New Criticismn. A method of literary evaluation and interpretation practiced chiefly in the mid-1900s that emphasizes close examination of a text with minimum regard for the biographical or historical circumstances in which it was produced.New Critic n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.new criticism n (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) an approach to literary criticism through close analysis of the text new critic n new critical adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014new? crit?icism n. (often caps.) a method of literary criticism that concentrates on textual explication and considers historical and biographical study as secondary. [1941, Amer.] new? crit?ic, n. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.New Criticisma critical approach to literature that concentrates upon analysis and explication of individual texts and considers historical and biographical information less important than an awareness of the work?s formal structure. ? New Critic, n.See also: Criticism-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.