New Criticism was the dominant Anglo-American literary theory during the mid-20th century. Proponents included Lowell’s mentor at Kenyon College, John Crowe Ransom (author of The New Criticism) as well as Allan Tate (author of Reason in Madness), Robert Penn Warren (co-author with Cleanth Brooks of Understanding Poetry), and Cleanth Brooks (author of The Well Wrought Urn). Rather than focusing on historical and biographical background information when considering a literary work, adherents of New Criticism focused solely on the work itself, feeling that the meaning of the poem should come only from a close reading of the words and form. They sought an objective, almost scientific approach to art that focused on structure in making meaning. Lowell’s award-winning Lord’s Weary Castle (1946) was heavily influenced by this aesthetic as can be seen in Lowell’s focus on traditional forms and classical allusions.

Such influences can be seen in “Mr. Edwards and the Spider” with its intricate metrical patterns and rhyme scheme. The form itself was influenced by John Donne’s poem “A Nocturnal Upon St. Lucy’s Day”, which followed a similar meter and rhyme. Lowell later turned from such strict adherence to form due to a variety of pressures, including his own episodes of manic depression and resulting hospital stays.