New Historicism: A Comment

New Historicists present their project as little more than an attempt to restore a historical dimension to American literary studies. On the face of it, they wish only to supplement prevailing formalist practices by extending attention to the historical contexts in which literary texts originate. Thus, according to Louis Montrose, New Historicism represents an effort merely to refigure “ the socio-cultural field within which canonical. . . literary and dramatic works were originally produced” and to situate such works “ not only in relationship to other genres and modes of discourse but also in relationship to contemporaneous social institutions and non-discursive prac­ tices . . . ”