A Study on the Text in Anglo—American New Criticism

【Abstract】This paper aims to make a systematic study of text in New Criticism. Firstly， it explores the formation of the text-centered characteristic of New Criticism. Then this paper points out that Tension is ranked as the most outstanding theory in terms of text composition. When it comes to analyze a specific text， “close reading” is recommended by the New Critics as the best way.

【Key words】text； New Criticism； tension； close reading

The historical development and the formation of text-centered literature criticism

From 1920s to 1950s， this is an age of Objective orientation with Anglo-American as its representative. This objective orientation was just beginning to emerge in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The aim to consider a poem as Poe expressed it， is a “Poem per se ….written solely for the poems sake” in isolation from external causes came to constitute one element of the diverse doctrines usually huddled together by historians under the heading “Art for Arts Sake”. T.S. Eliots dictum of 1928， that when we are considering poetry we must consider it primarily as poetry and not another thing is widely approved， and this ideal is often joined with Macheishs verse aphorism， “A poem should not mean but be”.

In Abrams opinion， the West did not pay enough attention to the text until the 1920s， while on the whole it is true， it should be point out that the privilege of text did not come abruptly in the twentieth century， in contrast， its origin can be dated back to the ancient Greece. Aristotle is the first most important figure who advocates that the artistic works should be taken as an organic whole. Aristotle states that a beautiful object， whether it be a living organism or any whole composed of parts， must not only have an orderly arrangement of parts， but must also be of a certain magnitude； for beauty depends on magnitude and order. This idea is very much in line with the essential meaning of “text” which implies texture， logic structure， the multi-layered structure between signs and significations （in Latin， text means texere.）. The latter can be interpreted as a refinement or enrichment of the “organic whole” theory. This point was echoed by Lessing in his Laokoon in which it stated that as a temporal art， poetry may not be as effective as spatial arts such as painting or sculpture in depicting the visible objects， yet it can better picture the emotional or movement changes roundly and in depth. Lessing concluded that poetry was better at presenting the “dynamic beauty”， this can be said as an improvement of Aristotles ideas. Artistic works in Quotation from Goethe are constantly referred to as ‘healthy ‘live and ‘organic； this reveals that in Goethes opinion artistic works are an alive organic whole. However， one thing in common of Aristotle， Lessing， and Goethes idea is that artistic work is not an independent being； it is either an imitation or an embodiment of certain spiritual meanings. Influenced by such thinking pattern， the critics are not likely to concentrate on the work itself steadily. The change from this respect was brought by Francesco de Sanctis who opposed the treatment of artistic works in a non-artistic way such as speculation and didactics. In contrast， he proposed to judge art against a special standard based on the essence of art， and that art was bounded with its own objectives and values， it is not a passive reflection or imitation of the reality， and it is not closely related with nature or history. Art is “independent” “spontaneous” and “specific”， and its form can exist free from the artists thoughts. These and many other critics and theorists efforts contribute to the justification of New Criticisms text-centered orientation.

The composition of New Criticisms text

After establishing the vital status of text in literature criticism， the following task is to explore what the text is about. According to L.Brooks， it is unimaginable to separate content from form just as one cant separate his body and spirit， there is no content which is free of form in literature. For this reason， New Criticism is also called Formalist Criticism. This understanding of form decides that all the things which are irrelevant to the form should be excluded from the scope of study or be taken as the “external study”， i.e. Warren locates “biography”， “psychology”， “society” and “ideology” to the “external study”， while rhyme， text style， imagery， etc belong to the “internal study”.

As ones view on art can be influenced by his world outlook， the “organic formalism” of New Criticism has much to do with the New Critics understanding of their life. Many of the New Critics believe that art gives order to life. Eliot holds that the world in the first place is haphazard and orderless， and the function of art is to impose order upon the daily life and produce a sense of orderliness. Cleanth Brooks and R.P. warren state that it is essential human beings are capable of forming form， they come to a better understanding of the world by the form. These kind of statements prove that the New Critics thought that the content and the form are perfectly integrated. The pursuit of order exerts great influence on the later new critics interpretation of texts. Yet it should be noted that the sense of order is a very complicated issue as everyone may has his own opinion on it， and this is a topic which triggers disagreement among the New Critic themselves. Nevertheless， as the New Critics on the whole are inclined to analyze the poetic language， this leads to the most representative theory of the composition of a text—tention. Equipped with the theory of tention， New Criticism explored the internal order of poetry.

The interpretation of New Criticisms text

There is a rough consensus among the New Critics with regard of the interpretation of a text though there may be disagreements concerning the composition of a text. Reading methods recommended by them is “scrutiny” or “close reading”. Close reading is the most important skill needed for any form of literary studies. It means paying especially close attention to what is printed on the page. It is a much more subtle and complex process than the term might suggest. It means not only reading and understanding the meanings of the individual printed words； it also involves making yourself sensitive to all the nuances and connotations of language as it is used by skilled writers. This can mean anything from a works particular vocabulary， sentence construction， and imagery， to the themes that are being dealt with， the way in which the story is being told， and the view of the world that it offers. It involves almost everything from the smallest linguistic items to the largest issues of literary understanding and judgment.

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作者简介： 汪玲（1984.12-），女， 汉族， 湖北武汉人， 武汉生物工程学院， 硕士， 讲师， 研究方向： 英语语言学及应用语言学。