Question

discuss the principles and methodology of new criticism? explain in brief​

Answer 1

Answer:

New Criticism was a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic object.

Answer 2

What are the principles of New Criticism?

Is your school ready for accelerated digital demands?

Profile photo for Chelliah Thamotharan

Chelliah Thamotharan

Answered 6 months ago

New Criticism was a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic object. The movement derived its name from John Crowe Ransom’s 1941 book The New Criticism. The Principles of New Criticism are:

1. In the words of F.R. Leavis, New Critics focus strongly on “the words on the page.”

2. New Critics want to know how the work speaks itself through the words on the page, figures of speech and symbols.

3. New Critics are interested in how the parts of a text relate to create Harmony, Order, Tension, Paradox, Ambivalence and Ambiguity.

4. New Critics are primarily concerned with the language (verbal meaning) and the organisation (overall structure) of a text.

5. New Critics solely focused on poetry and not fiction. Although there have been attempts to apply New Criticism to fiction based works, poetry is their main focus.

6. New Criticism dealt with how a work can be read objectively and accurately by examining the structure and form. Therefore, New Critics conclude that there is one single or correct interpretation of a text.

7. New Criticism is not concerned with external circumstances like the, Biography of the author, Historical context, Social conditions at the time of production and Effects on the reader. The New Critics have a minimal interest in the content of the text. (Source: lakeheadu.ca)