Correct option is A
New Historicism, which emerged in the 1980s (with Stephen Greenblatt as a leading figure), is deeply indebted to Marxism for its focus on the socio-economic and political contexts of literary works and their ideological implications. It also draws heavily on Hermeneutics (especially Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur) for its interpretive approach to texts—viewing them as products of their historical moment while also acknowledging the active role of interpretation in shaping meaning.
Marxism is a theory that analyses society through the lens of class struggle. Marxists argue that the economic system of a society determines its social and cultural structures. New Historicists borrow from Marxism by examining the relationship between power structures and literary texts. They argue that literary texts are not simply products of individual creativity, but that they also reflect the social and political conditions in which they were produced.
Reader-response Theory emphasizes the role of the reader in interpreting and constructing meaning from a text. New Historicists consider the historical and cultural context of both the author and the reader as they engage with the text.
New Historicism is a complex and nuanced approach to literary criticism that draws on insights from a variety of disciplines, including history, sociology, and anthropology. It is particularly interested in the relationship between literature and society, and how literary texts can be used to understand the past.
New Historicists have used their approach to analyse literature as:
A New Historicist might examine the ways in which Shakespeare's plays reflect the social and political conditions of Elizabethan England.
A New Historicist might examine the ways in which the Harlem Renaissance was shaped by the economic and social conditions of African Americans in the early 20th century.
A New Historicist might examine the ways in which the feminist movement of the 1960s influenced the literature of that era.
A New Historicism is a valuable approach to literary criticism because it helps us to understand the context in which literary texts were produced and how this context can shape our interpretation of those texts.
Information Booster:
Marxism's contribution: Power structures, ideology, and material conditions are central concerns in New Historicism.
Hermeneutics' contribution: The emphasis on interpretation as historically situated.
Key critics: Stephen Greenblatt, Louis Montrose, Catherine Gallagher.
Key idea: Literature and history are mutually constitutive—texts both shape and are shaped by historical contexts.
Additional Knowledge:
While New Historicism engages with textual form, it is not rooted in Formalism (B), which isolates the text from historical and social contexts. Similarly, Reader-response Theory (C) focuses on the reader's role in meaning-making, which is not the primary emphasis of New Historicism. Existentialism (D) also has little to do with its theoretical foundation.
English
10 Questions
20 Marks
12 Mins
