Formalist/New Critics Literary
Criticism
By Katlyn Catubig, Amelia Haney, and
Megan Mallon
"The purpose of art is to impart the sensation of things
as they are perceived and not as they are known.
The technique of art is to make objects 'unfamiliar',
to make forms difficult, to increase the difficulty and
length of perception, because the process of
perception is an aesthetic end in itself and must be
prolonged. Art is a way of experiencing the
artfulness of an object; the object is not important."
- Shklovsky, "Art as Technique", 1917 (in Russian Formalist Criticism: Four
Essays, Lemon and Reis, Univ of Nebraska Press, 1965), p.12
What is Formalism/New Criticism?
• Emphasis on form over content
• Meaning in arts/literature/philosophy
• Forces writer to evaluate work originally than to
rely on “accepted” meanings
• Works best when applied to poetry and short
fiction
• Attempts to discover meaning by close reading
Formalism/New Criticism =
FORM
-------------------CONTENT
•
•
•
•
The Focus of Formalism/New
Criticism
Form, Organization & Structure
Word choice and language
Multiple meanings
Considers work in isolation by disregarding
authors intent, historical context, etc
• Doesn’t ask who, what, when, where, or why
• Asks how
Formalism & New Criticism in the
Real World
• Russian Origin
• Early 20th century
• Dominance
• Formalism in literature
– I.A. Richards and William Empson
Types of Questions Asked
• What is the nationality or era of composition?
• How do form and content work together?
Advantages/Disadvantages
Disadvantages:
Advantages:
Can be performed
without much
research
Emphasizes value
of literature apart
from its context
(makes it timeless)
Virtually all critical
approaches must
begin here
- Text is seen in
isolation
- Ignores context
- Reduces
literature to little
more than a
collection of
rhetorical devices
How Formalism/ New Criticism has
Been Used in Class
• A.P. U.S. History
– DBQs: (Sometimes disregard biographical/historical
context)
• History in General (Documentations)
- The Constitution
- The Declaration of Independence
- The Bible
How is Formalism/New Criticism
Applied?
• Reading and writing
– Develop new analytical strategies
• Explicating fictional work (preferably poetry or
short fiction)
• Examples: Law, The Constitution, The Bible,
etc
Bibliography
• http://english.ucumberlands.edu/litcritweb/theory/formalism.htm
• http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~tpl/texts/quotes.html
• http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:iYN4nqF2
6ZYJ:wwww.ksu.edu.sa/colleges/art/eng/461Eng/Literary%2520Criticism%2520Map.htm+advantages+and+disad
vantages+to+new+criticism&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
• http://english.ucumberlands.edu/litcritweb/theory/formalism.htm
• http://mesastate.edu/~blaga/formalism/formx.html