NEW CRITICISM THEORY

WHAT IS NEW CRITICISM?

 New Criticism is an approach to literature made popular in the 20th century that evolved
out of formalist criticism. New Criticism coined by John Crowe Ransom’s “The New
Criticism” in 1941, came to be applied to theory and practice that was prominent in
American literary criticism until late in the 1960s.
 It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature
functioned as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic object.
 the typical focus is on describing the features of the literary text such as setting, conflict,
theme, character, symbolism, literary techniques, and plot in general.
 Everything you need to analyze is inside the text!
 The analysis should come ONLY from the text itself.
 An Anglo-American literary theory that is formalist in nature.
HISTORY
 Appeared as a reaction toward Biographical and Traditional Criticism, which was
focused on extra-text materials, such as the biography of the author.
 Coined by J.E. (Joel Elias) Spingarn in 1910 through his book “The New Criticism: A
Lecture Delivered in Columbia University”
 Popularized by John Crowe Ransom in 1941 through his book “The New Criticism”
MAJOR PRINCIPLES
1. Aims to analyze a text objectively, systematize the study of literature, and make criticism
more specific
2. Close Reading or Explication – looking for formal aspects within the text
3. Autotelic Text – complete within itself, self-sufficient
4. Intentional Fallacy – mistake of interpreting a text based on the author’s intention
5. Affective Fallacy – mistake of evaluating the text based on its emotional effect on a
reader
6. The Heresy of Paraphrase – it would be a heresy to paraphrase a poem
HOW CAN NEW CRITICISM HELP US UNDERSTAND THE TEXT?
 New Criticism is a powerful tool for those of us that have problems understanding a
work of literature.
 It formulated a method of reading, a simple way that will unlock the meaning of the text.
HOW DO WE DISCOVER OR UNLOCK THAT MEANING?
 By following the answering the following questions below:
1. Who is speaking in the text? (not the author, not the poet, whoever/whatever created
the text but it is created by the text itself)
2. Who is being spoken to or Who is the addressee?
 3. Who is the implied reader of the text?
4. Where is the setting?
5. What is the central metaphors of the text?
IMPORTANCE OF METAPHOR IN LITERARY TEXT
 New Critics pointed out that a text is not only about what is seems to be talking about, it
is always something else.
 There is always something other than the literal meaning of the text.
 Metaphors is what makes literary language different from the ordinary language.

REFERENCES:
 Athar. (2017). New Criticism In Literature; Features & Examples • English Summary.

English Summary. https://englishsummary.com/new-criticism/

 Burke, L. (2018). THE NEW CRITICISM. https://slideplayer.com/slide/15759394/

 LitGuide. (2020, August 25). New Criticism Part 1 - Literary theory and criticism
[Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POa42zKUlBo
 Neal, L. (2017, October 18). New Criticism. https://slideplayer.com/slide/11844159/