[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-318822-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-318822-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","new-criticism-new-criticism-literary-theory-overview","NEW CRITICISM - New Criticism Literary Theory Overview","","New Criticism is a literary theory focused on close reading of the text itself rather than relying on author biography or reader response. It was developed in the United States by critics such as John Crowe Ransom and Cleanth Brooks, and is associated with formalist methods emphasizing unity, organic wholeness, and irony. Key concepts include sense, tone, feeling, and intention, along with tension, the heresy of paraphrase, paradox, irony, and ambiguity, supported by related critical fallacies like intentional and affective fallacy.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/","Literature",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/new-criticism-new-criticism-literary-theory-overview/318822/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/new-criticism-new-criticism-literary-theory-overview/318822.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Liam","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-22","2026-09-20",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":26},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What is the central principle of New Criticism?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"New Criticism treats the text as autonomous and stresses close reading of form, structure, imagery, tone, and literary devices rather than external evidence like author biography or reader response.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How does New Criticism define sense, tone, feeling, and intention?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"I.A. Richards’ framework distinguishes meaning by sense (what words convey), tone (how they are said), feeling (what they express), and intention (what they aim to do). New Critics use this to analyze how the text works internally.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"Why is paraphrasing considered problematic in New Criticism?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"Cleanth Brooks argues that the meaning of a poem cannot be paraphrased without losing its essence, because the poem’s form and layered language produce its significance.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},318822,1790091403,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,90,94,99,104,109,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":88,"slug":89},80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":91,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":95,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":100,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":26,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":26,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},8796095461564,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","NEW CRITICISM  \nDAK SH ITA SINGH  \nMatthew Arnold (1822–1888)  \n• Advocated \"disinterestedness\" in criticism-evaluating texts without personal bias.  \n• In The Function of Criticism at the Present Time (1865), he insisted on detachment, close textual engagement, and a high evaluative standard.  \nT.S. Eliot (1888–1965)  \n• In Tradition and the Individual Talent (1919), argued that the poet’s individual feelings must be suppressed; poetry is impersonal.  \n• Introduced the concept of “objective correlative”(Hamlet and His Problems, 1920), the expression of emotion through structured imagery and situation.  \nDAK SH ITA SINGH  \nDAK SH ITA SINGH  \n| Aspect | Practical Criticism | New Criticism |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Origin | Britain (I.A. Richards) | USA (John Crowe Ransom, Cleanth Brooks, etc.) |\n| Purpose | A method to teach students how to read texts closely without external\u003Cbr>bias. | A formalist theory promoting close reading as a critical standard. |\n| Approach | Experimental-anonymous poems given to students to test their unbiased responses. | Systematic-emphasized structure, unity, and irony within the text. |\n| Attitude to Reader | Reader response was central to the\u003Cbr>experiment. | Reader’s response was irrelevant; focus solely on the\u003Cbr>text. |\n\nKey Points:  \n• Formalist Approach: Emphasizes close reading of the text itself-form, structure, imagery, symbolism, tone.  \n• Text as Autonomous  \n• Close Reading  \n• Rejection of Authorial Intent and Reader Response  \n• Unity and Organic Wholeness  \n• Focus on Language and Literary Devices: Stresses the importance of paradox, irony, ambiguity, and tension in producing layered and meaningful literature.  \nDAK SH ITA SINGH  \nKey Terms & Concepts in New Criticism  \nDAK SH ITA SINGH  \nSense, Tone, Feeling, and Intention  \nOriginator: I.A. Richards (Principles of Literary Criticism, 1924)  \n• Focuses on the internal structure and the impact on the reader.  \n• Richards emphasized that meaning is not just what the words say (sense) but also how they are said (tone), what they express (feeling), and what they aim to do (intention) .  \n• New Critics reject the biographical fallacy, instead of speculating about the author’s life or real intentions, they focus on what the text reveals through its own form.  \nDAK SH ITA SINGH  \nTension  \nOriginator: Allen Tate  \n• The interplay between abstract and concrete meanings or between literal and metaphorical levels.  \n• A poem’s value lies in its ability to hold multiple levels of meaning in balanced tension.  \nThe Heresy of Paraphrase  \nOriginator: Cleanth Brooks (The Well Wrought Urn, 1947)  \n• The idea that a poem’s meaning cannot be paraphrased without losing its essence.  \nDAK SH ITA SINGH  \nParadox  \nConcept by: Cleanth Brooks (in The Well-Wrought Urn, 1947)  \n• An apparent contradiction that reveals a deeper truth.  \n• Example: “I must be cruel to be kind”(Shakespeare) .  \nIrony  \nA discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, or between expectation and reality.  \nAmbiguity  \nConcept by: William Empson (in Seven Types of Ambiguity, 1930)  \n• The simultaneous presence of multiple meanings in a word, phrase, or text.  \nDAK SH ITA SINGH  \n| Concept | Definition | Introduced By |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Intentional Fallacy | The error of interpreting a text based on the author’s intended meaning rather than the text itself. | W.K. Wimsatt & M.C. Beardsley (1946) |\n| Affective Fallacy | The error of evaluating a text based on the emotional response it elicits in the reader. | W.K. Wimsatt & M.C. Beardsley (1949) |\n\nDAK SH ITA SINGH  \n| Critic | Major Work(s) |\n| --- | --- |\n| John Crowe Ransom | The New Criticism (1941) |\n| I.A . Richards | Principles of Literary Criticism (1924), Practical Criticism (1929) |\n| Cleanth Brooks | The Well Wrought Urn (1947) |\n| W. K. Wimsatt | The Verbal Icon (1954, with Monroe\u003Cbr>Beardsley) |\n| Allen Tate | Tension in Poetry (1938 essay) |\n| R. P. Blackmur | Language as Gesture (1952) |\n| T.S. Eliot | Tradi","cbCaijX43mAGukDM","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijX43mAGukDM","pdf",2504888,144,"English","# New Criticism\n## Key Figures and Core Ideas\n## Comparative View: Practical Criticism vs New Criticism\n## Key Points and Core Methods\n## Key Terms and Concepts\n## Sense, Tone, Feeling, and Intention\n## Tension and The Heresy of Paraphrase\n## Paradox, Irony, and Ambiguity\n## Intentional Fallacy and Affective Fallacy\n## Major Works by Critic","[{\"question\":\"What is the central principle of New Criticism?\",\"answer\":\"New Criticism treats the text as autonomous and stresses close reading of form, structure, imagery, tone, and literary devices rather than external evidence like author biography or reader response.\"},{\"question\":\"How does New Criticism define sense, tone, feeling, and intention?\",\"answer\":\"I.A. Richards’ framework distinguishes meaning by sense (what words convey), tone (how they are said), feeling (what they express), and intention (what they aim to do). New Critics use this to analyze how the text works internally.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is paraphrasing considered problematic in New Criticism?\",\"answer\":\"Cleanth Brooks argues that the meaning of a poem cannot be paraphrased without losing its essence, because the poem’s form and layered language produce its significance.\"}]","NEW CRITICISM - New Criticism Literary Theory Overview | PDF",1789941325,222]