Question

Write an essay on the contribution of cleanth brooks to literary theory and criticism

Answer 1

ABOUT CLEANTH BROOKS:

Cleanth Brooks (October 16, 1906 – May 10, 1994) was an American literary critic and professor. He is best known for his contributions to New Criticism in the mid-20th century and for revolutionizing the teaching of poetry in American higher education. His best-known works, The Well Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry (1947) and Modern Poetry and the Tradition (1939), argue for the centrality of ambiguity and paradox as a way of understanding poetry. With his writing, Brooks helped to formulate formalist criticism, emphasizing "the interior life of a poem" (Leitch 2001) and codifying the principles of close reading.  

Brooks was also the preeminent critic of Southern literature, writing classic texts on William Faulkner, and co-founder of the influential journal The Southern Review (Leitch 2001) with Robert Penn Warren.

Answer 2

essay on the contribution of cleanth brooks to literary theory and criticism:

• Cleanth Brooks attended Vanderbilt, Tulane, and Oxford after being born in Kentucky. In 1932, he began working as a professor at Louisiana State University. The best illustration of a New Critic is seen as being Brooks.
• He became one of the most significant American literary critics of the contemporary age as a result of his contribution to criticism. He is still regarded as a meticulous reader who carefully examined his materials.
• In Murray, Kentucky, on October 16, 1906, Brooks was born. He attended McKenzie, Tennessee's McTyeire School, a tiny Methodist preparatory institution, as the son of a Methodist pastor. Brooks attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar while continuing his education at Vanderbilt and Tulane universities.
• He wed Edith Amy Blanchard in 1934. Brooks started working as a teacher in 1932 at Louisiana State University. In 1947, he transferred to Yale University, where he worked until his retirement in 1975. Brooks co-edited the Louisiana Review with Warren from 1935 to 1941 while he was a student at Louisiana State. Brooks worked as the cultural attaché at the American Embassy in London from 1964 until 1966.
• Cleanth is perhaps the first person that comes to mind when someone mentions the New Criticism. Let's get right to the point: His close reading project is viewed as the antithesis of New Historicism, which poses queries like, "Hey, how was the market when this poem was written? How did the poet's sexual life go? Did indigestion come up with that strange rhyme?"

• Because of Brooks's popularity as a New Critic, some detractors have accused him of being careless and disregarding the world outside of the poem. Huh? These individuals like to point out that New Critics don't care if a genuine human author authored the stupid thing; it's as if they believe the poetry is somehow magical.
• Whatever the case, Brooks' first obligation was to his reader. He simply belonged to that uncommon breed of honourable critics who would exert every effort to expose the irony, paradox, and ambiguity of lyrical expression. Brooks wasn't just about throwing complex theories into a blender with literature; he wanted to help readers understand things.

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