New Criticism and Reader Response

New Criticism is a lense through which literature is critiqued based upon its form and aesthetic pleasure. Through this lense, we see art as art with no references to historical meaning. Literature and art simply exist to be appreciated. The way in which we look at a literary piece through the lense of New Criticism is to look at the structure and style of the piece itself. Essentially, this is literary analysis, where you analyzing the setting, plot, characterization, imagery, symbolism, etc. The list goes on, but basically the writer’s craft is what’s important. Another huge part of New Criticism is “universal truths,” that certain human conditions will always be true. One quote that I found that held a “universal truth” was by Edgar Allen Poe. He stated (on pg 198 of the 9th grade LOL), “The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world.” I found many other examples of New Criticism as well. On pg. 324 I found an overview that states the objectives as being: 1) appreciate a contemporary short story and 2) identify and examine different types of characters. On pg. 376, the instruction is to “ask students why Jerry refers to the other beaches as ‘her beach.’ What does the beach symbolize for Jerry?” On pg. 562 there is a question about style. It asks the students to “describe the shift of tenses between these two paragraphs. What dramatic effect does the shift achieve?” All of these things are examples of New Criticism because they want the student to look solely at the craft of the writer without worrying about if it has any historical values or beliefs.

Reader Response is another lense through which literature is critiqued, but instead of being critiqued on form and craft, it is based upon how the reader reacts and relates to a piece of writing. This suggests that not all people will have the same reaction to a text and that it is possible to get many different interpretations. On pg. 343, the book asks the students to connect the topic of the text to their own life. It states, “Think about how your life has changed in the last few years, and about how it is changing now. How do you feel about these changes? Using a chart like the one shown, describe the disadvantages of these changes and the immediate or long-term benefits.” On pg. 340 a question asks, “how do you react to the narrator as a person? Share your reactions with a classmate.” On pg. 255 the book asks, “what is your reaction to the way Frank is treated in the hospital?” And finally, on pg. 552 there is another question asking you to relate the text to your life. It says, “Different animals in nature evoke different responses from people. Copy the list shown and fill in your own opinions. Then, with a classmate, discuss your choices.” Each of these assignments exemplifies Reader Response because they only want to know what YOU think. It is not about what the author thinks, or what the historical basis is, but just how YOU, yourself, relate and respond to the text.