United States, as a response to the prevailing literary criticism of the time, which was influenced by the ideas of Matthew Arnold and Herbert Spencer. The movement's key figures, including John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, and Robert Heilman, were associated with the Southern Agrarians and the Fugitive Poets, and their ideas were influenced by the works of T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and William Faulkner. The New Critics, such as Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, were influenced by the ideas of Imagism, Symbolism, and Modernism, as seen in the works of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. The movement's development was also influenced by the works of Aristotle, Plato, and Immanuel Kant, as well as the ideas of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, which were applied to literary analysis by critics like Ernest Jones and Lionel Trilling.

Key Principles and Concepts

New Criticism is characterized by several key principles and concepts, including the idea of the literary work as a self-contained, autonomous entity, as argued by Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren in their seminal work, Understanding Poetry. New Critics, such as John Crowe Ransom and Allen Tate, also emphasized the importance of close reading and textual analysis, as exemplified in their work on poetry and fiction, which was influenced by the ideas of T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. The movement's key concepts, including irony, paradox, and ambiguity, were developed by critics like William Empson and Kenneth Burke, who applied the ideas of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung to literary analysis. New Critics, including Robert Heilman and Francis Fergusson, also drew on the ideas of Aristotle and Plato to develop their critical approach, which was influenced by the Southern Agrarians and the Fugitive Poets.

Major Figures and Influences

The New Criticism movement was influenced by a range of major figures, including T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and William Faulkner, who were associated with the Modernist movement, as well as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. The movement's key figures, including John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, and Robert Heilman, were associated with the Southern Agrarians and the Fugitive Poets, and their ideas were influenced by the works of Aristotle, Plato, and Immanuel Kant. New Critics, such as Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, were also influenced by the ideas of Imagism, Symbolism, and Modernism, as seen in the works of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The movement was also influenced by the works of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, which were applied to literary analysis by critics like Ernest Jones and Lionel Trilling.

Criticisms and Controversies

New Criticism has been subject to various criticisms and controversies, including the charge that it is overly formalistic and neglects the historical and cultural context of literary works, as argued by critics like Raymond Williams and Terry Eagleton. The movement has also been criticized for its emphasis on the autonomous literary work, which has been seen as neglecting the role of the author and the reader, as argued by critics like Stanley Fish and Wolfgang Iser. New Criticism has also been influenced by the ideas of Postmodernism and Deconstruction, which have challenged the movement's emphasis on the stable, autonomous literary work, as seen in the works of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. The movement's key figures, including John Crowe Ransom and Allen Tate, have also been criticized for their association with the Southern Agrarians and the Fugitive Poets, which has been seen as promoting a narrow, elitist view of literature, as argued by critics like Edmund Wilson and Malcolm Cowley.

Legacy and Impact

New Criticism has had a significant legacy and impact on literary criticism and theory, influencing a range of subsequent critical movements, including Postmodernism, Deconstruction, and Structuralism, as seen in the works of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. The movement's emphasis on close reading and textual analysis has also influenced the development of literary theory and cultural studies, as argued by critics like Terry Eagleton and Fredric Jameson. New Criticism's key figures, including Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, have also had a lasting impact on literary education and pedagogy, as seen in the works of Harold Bloom and Frank Kermode. The movement's influence can also be seen in the works of contemporary literature, including the novels of Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon, which reflect the movement's emphasis on complexity, ambiguity, and irony, as argued by critics like John Barth and Robert Coover. Category:Literary movements