New Criticism/Formalism Essay

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New Criticism/Formalism • Examples of New Critical Approach o On Jarrell's "Death of the Ball-Turret Gunner" o ENG 220WE Student Interpretations using this approach • Historical Background o New Criticism arose in opposition to biographical or vaguely impressionistic approaches o It sought to establish literary studies as an objective discipline o Its desire to reveal organic unity in complex texts may be historically determined, reflective of early 20th century critics seeking a lost order or in conflict with an increasingly fragmented society • Assumptions o Texts possess meaning in and of themselves; therefore, analyses should emphasize intrinsic meaning over extrinsic meaning (verbal sense over significance in E.D. Hirsch's view) o The best readers are those who look most closely at the text and are familiar with literary conventions and have an ample command of the language o Meaning within the text is context-bound. This means that readers must be ready to show how the parts of the text relate to form a whole. o The test of excellence in literature: the extent to which the work manifests organic unity o The best interpretations are those which seek out ambiguities in the text and then resolve these ambiguities as a part of demonstrating the organic unity of the text • Methods o Close reading of texts o This includes paying attention to semantic tensions that complicate meaning. At the end, though, these ambiguities must be resolved. o Learn and apply the appropriate literary conventions that apply in any discourse (e.g. imagery, motifs, metaphor, symbols, irony, paradox, structural patterns, choice of narrative perspective, oppositions, prosody, etc.) • Criticisms of this approach: o Some critics of this approach have argued that a New Critic's commitment to revealing organic unity of a work blinds him or her to elements in the text that do
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