Critical Theory Today – Creative Reading

Lois Tyson tells us in Chapter 9 of “Critical Theory Today” that
New Historical Criticism prevents us from fully appreciating the context of the time in which we live, because we are part of the mechanism of that historical context. Society influences people who influence history that influences society. Culture is so interconnected that every action is shaped by or a response to the time and society in which we live. The reactions of artists then become part of the creative tapestry of their time.

Tyson explains, “our subjectivity, then, is a lifelong process
of negotiating our way, consciously and unconsciously among the constraints and freedoms offered at any given moment in time by the society in which we live” (270).

The texts of authors who frequently revisit their own works reflect this
process of navigating one’s own changing subjectivity. Over the course of her professional life, Marianne Moore whittled her 1919 poem “Poetry” down from the original 29 lines to merely 3.

“I too, dislike it: there are things that are
important beyond all this fiddle.

Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for
it, one discovers that there is in

it after all, a place for the genuine.” (Moore,
1919)

As Moore navigated the world in which she lived and her own changing
subjectivity, she distilled her thoughts down and became more concise. She decided that the introductory lines of “Poetry” accomplished what she needed them to and did away with the other 26 lines. Many aspiring poets likely cringe at the idea of lopping off so many lines of well-worded imagery and commentary on the form, but Moore understood that they weren’t necessary to her point and may have even undermined the crucial message of those first lines by being a distraction. With only three keenly honed lines, her message was likelier to strike true in the mind of the reader.

Conversely, Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” ballooned over his lifetime. He not only edited his original 12 poems, the quantity of poems ballooned. The last edition he released before his death contained over 400 poems. He also shuffled and reordered his poems. Increasingly, his poems dealt with death and mortality as he considered his legacy. Rather than refine his texts like Moore, he bolstered them with other works. He lived in a perpetual state of reaction to his time and to his own life.

Moore and Whitman, as part of history, interacted with the changes in the world as they happened and reacted to them. The democracy of New Historical Criticism allowed both the daughter of a single mother and a son born to economically challenged parents to not only reflect on the eras in which they lived, but to shape the perception of those eras. Moore and Whitman are threads in the fabrics of their respective times.

Works Cited
Moore, Marianne. “Poetry by Marianne Moore – Poems | Academy of American Poets.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, https://poets.org/poem/poetry.

Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: a User-Friendly Guide. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015.

The New Criticism model of literature evaluation forces us to compare a text against itself. It constrains us to what has been provided for us by the author. All arguments must stem from what is on the page, all evidence to support those arguments must come from that same page. We are asked not to consider the author’s background, their intent in writing the text, or the impact the artifact has had upon the reader.

The effect of this model of criticism is to limit the brilliance of some pieces of literature, by removing from their merit the huge emotional response a reader may have to the piece to avoid the “affective fallacy” (Tyson, 131). Removing the author’s background or purpose in writing to avoid the “intentional fallacy” (130) can also hobble appreciation of the piece; by not including their experiences or lack of experiences, we don’t fully appreciate what they’ve accomplished with the text.

The piece “Incarnations of Burned Children” by David Foster Wallace is a piece that suffers from the avoidance of the two fallacies Tyson describes. The text is a visceral stream of consciousness narrative from the internal dialogue of a father whose child has just been critically injured. The text itself does not follow many of the traditions that Eliot espouses authors building upon. Wallace’s concept is not a new one. The words he chooses, while well chosen, aren’t especially academic or inventive. What is new, or “temporal” (Eliot) about the piece is the effect the structure and words chosen have upon the reader.

If the reader is limited solely to the text, they will find little formal structure here. Even punctuation often goes by the wayside to accomplish the frantic, pell-mell feeling of the text. The piece is so appallingly real that many parents struggle to read the piece or listen to the work being read. When reading this piece, the reader fights to get through the piece quickly, desperately seeking resolution to the horrors unfolding before them, much as the father himself is trying to remedy his child’s distress. Wallace forces the reader to become the parent. The reader’s urgency is evidence of the brilliance of the piece. If we remove their response to the piece, we miss out entirely on the genius of the structure.

Where Wallace’s work might please Eliot is in his depersonalization. Eliot describes depersonalization as “a continual surrender of himself as he is at the moment to something which is more valuable” (Eliot). Wallace, who had no children of his own, steps into the shoes of a parent on the worst day of their lives. He surrenders himself to the experience that many parents have experienced to varying degrees. He fully explores the helplessness and rage and frustration a parent cast into those circumstances feels, with little personal experience to draw from.

To remove the reader’s response to “Incarnations of Burned Children” and to remove the incredibly real way Wallace explored a situation he had no experience in is to detract from the genius of the piece. Wallace’s ability to cast the reader into the same emotional crisis as the protagonist of his work using commonplace words arranged and paced in a deliberate way detracts from the piece’s value. His ability to conceptualize the emotional state of the man without having experienced it himself is remarkable.

For these reasons, the New Criticism model of evaluating literature cannot effectively assess the merits of some works. In works such as this, the New Criticism model becomes merely a starting point to look at the structure of the piece, its patterns, and overall tone. We as scholars must then step outside the model to truly evaluate the whole of the piece.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a500/incarnations-burned-children-david-foster-wallace-0900/

Works Cited

Eliot, T. S. “Tradition and the Individual Talent by T. S. Eliot.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 13 Oct. 2009, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69400/tradition-and-the-individual-talent.

Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: a User-Friendly Guide. Routledge, 2015.

Wallace, David Foster. “Incarnations of Burned Children.” Esquire, Hearst Magazine Media Inc., 11 Oct. 2017, https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a500/incarnations-burned-children-david-foster-wallace-0900/.