What is New Historicism, New Criticism, Feminist Criticism?

1. Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University
Name: Dhruvi Chavda
Class: M.A. Sem-2
Paper:7-criticism
Subject: “What is New Historicism, New
Criticism, Feminist Criticism?”

2. New Historicism:
 New Historicism is a theory in literary criticism that
suggests literature must be studied and interpreted
within the context of both the history of the author and the
history of the critic.
The theory arose in the 1980s,with Stephen Greenblatt as its
main proponent, and became quite popular in the 1990s.
 New Historicism evaluates how the work is influenced by the
time in which the author wrote it.
 It also examines the social sphere, the psychological
background of the writer, and the books and theories that may
have influenced him or her.

3. “( New Historicism) is combined interest in the
textuality of history, the historicity of text.”
-Louis Montrose
“ Text is historical and history is textual.”
-Michael Wallner

4. New Criticism:
 It was a formalist movement in literary theory that
dominated American literary criticism in the middle
decades of the 20th century.
It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to
discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-
contained, self-referential aesthetic object.

5. Feminist criticism:
Feminist criticism is literary criticism informed
by feminist theory.
It can be understood as using feminist principles
and ideological discourses to critique the language
of literature, its structure and being.
 Feminist Criticism is the interpretation of text as
it is directed towards women or feminine
characteristics. It has been closely associated with
the birth and growth of queer studies.

6. Thank
you…