New Criticism

New Criticism

noun

Definition of NEW CRITICISM

: an analytic literary criticism that is marked by concentration on the language, imagery, and emotional or intellectual tensions in literary works

— New Critic noun

— New Critical adjective

First Known Use of NEW CRITICISM

1941

New Criticism

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Post–World War I school of Anglo-American literary theory that insisted on the intrinsic value of a work of art and focused attention on the individual work alone as an independent unit of meaning. New Critics were opposed to the practice of bringing historical or biographical data to bear on the interpretation of a work. The primary critical technique was analytic (or “close”) reading of the text, concentrating on its language, imagery, and emotional or intellectual tensions. Critics associated with the movement include I. A. Richards, William Empson, John Crowe Ransom, and R. P. Blackmur (1904–1965).

Variants of NEW CRITICISM

New Criticism or formalism