New Historicism as a Form of Criticism of Writings
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- Date Submitted: 11/12/2011 09:42 AM
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New Historicism as a form of criticism of writings
New Historicism in a literary sense is a way used to find a deeper understanding of a literary work in which we, the reader, look at the whole piece collectively. Not just the black and white words on the page; it is more than the story itself because the story is enhanced by the historical elements that surround the writing. We, the readers, need to know about the writer in a biographical sense also. Washington State University English Department’s Michael Delahoyde states “ Historical Criticism insisted that to understand a literary piece, we need to understand the author's biography and social background, ideas circulating at the time, and the cultural milieu.”
He further writes, “In other words, history here is not a mere chronicle of facts and events, but rather a complex description of human reality and evolution of preconceived notions. Literary works may or may not tell us about various factual aspects of the world from which they emerge, but they will tell us about prevailing ways of thinking at the time. New Historicism is more "sociohistorical" than it is a delving into factoids.”
This principle of assessing a literary work makes perfect sense to me. To create a simple analogy, there are three people that tell you they have each cut their finger. The person’s history changes the story dramatically, as in the following three scenarios:
An older woman is deathly ill due to the sight of blood although her cut is minute but she is traumatized by the dubious injury that requires a simple bandage. . The “tough-guy” overly proud young man has nearly lost his finger and requires a great deal medical attention but just wraps it up in her bandana and gets back to work. You assume it is all about gender but there is more to this sociological aspect of it.
Now add the historical aspect. The older woman is of Tutsi heritage who once lived in Rwanda, was raped by knife point, in front of her husband and...
New Historicism in a literary sense is a way used to find a deeper understanding of a literary work in which we, the reader, look at the whole piece collectively. Not just the black and white words on the page; it is more than the story itself because the story is enhanced by the historical elements that surround the writing. We, the readers, need to know about the writer in a biographical sense also. Washington State University English Department’s Michael Delahoyde states “ Historical Criticism insisted that to understand a literary piece, we need to understand the author's biography and social background, ideas circulating at the time, and the cultural milieu.”
He further writes, “In other words, history here is not a mere chronicle of facts and events, but rather a complex description of human reality and evolution of preconceived notions. Literary works may or may not tell us about various factual aspects of the world from which they emerge, but they will tell us about prevailing ways of thinking at the time. New Historicism is more "sociohistorical" than it is a delving into factoids.”
This principle of assessing a literary work makes perfect sense to me. To create a simple analogy, there are three people that tell you they have each cut their finger. The person’s history changes the story dramatically, as in the following three scenarios:
An older woman is deathly ill due to the sight of blood although her cut is minute but she is traumatized by the dubious injury that requires a simple bandage. . The “tough-guy” overly proud young man has nearly lost his finger and requires a great deal medical attention but just wraps it up in her bandana and gets back to work. You assume it is all about gender but there is more to this sociological aspect of it.
Now add the historical aspect. The older woman is of Tutsi heritage who once lived in Rwanda, was raped by knife point, in front of her husband and...