New Historicism
It is called as cultural poetics in USA and as
cultural Materialism in U.K
Idea of
literary work should be studied and interpreted within the frame work of
historical era.
It examines”
how the writer's time affected the work, and how the work reflects the writer's
time. It is a reaction against
formalistic view of the literary text as autonomous and Marxistic view of
economic infrastructure.
It is not a
Practices, it is a compound (Array) of reading.
It incorporates post-structuralist theory as well as
feminist, cultural, and Marxist theory.
Old
Historicism Vs New Historicism
Old Historicism: began in Germany with Herder by the
end of 18th century, continued in 19th century by Von Ranke, Meinecke, and in
20th century by Dilthey. Collingword, Gaddamar,Cassirer. Mannhein.
Impact Historians such as Saint Beuve, Taine see
history as back ground to literature.
It says Primary importance is text historical
background is secondary.
It says history is linear (series of events)
New
Historicism
It views history is subjective, written by people
whose personal bias affect their interpretation of the past.
Foucault says
"History is not linear. It doesn't have a definite beginning, the middle
and an end. History is a form of Power.
New historicism is based on parallel reading of
literary and non literary-texts, usually of the same period
It blurs the distinctions between literary
Non-literary and cultural texts.
It resists the notion that history is a series of
events that have a linear, casual relationship, in which event A Caused event
B, event B Caused event C etc...
Its goal is
to understand intellectual history literature, and literature through its
cultural context.
Influence
from Foucault.
Foucault, a French philosopher influenced it by "What is an Anther?”
In this essay
he questions and examines the concept of author ship.
For
other than Foucault, it is Deconstruction
New
Historicism term: Coined by Stephen Green Blatt in 1982
in his introduction
to "The
power of forms in the English: Renaissance” (1982)
He replaced
"content" by "co-text' that is interrelated literary
with non-lit-text from the same time period.
"Renaissance self Fashioning: From More to
Shakespeare” (1983) Kick started the New Historicism.
Basic idea is the Parallel reading of literary text
and history (History with literary text)
Harold Aram
Veeser "The New Historicism
“(1989) is an anthology of essays.
“I began with the desire to speak with the dead” a
quote from Negotiation by Green Blatt. The introduction of the book The
New Historicism starts with this.
Key
terms
Discourse:
A system of thoughts ideas, and images of the concept culture.
It is any
written/ spoken piece of text.
Foucault
defines
it as "ways of constituting
knowledge.
Thick Description: Coined by Clifford
Geetzs in his essay Thick Description:
Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture (1973)
He borrowed
it from Gilbert Ryle (British philosopher)
Thick description is dense description of social
life.
Thin
Description: It is a factual account of social life
without any interpretation.
Resonance
and Wonder: A concept by Green Blatt about the work of art in
a museum
Resonance is the power of
displayed object to reach out beyond its formal boundaries to a larger world.
Wonder:
The power of displayed object to stop the viewer to convey an arresting sense
of uniqueness to evoke an exalted attention.
Self
fashioning: A term coined by Green Blatt. It describes the
renaissance authors like Shakespeare and Marlowe, who created identities for
themselves (and for their characters) according to the social cultured and
political codes of their time.
Self
fashioning is transforming oneself into another.
Culture
as text: A big idea by Clifford Geetz
He says “culture should be analysed like a text.”
Literary
texts are little texts with in a big text that is culture.
Canon,
Non-canonical
Canon
is the word for group of works that represent the best literary works of a
given language.
Non-canonical
works aren't considered to be high literature.
Cultural
poetics /cultural materialism:
In USA -cultural poetics – (New Histiricism in
USA)Green Blatt
UK cultural materialism –Marxists prefer like
Althusser and Raymond Williams.
Cultural poetics sees cultural sides of poetics
instead of looking for historical sides of texts.
It is said that a text is culture in action
Critics&
Books
Stephen
Green Blatt: is an American Shakespearean literary
historian.
He coined the terms 'sell fashioning' and Resonance
and Wonder, New historicism"
He is one of the founders of New historicism. He refers it as Cultural poetics.
He is the co-founder of literary cultural journal Representation with Svetlana Alpers.
He wrote extensively on Shakespeare and Renaissance.
"Will of the world: how Shakespeare became
Shakespeare" (2005) is the most popular work.
It is a biography of Shakespeare
Practicing New Historicism (2000)
Collaborated with Gallagher.
Towards
a Poetics of culture (1987).
Shakespearean
Negotiations: The Circulation of social energy in Renaissance England
(1978)
Renaissance of self fashioning: from More to
Shakespeare. (1980)
Improvisation
and Power (1979) - Essay
Resonance
and Wonder (1990) - Essay
Green Blatt says” New Historicism began as a pun on the New
Criticism.”
Clifford
James Geertz:
American Anthropologists
The
interpretation of Cultures: Selected essays (1973)
He says "culture should be analyzed like the text."
He is known for the concept of "Thick description"
His essay "
Deep play: Notes on the Balinese Cock fight" is a classic example of
thick description.
It describes symbolism and social dynamics of cock
fighing.
Dollimore
: is
a British Philosopher and critic in the field of Renaissance, gender studies,
queer theory, decadence and cultural theory.
Radical Tragedy: Religion, Ideology and power
in the Drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.(1984)"
It re assessed the work of Shakespeare& other
contemporaries, recognizing the historical function of drama.
Political Shakespeare: New Essays in
Cultural materialism by Dollimore with Allan Sinfield. -
John
Drakakis
Alternative
Shakespeares (1985)
Its contributors are Catherine Belsey, Terence
Hawkes, Jacquelin Rose John Drakakis& Francis Barker.
Louis Adrion Montrose “New
Historicism"
Allen
Sinfield: English theorist in Shakespeare,
sexuality, Queer theory and cultural theory.
Literary
Politics & Culture in Post war Britain (1989) Cultural
Politics-Queer Reading (1994)
Political
Shakespeare: with Dollimore
Majorie
Levinson (American scholar)
Rethinking
Historicism: Critical readings in Romantic History" is
a collection of essays. (1984)
1st
Group Critics:
focus on Renaissance
studied Shakespeare, Marlow
Green Blatt, Mantrose, Gallagher
2nd
Group Critics
focus on Romanticism
Studied Wordsworth, Byron, Keats -Marjorie Levinson,
Jerome Mc. Gann
Jerome
John Mc Gann
(American scholar)
The
Romantic Ideology: a critical investigation. 1985
applied New historicist approach to wordsworth,
Byron, Shelly.
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