| Text is the starting point of literary study.Analyzing texts can provide the necessary foundation for interpreting meaning,judging value and elucidating thoughts.In Western theories,text analysis is most famous for the close reading method pioneered by the New criticism.The so-called "close reading" is not a narrow analysis on form,but a comprehensive analysis method based on the details of the text.The purpose is to finally achieve a comprehensive reveal of literary work’s meaning and a correct evaluation of the value of the work.The "close reading" of the New Critics is represented by the semantic analysis method of I.A.Richards and William Empson,and the irony theory of Cleanth Brooks.They insist on the concept of ontological text,and judge the value of works by analyzing the tension relationship between the elements in poetry texts,such as syntax structure,rhetoric,phonology,and the overall structure,from which a harmony integrity can be built.Wen Xin Diao Long also sets chapters analyzing literary expressions,namely "Xi Cai",to interpret the formal elements of works,and puts forward the method of "six aspects" in the Confidant.The "six aspects" also reflects that Liu Xie takes an objective view on the text.In addition,both of them focus their analysis on verses,and they also show similar interests in the analysis methods and steps.This thesis attempts to compare the similarities and differences between the two analysis methods,summarize shared concepts and issues,and make new arrangements and evaluations for close reading.The first chapter explores the concepts of text of the new critics and Liu Xie,that is.how to treat literary works,which is the premise of close reading.The new critics from Richards and Empson to Brooks all value the existence of the article as an organic unity,no longer emphasize the binary division of form and content,and highlight the tension between the details and the whole of the article,hoping that the text may contain more conflicting factors.Liu Xie summed up the overall planning of the article as "Wei Ti",and emphasized the importance of the overall structure and unification in Zhang Ju,Rong Cai and Fu Hui.Empson broke through the pursuit of certainty in poetry,and advocated an aesthetic of ambiguity.It has similarities with two notions in Chinese traditional literary theory,illocution and implication,which are also advocated by Liu Xie in Yin Xiu.Liu Xie indicates that illocution and implication are good for multi-meaningness.The goals of both criticisms are clearly proposed to obtain value judgments,pick out good poems and eliminate bad ones.After gaining a common understanding of the text,the new critics and Liu Xie also have similar concerns in methods and steps of close reading.The second chapter focuses on objects and steps of the close reading method.It starts with the overall structure of a text,then analyzes how lexical meaning and syntactic structure,rhetorical techniques,and rhythm and rhyme arrangement can influence the meaning of one text.These details are finally integrated into one leading effect,and none of these parts works without the overall context.Allusion and how new works use literary heritage can reflect the influence of literary traditions and classic works on criticism.The third chapter discusses ideal readers who can use close reading effectively,and the relationship between evaluation and true value of works.Ideal critics need to be fair-minded and closely related to the works of art that they judge.Secondly,they need rich reading experience and keen feeling ability,and can evaluate works beyond superficial expression.Formal effect’s participating in the evaluation is not only to be able to convey meanings effectively,but also to the function of the form itself,and even to refine the style and the re-construction of the theme and spirit of the work in a certain sense. |
