Decline of New Criticism in France

Historical Criticism looked for the reality of the literary work at the extra-textual element that is the author. This approach considered to emphasis on the creation step and regarded the author’s intention as an only definite meaning and mere reality of the work. Lack of usefulness in analyzing some of literary works and also lack of suffice consideration on it and applying the human science’s different majors’ results in literal studying paved the way for the revelation of the set of new approaches each of which had ended to the meaning different from the work, unconscious meaning hidden from the author. The New Criticism phenomenon should defend itself against reprimands and complaints of traditional and academic Criticism, and prove its existence. Passing from philology to hermeneutic and to interpretation or somehow from absolutism to relativism, Barthes had a significant role. After New Criticism triumph against the literary history, he took a long step toward perfect erasing of the author from the entire field of the literary studies and consequently made it possible to pass from structuralism to post-structuralism. The result of the death of the author was the destruction of Criticism. After them, new notions such as text, writing, plurality of meaning, reader, reading, reception, and literary theory were taken into the core of considerations. The following article tries to analyze above subjects overtly, points out the case that has been neglected: The influence of Benveniste and Febvre on Barthes, Picard’s complaints on New Criticism, Doubrovsky’s existential psychology approach and opposition place between meaning and signification.