The 2019 collection of Foucault's writings "Madness, Language, and Literature" includes thirteen speeches and manuscripts by Foucault on madness, language, and literature, mainly written in the mid-1960s to early 1970s. The collection is prefaced by Judith Ravel, who points out that Foucault's articles reflect an important period in the formation of the French New Criticism at that time. Foucault's participation and construction demonstrate the ideological core of the New Criticism and its significance for literary criticism work. Foucault explored the relationship between the experience of madness and the experience of writing in these articles, thoroughly criticized the psychologized subject, and keenly focused on the materiality of language. Ravel proposed three observations in the preface: Foucault's focus on the media and materiality of writing and language; Repetitive system expansion in the manuscript; And by discovering new elements, we can change our perception of Foucault's ideas in the mid-1960s. These new elements include the affirmation of structuralism, changes in disciplinary reference patterns, the prominent position of linguistics, and its relationship with historical research. Foucault attempted to use structuralist spatialization methods to connect history with the present, establishing a literature analysis approach different from traditional historical causality. This article reveals Foucault's understanding of structuralist historical views from three aspects: "doppelganger," "second language," and "literature analysis.

Dual Body: Madness, Language, and Literature

In depth exploration of Foucault's analysis of the concept of the "doppelganger", particularly in the intersection of literature, madness, and language. Foucault believed that the dual body of literature is now told through repetition and reflection of itself, which is particularly evident in the works of writers such as Mallard, Blanchard, and Proust. Through the five characteristics of madness, Foucault revealed its isomorphic relationship with literature and language, as well as the status and function of madness in society.

Second Language and Language as Space: What is French New Criticism

Deeply explored the evolution of French New Criticism and its relationship with second language and structuralism. Foucault pointed out that critics in the late 18th and early 19th centuries focused on judging works, and their criticism had a critical, psychological, and moral nature. However, in the 20th century, this traditional criticism was gradually replaced by new criticism, and new critics such as Sartre and Blanchard integrated criticism into philosophy and literary creation, making criticism itself a part of the work.

Structuralism, Materiality of Language, and Literature as Space: Literary "Literature Analysis"

In depth exploration of the application of structuralism in literary criticism emphasizes that structuralism should not be viewed solely as a method, but as a series of analyses with a common object. Foucault believed that structuralism focuses on symbols, traces, or markers, which are symbolic forms of cultural phenomena, and its analysis emphasizes material symbolic traces rather than psychological subjects. Structuralism covers various fields of human culture, including literature, art, architecture, etc. Its analytical object is the symbolic traces left by all humans.