The principle of historicism can be traced back to the simple dialectical thought of ancient philosophers. In the history of modern European philosophy, Vico, Voltaire and Hegel put forward and advocated this principle. Hegel clearly and systematically expounded this principle in the form of idealism, and he tried to describe human history as an inevitable process. It is Marx and Engels who truly and scientifically expound and apply the principles and methods of historicism. Marxist historicism is based on historical materialism, and its basic requirements are: ① respect for historical truth. Historical figures and events are the products of certain historical conditions, and their analysis and evaluation should also proceed from those specific historical conditions. ② Pay attention to the evolution of history. The analysis of historical phenomena must focus on development and change. Grasp the historical context and development trend from the historical evolution. For example, the analysis of private ownership and class shows that their appearance conforms to the development trend of society and is a kind of progress; We should also see that under the new historical conditions, that is, when the productive forces are highly developed, it is also a historical necessity to eliminate them. (3) Under the conditions of private ownership and class existence, to grasp the historical trend and trend, we must find out which class is the center of the times and make an appropriate estimate of the historical position of each class at that time. In Marxism, historical method and class analysis method are unified.
New historicism was born in the British and American cultural and literary circles in the 1980s, and began to emerge in the late 1970s, that is, a new critical method was gradually formed in the field of Renaissance studies, and this unique method of interpreting the historical connotation of literary texts was increasingly recognized by western literary critics. Among them are greenblatt, Hayden White, Duo Lemor, Montos, Willer, etc.