Okay, I’m not a literary critic and I don’t really know what New Criticism is, but I’ll waste your time anyway.
From what you describe, it sounds a little like a deconstructionist approach. In other words, it doesn’t matter what the poem says, let’s try and figure out why it says that, or what it’s really trying to say. This would be like ‘riddles’ in the poem. Sometimes this means trying to understand the author’s perspective, life history, subconscious, what he or she had for breakfast that morning, etc. Or you try and look at language patterns for potential symbols and figure out that it could really be about death instead of a box full of kittens.
That’s my guess anyway; I’d guess it’s called ‘New’ because it is a new direction to go in when you’re looking at poetry that’s already been picked apart on matters of structure, grammar, and the ‘obvious’ meaning, and possibly already interpreted in a modern context; there’s not much else to do but try and find out some more.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that even knowing the author intimately you’d be able to deduce the thought processes that went into the work. For some, it doesn’t matter whether it’s ‘correct’ as it’s just one more way of interpretation and if it brings you some knowledge, then it’s a good thing. In my opinion, it doesn’t make much difference to know what inspired the poem as you may often take your own meaning from it.
There are a lot of examples where the perceived meaning is different from what the author was thinking about.
I know that “What You Give” by Tesla was ‘about’ the death of the writer’s dog. Yet it doesn’t mention tail-wagging or jerky treats anywhere; instead it has a chorus like :
“It’s not what you got, it’s what you give
It ain’t the life you lead, it’s the life you live”
And the recent song “Closing Time” (don’t know the group’s name) sounds to most listeners like a song about going to singles bars every weekend and never getting anywhere; the video (famously had two synchronized cameras on a splitscreen) told a similar story, but the writer has said that it’s about the premature birth of his son.
“I know who I want to take me home, I know who I want to take me home …” was intended to describe the child wanting to go home with his parents but having to stay in the hospital; of course the author acknowledged that that’s not something most people relate to, and thus the song is a sort of reinterpretation of his own feelings.
well, hopefully someone who actually knows something will come along by morning.
panama jack
Only what you give, only what you give, only what you give …