Structuralism Quiz: Introduction to New Criticism

What aspect of literary texts did New Criticism focus on?

Why did the New Critics turn readily to poetry?

According to William Empson, which type of ambiguity involves alternative meanings combining to confuse interpretation?

Why did Richards exclude biographical and contextual details in his approach to literary criticism?

What term did Richards use for the interpretive process in literary criticism?

What did New Critics consider irrelevant to understanding an author's writings?

What is one of the most influential modes of critical and cultural analysis of the twentieth century along with semiotics?

Which literary movement emphasized the importance of the language, style, and formal features of the text rather than the author's intention?

What key essay by Wimsatt and Beardsley argued against considering author-biography or history to understand a text?

According to New Criticism, where is the meaning of a literary text contained?

What did New Criticism suggest about the author's intention behind a literary work?

Which concept did New Criticism propose regarding literary texts?

Structuralism and Semiotics

Structuralism and semiotics are two of the most influential modes of critical and cultural analysis of the 20th century.
Structuralism emphasizes the language or formal properties of texts, their structures, and frames in specific genres like the novel or poetry.

New Criticism

New Criticism is a literary movement that developed in the early 20th century.
The term "New Criticism" was taken from John Crowe Ransom's 1941 essay of the same title.
Key figures associated with New Criticism include Cleanth Brooks, Robert Penn Warren, William Wimsatt, Monroe Beardsley, R.P. Blackmur, and I.A. Richards.
New Criticism aimed to develop a "science" of literary criticism and literary texts.
The movement argued that the author's intention behind a work is less important than the meaning generated by the language, style, and formal features of the text.

The Intentional Fallacy

Wimsatt and Beardsley's 1954 essay "The Intentional Fallacy" proposed that the author's intention is irrelevant to understanding a text.
The essay argued that the meaning of a text is contained in the language and formal features of the text itself.

Autonomous Text

New Criticism proposed the autonomous existence and nature of the literary text, which means the text is self-contained and independent of external factors.
The movement deemed the author's biography, class, gender, sexual preference, race, or economic conditions irrelevant to understanding the text.

Language and Form

New Criticism paid close attention to the language of a literary text, including its form, style, paradox, ambiguity, images, and metaphors.
The movement focused on the tensions and contradictions of the literary language, which led to a focus on poetry.

Influential Works

William Empson's Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930) is an example of New Critical work, which explored the different types of ambiguity in language.
Cleanth Brooks' The Well-Wrought Urn (1947) is another example of New Critical work, which analyzed the language and form of poetry.
I.A. Richards' Practical Criticism (1929) and Principles of Literary Criticism (1924) are influential works that formulated clear-cut approaches to a systematic study of literary texts.

Explore the influence and analysis methods of structuralism and New Criticism in critical and cultural studies. Learn about the emphasis on formal properties of texts and specific genres like the novel or poetry. Get a contextual understanding before delving into structuralism.