Murray Krieger (November 27, 1923 – August 5, 2000) was an American literary critic and theorist. He was a professor at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

from 1963, and then the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

. In 1999, the

dedicated a building, ''Murray Krieger Hall'', to Krieger in recognition of his contributions to the school. He was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. His older brother was historian

Leonard Krieger Leonard Krieger (28 August 1918 – 12 October 1990) was an American historian who specialized in Modern Europe, especially Germany. He received his Ph.D. in 1949 from Yale. His dissertation, “Liberal Ideas and Institutions in the German Period ...

. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

before studying at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

as a doctoral student. One of the major

New Critics New Criticism was a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned a ...

, in 1976, he helped found the

School of Criticism and Theory A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of f ...

, which became an influential forum for literary criticism and critical theory in the United States. His study of the

introduced a degree of philosophical sophistication and theoretical self-consciousness to formalist criticism that was rare among literary critics in the U.S. during that time. Krieger's work focused on the nature of literary fiction and how it reveals the constructed nature of all forms of representation. According to him, literature is the "primary means of freeing ourselves from the constraints of ideology and arbitrary beliefs." He insisted that literature is different from other kinds of discourse because it never claims its fictional forms are anything other than illusions. Krieger argued that literary illusion, as illusion, offers society a critical perspective on the ideological systems by which beliefs are nourished and enforced as “true,” and he included among those systems any theoretical method that discounts the special status of literary forms. Consequently, in an ironic reversal of the revolution he had helped bring about, Krieger spent the last two decades of his career arguing for the importance of literature to the study of theory. He received numerous awards and honors during his lifetime, including membership in the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(1983), the

Humboldt Prize The Humboldt Research Award (), also known informally as the Humboldt Prize, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of Germany in recognition of ...

(1985), the UCI Medal (1990), and the Daniel G. Aldrich Award for Distinguished University Service (1993). Following his retirement in 1994, he was appointed University Research Professor, and in that capacity he continued to write, teach, and lecture around the world until his death six years later.

Works

*''The New Apologists for Poetry'' (1956) *''The Tragic Vision'' (1960) *''The Problems of Aesthetics: A Book of Readings'' (1963) with Eliseo Vivas *''A Window to Criticism'' (1964) *''Northrop Frye in Modern Criticism'' (1966) editor *''Play and Place of Criticism'' (1967) *''The Classic Vision: The Retreat from Extremity in Modern Literature'' (1971) *''Literature and History'' (1974) with Ralph Cohen *''Theory of Criticism: A Tradition and Its System'' (1976) *''Directions for Criticism: Structuralism & its Alternatives'' (1977) editor with L. S. Dembo *''Poetic Presence & Illusion: Essays in Critical History & Theory'' (1979) *''Arts on the Level'' (1981) *''Words about Words about Words: Theory, Criticism & the Literary Text'' (1988) *''A Reopening of Closure'' (1989) *''Ekphrasis'' (1992) *''Aims of Representation: Subject, Text, History'' (1993) editor *''The Institution of Theory'' (1994)

References

External links

Guide to the Murray Krieger Papers.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. {{DEFAULTSORT:Krieger, Murray 1923 births 2000 deaths American literary critics Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni University of California, Irvine faculty 20th-century American non-fiction writers University of Minnesota faculty University of Iowa faculty American military personnel of World War II University of Chicago alumni