Understanding New Criticism: Origins and Impact

Understanding New Criticism

New Criticism is a significant critical movement characterized by renewal and innovation. It has two main branches:

• The British branch, known as Practical Criticism.
• The American branch, called New Criticism.

Originating in England in the 1920s, New Criticism reached America, where it found fertile ground for growth. It significantly influenced the study of literature and poetry in Western countries.

At the beginning of the 20th century, American critics were captivated by European, particularly British, art and culture. They experienced a sense of cultural inferiority, feeling limited to European or Native American traditions.

New Criticism's influence is undeniable; one must either oppose it or align with it. It is impossible to engage in criticism while ignoring New Criticism.

New Criticism is not just a school of criticism; it is a crucial milestone in the Western world. It emphasizes not only critical theory but also the pedagogy of literature, thus expanding its influence exponentially.

While New Criticism is not a cohesive school, its members often critiqued each other. They recognized they were pioneering a new approach, but the diverse ways of implementation prevented them from forming a unified school.

Common Traits of New Critics

Despite their differences, they share common traits:

• They reacted against older approaches to literature, such as positivistic, extrinsic, historical, and philological criticism, which were typical of the 19th century and context-focused.
• They generally preferred non-Romantic, non-expressive, non-sentimental, and non-personal literature.
• Their critical methods were similar, focusing specifically on the text itself, the words on the page. They viewed context as a potential obstacle to studying the text.