How did Cultural Materialism differ from American New Historicism in Shakespeare criticism?

In the field of literary criticism, Cultural Materialism and American New Historicism are closely related approaches that examine texts within their historical and social contexts. Both schools analyze how literary works function as part of a broader cultural exchange, often focusing on power dynamics and the ways societies construct their identities.123

The primary distinction between the two lies in their ideological orientation. While American New Historicism—championed by figures such as Stephen Greenblatt—often draws on cultural anthropology to explore how a society fashions itself through political ceremonials, Cultural Materialism is distinguished by a more explicit, class-conscious, and Marxist ideology.1

In the context of Shakespeare criticism, this means that while both movements reject the isolation of the text, Cultural Materialists like Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield typically place a greater emphasis on the material conditions of production and the political implications of class struggle within the historical framework of the plays.1