Old/New Historicism

Developed by Elham Shayegh Old Historicism

History as written is an accurate view of  what is really occurred. Histor History y serv serves es as a backg backgrou round nd to to lite literat rature ure Historical textual background is secondarily important, because the text mirrors the history of its time. By applying the historical context to the texts the critic believes that he or she can formulate a more accurate interpretation of  texts than if s/he did not know kno w such historical context.

Historical periods evidences a single,  political worldview

New Historicism; Cultural Poetics

History is subjective: one of many discourses. History is shaped by the people who lived it. The interr interrela elated tednes nesss of of all all human human acti activit vities ies Tries to address Foucault’s Foucault’s tireless questioning of the nature of literature, history, culture, and society. Viewing Viewing a text as culture in action, blurring the distinction between an artistic  production and any other kind of social  production or event. As all of society is intricately interwoven, so are critics and texts, both to each other and in the culture. Since all critics are influenced  by the culture in which they live, New Historicists believe that they cannot escape  public and private cultural influences. Socio-historical elements exhibited in the text. A complex interrelationship of a variety of  discourses: the various ways-artistic, social,  political, and so on-that people think and talk about their world. Texts are really social documents d ocuments that reflect  but also, and more importantly, importantly, respond to their historical situation. To unlock textual meaning a Cultural Poetic critic investigates three areas of concerns: the life of the author , the social rules and dictates found within a text , and a reflection of a work’s historical situation as evidenced in the text.