Historicism and New-Historicism: Theoretical Debates and Intellectual Dimensions

Abstract

The relationship between literature and history is very deep and complex. History provides us with the facts of the past, historicism contextualizes these facts in the light of literary texts, while neo-historicism views both of them under new questions in the context of power, discourse systems, and structural narrative. With the help of these theories, not only the depth of literature can be understood but also different layers of human consciousness can be accessed. The role of history in literature is not limited to context alone, but it creates a parallel narrative that connects literature to the constraints of time and space.