Literary Criticism

New Critical/Formalist

The new critical/formalist approach (the new criticism) has been a dominant force in modern literary studies. It focuses on literary texts as formal works of art, and for this reason it can be seen as a reaction against the topical./historical approach. The objection raised by new critics is that as topical/historical critics consider literary history, they evade direct contact with actual texts.

The inspiration for the new critical/formalist approach was the French practice of explication de texte, a method that emphasizes detailed examination and explanation. [...] The new criticism is at its most brilliant in the formal analysis of smaller units such as entire poems and short passages. For the analysis of larger structures, the new criticism also utilizes a number of techniques that have been selected as the basis of chapters in this book.  Discussions of point of view, tone, plot, character, and structure, for example, are formal ways of looking at literature that are derived from the new criticism.

The aim of the new critical study of literature is to provide readers not only with the means of explaining the content of works, (what, specifically, does a work say?) by also with the insights needed for evaluating the artistic quality of individual works and writers (how well is it said?).  A major aspect of new critical thought is that content and form—including all ideas, ambiguities, subtleties, and even apparent contradictions—were originally within the conscious or subconscious control of the author. There are no accidents. It does not necessarily follow, however, that today’s critic is able to define the author’s intentions exactly, for such intentions require knowledge of biographical details that are irretrievably lost. Each literary work therefore takes on its own existence and identity, and the critic’s work is to discover a reading or readings that explain the facts of the text. It should be noted that the new critic does not claim infallible interpretations and does not exclude the validity of multiple readings of the same work.

Dissenters from the new criticism have noted a tendency by new critics to ignore relevant knowledge that history and biography can bring to a literary studies. In addition, the approach has been subject to the charge that stressing the explication of texts alone fails to deal with literary value and appreciation. In other words, the new critics, in explaining the meaning of literature, sometimes neglect the reasons for which readers find literature stimulating and valuable.

Roberts, 1353-54