New Criticism
noun
: 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
Examples of New Criticism in a Sentence
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The 1966 CliffsNotes testifies to New Criticism’s growing prominence in the high-school classroom.
—
Alexander Manshel,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2025
The New Criticism arose at Vanderbilt, in Nashville, where Davidson taught, and nearly all the first generation of New Critics were Southern partisans and Yankee-haters, opponents of secularism, liberalism, and modernity.
—
Louis Menand,
The New Yorker,
31 July 2023
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Alexander Manshel,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2025
The New Criticism arose at Vanderbilt, in Nashville, where Davidson taught, and nearly all the first generation of New Critics were Southern partisans and Yankee-haters, opponents of secularism, liberalism, and modernity.
—
Louis Menand,
The New Yorker,
31 July 2023
Cite this Entry
“New Criticism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/New%20Criticism. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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