What is Historical Criticism?

Summary

This video delves into the literary criticism approach of historicism, emphasizing the importance of understanding an author's life and the historical context in which a text was written. It highlights the significance of even minor details in reflecting the era's broader themes. The video also touches on postcolonialism and cultural studies, which focus on cultural interactions and representations within literature. Furthermore, it introduces new historicism, which challenges the fixed meanings imposed by history and advocates for a more nuanced dialogue about a text's meaning.

Takeaways

• 📚 Historicism involves studying the author's life and historical context to understand the text's meaning.
• 👤 One key question is how the author's life influenced the text they wrote.
• 🕰️ Another important consideration is how the historical period affected the ideas and themes in the text.
• 🔍 Small details in a text, such as attitudes toward money during the Great Depression, can reflect larger historical ideas.
• ✒️ Christina Rosetti's poetry is an example where her life decisions about religion and love influence her work.
• 🌍 Postcolonialism is a branch of historicism that examines cultural clashes and the impact of one culture dominating another.
• 🎭 Cultural studies focus on how a specific culture's ideas are represented within a text.
• 🧠 New historicism challenges the certainty of historical facts, suggesting that history is shaped by multiple perspectives and not fixed meanings.
• ❓ New historicism asks whether generalizations, like the emotional nature of the Romantic era, are truly representative of all people.
• 🔄 Historicism seeks fixed meaning through history, while new historicism promotes dialogue and multiple voices to understand meaning.

Q & A

What is historicism in literary criticism?

Historicism in literary criticism is a theory that examines the life and times of an author to understand how historical and biographical contexts influence the meaning of a text.

What are the two key questions historicism asks?

Historicism asks: 1) Who was the author, and how did their life influence the text? 2) What was the time period in which the text was written, and how did historical events influence the ideas in the text?

Why is it important to look at specific details in a text when using historicism?

Specific details matter because they can reflect significant ideas from the time period in which the text was written, offering insights into historical and cultural influences.

How does the example of Christina Rosetti relate to historicism?

Christina Rosetti's life choices, such as breaking off engagements for religious reasons, can be seen reflected in her poetry, which often discusses themes of religion and love. Historicism would explore how her personal experiences influenced these themes.

What is postcolonialism, and how does it relate to historicism?

Postcolonialism is a specific type of historicism that focuses on the clash of cultures, especially the aftermath of one culture dominating another. It examines how these dynamics are represented or suppressed in literature.

How does cultural studies differ from postcolonialism?

Cultural studies also examines culture in literature but focuses more on how a specific culture’s ideas are treated and revealed within the text, rather than the broader clash of cultures seen in postcolonialism.

What is new historicism, and how does it challenge traditional historicism?

New historicism challenges the idea that historical facts are fixed and absolute. It argues that history is subjective and shaped by multiple voices, questioning whether we can truly know historical facts with certainty.

How does new historicism view historical generalizations, such as those from the Romantic Era or the Great Depression?

New historicism questions generalizations like 'people in the Romantic Era were driven by emotion' or 'people in the Great Depression were frugal,' arguing that such statements are oversimplifications that don’t account for the diversity of experiences and voices.

What is the significance of the phrase 'history goes to the winners' in the context of new historicism?

The phrase suggests that history is written by those in power, and new historicism emphasizes listening to all voices—big and small—to understand how history can be subjective and multifaceted.

How does historicism help in understanding the meaning of a text?

Historicism helps by analyzing the historical context and the author's life, showing how these external factors influenced the themes, ideas, and characters within the text.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Historicism in Literary Criticism

This paragraph introduces the concept of historicism in literary criticism, emphasizing the importance of understanding the historical context and the author's life to interpret the meaning of a text. It outlines two key questions to consider: the author's life and how it influenced the text, and the time period in which the work was written and its impact on the text's ideas. The paragraph also highlights the significance of specific details in the text that reflect broader historical themes, using the example of Christina Rosetti's personal experiences influencing her poetry. It concludes by mentioning more complex offshoots of historicism, such as postcolonialism, cultural studies, and new historicism, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of these theories.

Keywords

💡Historicism

Historicism is a literary criticism approach that examines the historical context in which a text was created to understand its meaning. It involves researching the author's life and the time period to see how these factors influenced the text. In the video, historicism is discussed as a method to uncover the meaning of a text by looking at the 'Life and Times of the author' and the 'time period in which this was written', emphasizing that even 'little details in the text can really reflect Big Ideas of the time period'.

💡Context

Context refers to the circumstances or setting in which a text is written or an event occurs. It is crucial in historicism as it helps to understand the meaning of a text by considering the background and environment in which it was produced. The video script mentions the importance of context by stating that 'historicism...does require a bit of research and a bit of outside work' to understand the author's life and the time period.

💡Postcolonialism

Postcolonialism is a specific offshoot of historicism that focuses on the cultural impacts of colonialism and the power dynamics between colonizers and the colonized. It examines how cultures clash and the aftermath of one culture being dominant over another. The video gives an example of postcolonialism being interested in 'the way Native Americans are being treated in a piece of literature', showing how it extends the analysis of historical context to include cultural perspectives.

💡Cultural Studies

Cultural Studies is an approach that looks at how a particular culture's ideas are represented and interpreted within a text. It is similar to postcolonialism but focuses more broadly on cultural aspects rather than specifically on colonial impacts. The video script mentions cultural studies as a method that 'examines one particular culture's ideas, and the way those ideas are treated and revealed within a text'.

💡New Historicism

New Historicism is a complex form of historicism that challenges the notion of fixed historical facts and instead suggests that history is open to interpretation and dialogue. It questions the 'meaning that history places upon a text' and argues that what is considered a historical fact might be an opinion or generalization. The video contrasts new historicism with historicism, stating that while historicism 'fixes meaning and Nails meaning down using the facts of History, new historicism says those aren't facts, those are opinions and generalities'.

💡Deconstruction

Deconstruction is a critical approach that seeks to break down and analyze the underlying assumptions and structures within a text. It is mentioned in the video as a concept that new historicism might challenge, suggesting that the 'meaning that history places upon a text' is not fixed but open to deconstruction. The video encourages viewers to 'go back and review deconstruction' to better understand new historicism.

💡Life and Times

The term 'Life and Times' refers to the personal life and the historical period in which an author lived, which can significantly influence their work. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding the author's life and the era they lived in to interpret the text correctly, as it asks 'who was the author and what was his or her life like' and 'what was the time period in which this was written'.

💡Influence

Influence in this context refers to the impact that an author's life and the historical period have on the themes and ideas presented in their literary work. The video discusses how an author's personal experiences and the events of their time can shape the text, using the example of Christina Rosetti's personal experiences with religion influencing her poetry.

💡Little Details

Referring to minor but significant elements within a text, 'Little Details' are highlighted in the video as a means to reflect broader historical or cultural ideas. The video script points out that even small aspects of a text, like 'characters being much more careful with the things that they eat' during the Great Depression, can reveal a lot about the period's prevailing attitudes and conditions.

💡Dialogue

Dialogue in the context of new historicism and literary criticism generally refers to the ongoing conversation and interpretation of a text's meaning. The video contrasts historicism, which seeks to fix meaning, with new historicism, which encourages a 'dialogue that can't be fixed down into meaning', suggesting that texts should be seen as part of an ongoing discussion rather than having a single, definitive interpretation.

Highlights

Introduction to historicism in literary criticism, focusing on the context of the author's life and times.

Historicism can be simple or complex and requires research into the author's background and historical context.

Key questions for historicism: Who was the author, what was their life like, and how did their life influence the text?

Another important question: What was the time period in which the text was written, and how did it influence the text?

Even small details in the text can reflect major ideas of the time period.

Example of historicism: Literature from the Great Depression might reflect characters being more cautious with money and risk-taking.

Christina Rosetti's poetry reflects her life experiences, such as turning down two engagements for religious reasons, influencing her themes of love and religion.

Postcolonialism is a specific branch of historicism focusing on cultural clashes and the effects of one culture imposing itself on another.

Postcolonialism explores topics like how Native Americans are treated in literature, whether their culture is suppressed or preserved.

Cultural studies similarly examines how specific cultural ideas are treated and revealed within a text.

New historicism is more complex, challenging the fixed meanings that traditional historicism might apply to a text.

New historicism questions the idea of 'facts' in history and emphasizes the importance of listening to multiple voices and perspectives.

History is often written by the victors, so new historicism questions generalities like the emotional nature of the Romantic era or the frugality of people during the Great Depression.

New historicism creates a dialogue about meaning rather than fixing it based on historical facts.

Summary: Whether focusing on how history creates meaning or opens dialogue about meaning, historicism provides valuable perspectives in literary criticism.

Transcripts

and welcome back we're still talking

about literary criticism and this time

we're going to look at historicism and

when talking about where meaning Lies We

are going to talk about the context The

Life and Times of the author now

historicism is one of those theories

that can be very simple or it can be

very complex but it does require a bit

of research and a bit of outside work in

order to use historicism I'm going to

have to look at the background and the

author's life there are two questions

I'm really going to ask ask myself here

number one who was the author and what

was his or her life like and how did

that life influence the text and also

what was the time period in which this

was written and how did the time period

and the the happenings of the day

influence the text and influence the

ideas of the text one thing to keep in

mind as you're doing this is that

specific Details Matter even little

things in the text can really reflect

Big Ideas of the time period so

something that's written during the

Great Depression we might notice

characters being much more careful with

the things that they eat with the way

they spend their money and with taking

risks in general we can comment upon the

way those little details reflect the

time period and the time period is

reflected in those little details a

great example is Christina Rosetti who

turned down two guys she broke off two

engagements in her life because of

religious reasons so when her poetry

starts talking about religion and love

and religion trumping love we wonder how

much of her personal experience is

coming out in her poetry so so in order

to do historicism you've got to sit down

and look up information and then apply

that information to the text however

there are other types of historicism or

other offshoots of historicism which can

be even more complex than that the first

perhaps is

postcolonialism it is looking at history

and it is looking at the author's life

but it's looking at it from a very

specific lens postcolonialism is

interested in cultures and in the way

cultures clash it's interested in the

aftermath and the after effect of one

culture coming and putting itself on top

of another culture so postcolonialism

would be interested in the way Native

Americans are being treated in a piece

of literature for instance and the way

their culture is being preserved or

suppressed even if that's not the main

point of the text you can still look at

it from that perspective cultural

studies is similar in the way it

examines one particular culture's ideas

and the way those ideas are treated and

revealed within a text but the most

complicated of these is probably new

historicism similar to the way that post

feminism challenges the tension between

male and female and whether those two

things can really exist in a

deconstructive way new historicism

challenges the meaning that history

places upon a text it's probably a good

idea right now to go back and review

deconstruction I'll put the link right

here so while historicism takes the

facts of history and applies them to the

text to reveal meaning new historicism

challenges that and says how can we know

those are really facts after all history

is a lot more difficult to nail down

than of first appears you've probably

heard the expression history goes to the

winners so let's take a couple facts

here we might say that people in the

romantic era were driven by emotion we

might say that people during the Great

Depression were

Frugal yes those are generalities but

are they absolutely true were all people

in the Romantic Era automatically

emotional were all people in the Great

Depression automatically Frugal it would

be difficult to say that absolutely more

likely there are very degrees of this

and many different voices so while

historicism fixes meaning and Nails

meaning down using the facts of History

new historicism says those aren't facts

those are opinions and generalities

let's listen to the voices the Little

voices the big voices all the voices and

create dialogue dialogue that can't be

fixed down into meaning so whether

you're interested in the way history

creates meaning or whether you're

interested in the way that history

creates dialogue about the meaning

either way historicism is a good way to

go thanks for watching you can click on

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watch the introduction video

again I'll see you next time