From New Criticism to New Historicism: An Overview

Abstract New Critics held the view that language functions in a different way in a work of literature than it does elsewhere and the first job of the reader is to acknowledge and apprehend this special function and the role it plays in the formation of meaning. They emphasized the special nature of a literary text and the organic unity that it maintained-so that the form and meaning were inseparable. Structuralism as a theory, though having some common points with new criticism, was something very radical and changed the complete view of study of language, literature, philosophy and anthropology. It reinforced the importance of structure, forms or linguistic elements of language, which new criticism held necessary to interpret literature. Ferdinand de Saussure laid the foundation of structuralism and future post-structuralism or more specifically deconstruction. These principles of structuralism themselves prepared the ground for poststructuralist theory of deconstruction. For Saussure there is stability in signification. That is, signifier and signified form a unified whole and preserve a certain identity of meaning. Saussure recognized the signifier and signified as separate systems but he could not envisage how unstable units of meaning can be when the two systems come together. For Derrida, who proposed the theory of deconstruction, sign is not a unit with two sides but a momentary fix between the two moving layers. Just like answering a childs innocent query takes us on from one sign to another , there is endless deferment of meaning . New Historicism is an approach that advocates the parallel reading of literary and non literary texts, usually of the same period; in other words, the non-literary text becomes a co-text of the literary text. The literary text is not privileged against the background of historical and non-literary texts. Its proponents opposed the tenets of New Criticism and structuralism , which believed that nothing exists outside the text. Instead of placing a text in isolation from its historical context, New Historicists attend primarily to the historical and cultural conditions of its production, and also of its later critical interpretations and evaluations.

Dr.Sanjay Sanap Vidya Pratishthans Arts ,Science and Commerce College, Vidyanagari, Baramati, Dist-Pune. Email. smsbaramati@gmail.com