New Criticism
An approach of Literary Criticism dominant in the
Unites States in the 1940's and 1950's, that focuses on a poem or other
literary work as an artistic object posessing value in and of itself.
The literary work is considered apart from any releationship the work
may have to the life or the intentions of the author (Intentional
Fallacy), to social or cultural conditions at the time of its production
, or to its effect on the reader (Affective Fallacy). The Method of New
Criticism, which has been more successfully practiced on lyric poetry and other
short texts than on plays or novels, is close reading of the text and
detailed analysisof what New Critics consider to be the principal
elements of a literary work: words, images and symbols (rather than plot
and character).
People of the Movement
The movement of New Criticism was originated by
Allen Tate and John Crowe
Ransom in the
US south. Its practitioners include T.S. Eliot
and Ezra Pound.
Related Movements
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