ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

New Historicism

New historicism is a way that people study history and literature. It's like when your parents tell you about what life was like when they were young, but instead of just talking about the fun stuff they did, they also talk about the important things happening in the world at the time.

When people use new historicism, they look at a book, play, or poem, and try to understand what it tells us about the time period when it was written. They might look at things like politics, economics, and society to understand what was going on when the book was written.

For example, if we were studying a book from the 1800s, we might look at what life was like back then. We might talk about how people dressed, what they ate, and how they lived. We might also talk about important events that were happening during that time, like wars or political changes.

The idea behind new historicism is that literature is not just something that exists in a vacuum. Instead, it is shaped by the world around it. By looking at the world around the literature, we can better understand the literature itself.