New Criticism in Literary Theory: Key Figures, Concepts & Practical Close Reading
Introduction
After Formalism, New Criticism emerged as one of the most influential movements in twentieth-century literary criticism. While Formalism taught readers to focus on the structure of a text, New Criticism went a step further by developing a disciplined method of close reading.
New Critics believed that a literary work—especially a poem—should be studied as a self-contained and unified whole, without referring to the author’s intention, biography, or the reader’s emotional response. This approach became extremely important in university syllabi and remains a hot topic for UGC NET examinations.
What is New Criticism?
New Criticism is a literary approach that focuses on the close reading of a text in order to discover how its language, imagery, symbols, and structure create meaning.
A famous definition captures its spirit well:
“The poem itself is the object of criticism, not the poet, not the reader, and not the external world.”— Cleanth Brooks, The Well Wrought Urn (1947)
👉 In simple words, New Criticism studies what the text says and how it says it, treating the poem as an independent work of art.
Origin and Background of New Criticism
New Criticism developed mainly in England and America during the first half of the twentieth century (1920s–1950s). It arose as a reaction against:
-
Biographical Criticism – focus on the author’s life
-
Historical Criticism – focus on the time period
-
Impressionistic Reading – focus on personal feelings
New Critics wanted literary study to be objective, academic, and text-centered.
Key Figures of New Criticism (UGC NET Focus)
John Crowe Ransom
-
Coined the term “New Criticism”
-
Emphasized scientific and systematic literary analysis
-
Argued that criticism must focus strictly on the text
T. S. Eliot
-
Stressed impersonality in poetry
-
Introduced the concept of Objective Correlative
-
Believed poetry should express emotion through images and situations, not personal feelings
I. A. Richards
-
Laid the foundation of close reading
-
Conducted experiments on how readers interpret poems
-
Deeply influenced later New Critics
Key Concepts & Terms (UGC NET Essentials)
1. The Two Fallacies
(W. K. Wimsatt & Monroe Beardsley)
These are among the most frequently asked topics in exams:
-
Intentional Fallacy (1946):
The mistake of judging a poem by what the author intended to say.
👉 Meaning lies in the text, not in the author’s mind. -
Affective Fallacy (1949):
The mistake of judging a poem by the emotional effect it produces on the reader.
👉 Criticism must be objective, not emotional.
2. Objective Correlative
(T. S. Eliot)
Proposed in the essay Hamlet and His Problems, this concept refers to a set of objects, situations, or images that act as a formula for expressing a particular emotion.
3. Seven Types of Ambiguity
(William Empson, 1930)
Empson argued that poetry is ambiguous, meaning it allows multiple layers of meaning, which enrich the text rather than weaken it.
4. Heresy of Paraphrase
(Cleanth Brooks)
Brooks argued that a poem’s meaning cannot be reduced to simple prose.
Form and content are inseparable, and paraphrasing destroys the poem’s essence.
Major Critics and Their Foundational Works
- 1929: I.A. Richards — Practical Criticism
- 1941: John Crowe Ransom — The New Criticism
- 1947: Cleanth Brooks — The Well Wrought Urn
Practical Example: Close Reading of a Short Poem
Let us take a short poem for demonstration:
“The sun sets slowly,bleeding red into the sky.”
Close Reading (New Critical Approach)
-
Imagery: “bleeding red” suggests pain and violence
-
Metaphor: the sunset is compared to a wound
-
Tone: melancholic and intense
-
Unity: nature and emotion merge into one image
👉 We do not ask:
-
who the poet is
-
what the poet felt personally
👉 We ask:
-
how language creates meaning
-
how imagery shapes emotion
✔ This is New Criticism in practice.
Why New Criticism is Important for Students
New Criticism is important because it:
-
trains students in analytical reading
-
improves exam answers with textual evidence
-
avoids vague or emotional interpretation
-
forms the base for advanced literary theories
For UGC NET aspirants, concepts like Close Reading, Intentional Fallacy, and Affective Fallacy are asked repeatedly.
💡Personal Insight
New Criticism teaches discipline. It shows that understanding literature does not require guessing the writer’s life or relying on personal emotions. Careful attention to language and structure brings clarity and confidence, making literary study more meaningful.
Conclusion
New Criticism transformed literary studies by placing the text itself at the centre of analysis. Through close reading, it revealed how poetry achieves meaning through form, imagery, and structure.
Even today, New Criticism remains a cornerstone of literary theory and an essential topic for students of English literature.
🔹 Suggested Reading
If you want to explore English Literature in a simple and meaningful way, you may also read:
What is Literary Criticism? Meaning, Definition & Importance
Liberal Humanism: Meaning, Features, Critics and Importance in Literary Criticism
What’s Next? ➡️ Structuralism
While New Criticism looks inside the text, our next topic—Structuralism—examines the broader systems of language.
Coming soon: Ferdinand de Saussure, Signifier vs. Signified, and how language shapes reality.
✨ If you want to read more about English Literature, literary forms, genres, and critical approaches, stay connected with ShariyaWrites.
Disclaimer
Save this post—you’ll need to return to it regularly before exam day.
This article is written for educational purposes and is based on multiple academic sources, interpreted in the author’s own words.
About the Author
ShariyaWrites believes that literature is not a burden to memorize, but an emotion to understand. Through blogs, reels, and videos, she simplifies English Literature for students who want to connect texts with life.
🔗 Explore more here:
https://linktr.ee/shariyawrites
Comments
Post a Comment