New Historicism And The Study Of Shakespeare

This dissertation begins from the ideological origin of new historicism, the analysis for the strategy of power of Michel Foucault has led to Shakespeare's drama research. Have been influenced by post-constructurism during 1960s, new historicism regards literature and history as constructed textuality or constructed intertextuality. The deciphering way of literature criticism of new historicism lays emphasis on the Renaissance literature, especially on Shakespeare research. On handling the relation of literature works and social historical contexts, new historicism doesn't regard social history as the times background in which the works have produced, but emphasizes the moving mutual relation between them: History is textual, text is historical. New historicism pays more attention :o historical and social ideological criticism; the author discusses the practice in Shakespeare's drama from the combination of power and discourse, and thinks that it is not history and social ideology has affected literature works but emphasizes the shaping role of literature works, through rewriting actively instead of passively reflecting the Renaissance so as to create different historical texts. In this dissertation, the author points out that new historicism has special interests for the cultural politics, powerful discourse in works, and puts forth effort to excavate the content of leading ideology works in implicit subversion, with its peculiar political purpose to learn lessons from history, so as to seek "history" for present society lives; Meanwhile the author has found the balanced point of literature and history from the angle of discourse and power on the relation of them after combing the development of new historicism, which not only brings new theoretical visual angle, but the demands of the human advance of inner world.New historicism compares with other aspects of studying gain and loss and the contribution of Shakespeare research from academic idea and method. While paying attention to the positive role of new historicism we have also known it's abuse. When having known the theoretical blind area of new historicism, perhaps we can know more clearheadedly that it propels the true meaning of criticism and literature theory to some extent.