Introduction to New Criticism
BasicsLiterary Criticism: Literary criticism is analyzing and interpreting of a piece of literature.
The author may give us work that has one if not several meanings. Authors expect us to figure it out and consider every aspect. Good criticism helps us to have a better understanding of the work presented to you. It may help you see the text from a different point of view.
New Criticism
New criticism is a new and different method of evaluating pieces of literature. This method emphasizes that readers closely examine a piece of text with minimum regard for the biographical or historical circumstances in which it was produced. This certain method of criticism was highly influential type of literary criticism that grew from the 40s to late 60s.
New criticism was originally produced mainly in response to biographical criticism. The theory of biographical criticism believed that pieces of literature should be looked at as a reflection to an authors life. This meant that sometimes text weren't even read.
The concept of new criticism tends to emphasize on a few autotelic crucial things. It tends to see text as an artifact(done for its own sake), solely based for itself and not dependant on its relation to the authors life or intent, history or anything else.
New criticism once created could be broken down into several different but similar methods of criticizing text.
William Kurtz Wimsatt, Jr.November 17 1907 – December 17 1975
William Kurtz Wimsatt Jr. attended Georgetown University, he later attended Yale University where he finished off his schooling and received his PHD. Later after receiving his PHD in 1939 he joined the English department at Yale and taught there until his death. Wimsatt is best known for his studies in 18th century literature, his work consisted of literary theory and criticism. Wimsatt came up with many extraordinary work in his lifetime these major works include Studies in the Meaning of Poetry (verbal icon), A Short History (literary criticism), A Study of Style and Meaning in the "Rambler" (Philosophic Words) and The Prose Style of Samuel Johnson. Some of Wimsatts historical theories were affective and intentional fallacy, concrete universal, and the domain of criticism.
Monroe Curtis Beardsley December 10 1915 – September 18 1985Monroe Curtis Beardsley attended the prestigious Yale university were he completed his BA in 1936 and his PHD in 1939. Like Wimsatt, Beardsley taught at many universities and colleges including Yale, Swarthmore and Temple. Beardsley is best known for his work in aesthetics. Beardsley was honored in 1956 when he was voted president of the American society of aesthetics. He is also highly recognized for his work written along side Wimsatt. Beardsley’s major works include Aesthetics, A Short History (Aesthetics), Practical Logic, The Possibility of Criticism and the Aesthetic Point of View. Finally some of Beardsley’s theories include affective fallacy and intentional fallacy.
Intentional Fallacy
Intentional fallacy is the idea or fact that when reading literature you do not let the author’s intention affect your out look while interpreting their literary work. It is based on the fact that the author’s intention is not important , or should not be needed for the meaning of their work and the ability to intemperate their work with literary analysis.
For literary analysis you must use the text its self and the words to determine the meaning and not let the author affect anything with his intentions when he was writing the work. The words are the evidence them selves for the analysis. The author’s thoughts, feelings, and or intentions should never play in account when doing literary analysis on their work for the intentional fallacy, once they start being considered it no longer becomes an intentional fallacy.
Affective FallacyAffective fallacy occurs in literary criticism(a written evaluation of a work of literature). It’s a theory that a poem or script should be analyzed and describe by its internal structure. It suggests that a poem should not be valued on the level of emotional effects it has on the reader but simply how it is written and structured. The main concept of the term affective fallacy is an answer to the impressionistic criticism argument. This topic (impressionistic criticism) argues that the reader's response to a poem, ultimately decides how well it is written.
A simpler definition of the term affective fallacy is simply a confusion between the poem and its results. Basically means that readers get confused between what it is and what it does.
"The outcome of either fallacy . . . is that the poem itself, as an object of specifically critical judgement, tends to disappear.”
This was a statement from Wimsatt which can be found in one of his many essays
The original concept for affective fallacy was presented by Wimsatt through a series of essay written throughout 1954. The true definition of fallacy as stated by Wimsatt covers or touches on all major literary criticism techniques (if strictly followed). This mode of criticism covers techniques ranging from the late 1800s all the way to the late 1900s.
With many of the concepts of New criticism there was a trail of “non believers” who opposed the idea. With the introduction of affective fallacy there was also a large cloud of controversy that always surrounded the idea. Thought the creators of the idea had a large influence on people, it was never accepted fully by a great number of critics
Although the strong message portrayed by the term remains to this day it has had its share of competition. The term is a strong warning against unsophisticated use of emotional response in judging ones text. Though this term is pretty simple in meaning it has been “overlapped” by more recent developments to new criticism. Therefore nowadays it is interpreted differently then it would have been back when it was first created.
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