Who among the following published a series of essays titled The New Criticism?

The correct answer is John Crowe Ransom.

Explanation:
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 as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic object.

The movement derived its name from the book of essays titled The New Criticism, published in 1941 by the American educator, poet, and critic John Crowe Ransom. In this seminal work, Ransom analyzed the critical theories of contemporary figures like I. A. Richards, T. S. Eliot, and William Empson, while advocating for a more systematic and scientific approach to literary analysis. His book effectively gave the critical movement its name and established its core methodologies.

While the other options listed—William K. Wimsatt Jr., Monroe C. Beardsley, and Allen Tate—were also highly influential figures associated with New Criticism, it was John Crowe Ransom who specifically authored and published the eponymous collection of essays.