New Criticism vs. Formalism

[shaxper]

I've heard these labels used interchangably.  Are they, in fact, the same?  I know that Formalism deals with looking at the text as the only valuable tool for reading into a work, and places heavy emphasis on word usage and structure.  To the best of my knowledge, New Criticism does the same thing.  Was New Criticism the original name and Formalism simply a name given to it in hindsight?  Explanations would be appreciated.

[Viola]

I believe that they are the same thing.  I think one came first, around the turn of the century, and then a revival occurred within academia in the 1950s.  I'd bet that formalism was first, and then came the title New Criticism.  But they are fundamentally the same, both believing that the text is a unified object to be viewed as a whole.  Analysis involves examining internal elements and how they play out within the text, but inconsistencies are not brought out, since the text is viewed as unified.  Irony, complexity, pathetic fallacy, foreshadowing are examples of internal elements.  Here's a cool link to a theory table:

www-as.phy.ohiou.edu/~rouzie/307j/litcrittable1.html

[shaxper]

Yes, I'm almost positive New Criticism surfaced in the 1950s, along with the modern-age university scholar.  I wasn't as sure about Formalism though.

Great link, by the way!  Thanks much