Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Part I The New Criticism and its critics
- Part II The formation of the New Criticism
- Part III The establishment of the New Criticism
- Introduction
- 7 The origins of academic involvement
- 8 Understanding literature: textbooks and the distribution of the New Criticism
- 9 The form of criticism
- Part IV The development of the New Criticism
- Conclusion: Modernism and postmodernism within the American academy
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
8 - Understanding literature: textbooks and the distribution of the New Criticism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Part I The New Criticism and its critics
- Part II The formation of the New Criticism
- Part III The establishment of the New Criticism
- Introduction
- 7 The origins of academic involvement
- 8 Understanding literature: textbooks and the distribution of the New Criticism
- 9 The form of criticism
- Part IV The development of the New Criticism
- Conclusion: Modernism and postmodernism within the American academy
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Introduction
In 1938, Understanding Poetry was published. Written by Brooks and Warren, it was the first of a series of text-books which trained students in the New Critical approach to literary study. The importance of these books was immense. They did more than merely defend a particular theoretical approach. They presented a clear pedagogical practice. For this reason, these text-books probably did more to establish the New Criticism within the departments of English than any other activity. Understanding Poetry, for example, was designed to clarify the poetic features of poetry for the student. In the process, it challenged alternative approaches and associated these with positivism or idealism. ‘Literary communication’, it was argued, was not primarily concerned with the transmission of information, nor with the presentation of pure emotion, beauty or truth. It was an organic form which was not distinguished by the presence of any specific feature or quality, but by the complex relationships between its elements.
This position did not isolate the literary text from its context. On the contrary, it stressed that not only were specific literary forms produced in relation to specific social contexts, but also that literature should be engaged with significant social issues. They simply objected to alternative approaches which saw literary texts as transparent or expressive forms. For Brooks and Warren, literature was not just a product of its context, but also a productive activity which responded to that context in a critical manner. This productive activity also meant that it should not be evaluated on the basis of any statements or propositions which it might offer.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cultural Politics of the New Criticism , pp. 81 - 89Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993