New Criticism and Formalism

New Criticism and Formalism

New Criticism is emerged as a reaction to the critical theory of literary history and biographical literary criticism which are placing elements extrinsic of literary works, such as the history of a literary work or a biography of the author, as a something that is important in analyzing literary works, without ever into the intrinsic elements of the literary work itself. New Criticism tried to turn all of that by placing the intrinsic elements of literary work as an important object of literary analysis. For the New Criticism, literature is a unity that has been completed, an aesthetic phenomenon that at the time of its completion leaving their subjective terms, and only by analyzing the structure and organization of a literary work, the artwork can be shown by the real sense.

New Criticism focused on the intrinsic elements of literary works, regardless of extrinsic elements such as the biography of the author. New Criticism is known as an approach that directs attention to the literary work itself, it is free from the influence of the author (intentional fallacy), a history of occurrence as well as the readers opinion (affective fallacy) and the critics (herey of paraphrase). New Criticism is literary work analysis is needed an intrinsic approach that emphasizes the structure of literature itself.

New Criticism suggested that in approaching or analyzing literary works should be with a close reading. Close reading is a method of reading the literature that tried to examine the literature carefully and in detail. According to the New Criticism, the meaning of a literary work is not the meaning of denotation but connotations, as a literary language different from the language of science or language in general. English literature is not pointing directly, but supposes.

Formalism did not agree that the literary work has relation with the author, and universe. Formalism has intrinsic element to focus on literary work, which is structure, form, and rime.

Formalism is the theory used to analyze literary works that promotes the form of literary works which is include pronunciation techniques, they are rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, assonance, etc. Formalism is not about the content and extrinsic elements such as history, biography, cultural context, and others. Therefore, formalism theory can stand alone (there isn’t the influence of other elements). Formalist theory aims to find out the alignment elements contained in literary works so that they can establish the form and content integrity by examining the elements of literature, poetics, associations, opposition, etc.

·         According to literary formalism called literature for use or choice of words (language use).

·         According to the formalism characteristic of literature is literariness.

Formalism including an objective approach. Formalism believes that the literary work has nothing to do with aspects outside the literary work. Such as: the author.

·         New criticism and formalism equally focus only on literary work, by way of close-reading (text explication).

·         New criticism is not just on the text, but also it sometimes beyond on the text.