New Criticism was a formalist movement developed by American critics (referred to as New Critics) in the early twentieth century. It was influenced by Russian Formalism and New Aestheticism, both of which were called "formalist" because they focused purely on language. Prior to these critical developments, literary studies were concerned with almost everything but the language within the text itself—historical context and biographical details about the author, for example.
The American New Critics, which included figures such as Cleanth Brooks, John Crowe Ransom, and Allen Tate, studied the way in which "literary language differs from ordinary practical language and for the unique truths conveyed only through such literary language." They focused mainly on poetry and applied what they called "close readings," a phrase that is still frequently used today. Close reading was not simply the distinction and analysis of literary devices, such as metaphor and allusion. Instead, it sought to understand how "literature embodies or concretely enacts universal truth," or "concrete universals." (Rivkin and Ryan 6)
Poetry, we all agree, is very different from ordinary speech—even the more prose-like free verse that is now common still differs in that, when we speak, one word means only one thing. Practical language is denotative. On the other hand, poetic language is connotative, meaning that there is more than one meaning. For example, a poet could refer to a rose in a literal sense as a flower, and also use it to introduce ideas about romance, death, or the pain of heartbreak.
New Criticism is very much rooted in Western traditions, particularly Christian theology and idealist aesthetics, much of which is rooted in Greco-Roman Classicism. A major part of the New Critics' aesthetic sensibility was "rooted in the idea that universal truth is available through art of a kind that is not determined by material social and historical circumstances." (Rivkin and Ryan 6)
This value is no longer important to literary studies, as we see that many readings of literature are concerned with matters such as postcolonialism, feminism, and historicism, among others. Ecocriticism, a field of literary study derived from environmental studies, would have been particularly offensive to the New Critics because scientific investigation is denotative, while poetic truth is only accessible through connotative language. The most important and persistent concern of the New Critics is their emphasis on close reading as a means of understanding texts and "the operation of literary language in all its complexity." (Rivkin and Ryan 6)
Feminist studies, which are distinct from Gender Studies, grew out of the women's movement of the late-1960s and 1970s. It sought to displace the notion that only male points of view, which were frequently misogynist and chauvinist, were authoritative and universal. Feminist critics placed women, and the gender-specific experience of being female, at the center of their readings of texts.
However, there were as many disagreements within feminist literary studies as there were within the movement at large. The first division was between constructivists and essentialists. Essentialists believe that femininity is not learned, but instead is an expression of behaviors and ideals that are uniquely female. Constructivists believe, as Simone de Beauvoir did, that one is not born a woman but becomes one—that is, feminine characteristics are not exactly innate, but socially constructed and imposed on those who are born female.
Moreover, feminist studies incorporates many ideas from Marxist studies, postcolonial studies, Black studies, and now, Gender Studies and Queer Theory. It is not a cohesive discipline. It incorporates many different ideas to explain the experiences of women and how those experiences are manifested in literature.
Source:
Rivkin, Julie and Michael Ryan. "Introduction: Formalisms." Literary Theory: An Anthology. Eds. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. 3-6. Print.
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