FORMALIST
APPROACH
A Brief History of
Formalistic Approach
The formalistic approach has dominated the American literary scene
for most of the twentieth century, when this approach was called the
New Criticism, and has retained its great influence in academic
quarters. Developed in the 1920's - 1930's and peaked in the 1940's 1950's, the New Criticism replaced the traditional literary approach by
rejecting impressionism, moral tones, and philological studies;
–SPRUCH
traditionally, scholars and professors "surrounded"
literature rather
than closely examining it by its form.
Famous formalistic critics include (from left to right), I.A.
Richards, Robert Penn Warren, Cleanth Brooks and Allen Tate.
–SPRUCH
What is Formalistic Approach?
The formalistic approach to literature examines a text by its "organic
form" - its setting, theme, scene, narrative, image and symbol. It is
often referred as "a scientific approach to literature," because it
advocates methodical and systematic readings of texts. Excluding any
external elements or outside information (i.e author's personal life or
the social, historic background of the time the text was written or the
reader's bias) in criticism, the formalistic approach aims to analyze
merely the text itself. Therefore, all interpretations must be supported
by evidences found in the text.
Essential concepts of the formalistic approach:
Intentional fallacy
Formalistic
practitioners
believe
Effective fallacy
the Formalistic
practitioners
believe
the
intentional fallacy, which states that an effective fallacy, which states that the
author's intention (plan or purpose) in meaning or value of a work may be
creating a work of literature, is irrelevant in determined by its effect on the audience, is
analyzing or evaluating a work of literature irrelevant; they think evaluation of a piece of
because the meaning and value of a literature cannot be based solely on its
literary work must reside in the text itself, emotional impacts. Literary criticism must
independent of authorial intent.
concentrate on the qualities of the work
itself that produce such effects.
What is the point of view?
Point of view is the viewpoint from which you view the setting, see the
action, observe the characters, and hear the conversations. Depending
on the powers the author has granted this narrator, you may even be able
to see inside a character's mind, learning what he or she thinks and feels
What is the setting?
Setting is more than just the place and time a story takes
place. Setting also includes the atmosphere: the social and cultural
context of the story. A novel may have many settings or occur at different
times; however, each time and place were selected by the author for a
particular reason.
Who are the characters?
Characters are the lifeblood of every novel, and some characters are
more important than others. Characters may be round (more like real
life with positive and negative traits) or flat (usually stereotypes that
symbolize a certain type of person/place/thing). Characters may also
be dynamic (changing and growing as the novel's events unfold) or
static (those who remain unchanged no matter what happens to
them).
What are symbols?
Symbols extend beyond one-to-one comparison. Be cautious when
looking for symbols. A symbol is a like signpost, used and oftentimes
repeated at key junctures, that alludes to a larger meaning than the
signpost normally would indicate. Symbols can be public or private.
Public symbols have traditional meanings. The rose which is a well-
known symbol of love, and the apple is a religious symbol for
forbidden knowledge as in the Adam and Eve story.
What are symbols?
Private symbols can mean anything the author wishes them to mean, and this
meaning is only apparent from the way in which they are used in the novel.
Sometimes authorial and traditional symbols merge having both the traditional
meaning, and one that is more closely related to the novel.
Symbols most often reveal characters to us and/or strongly allude to the theme
of a novel. Readers of a novel may not always agree on a particular symbol's
interpretation or even if a particular item is a symbol, so be careful to offer
plenty of supporting evidence and reasoning to back up both your selection
and interpretation of any symbol.
What is Theme?
Theme is the point of the book, the author's message to us: the readers.
Theme is often complex, and thus, it may be difficult for two people out of
ten to interpret the same theme. Though certain readers may see similar
themes, most likely the themes they interpret will be different in some way
or another to varying degrees.
Paul Cezanne
The Gardener Vallier (c.1906)
Tate
Formalism describes the critical position that the most
important aspect of a work of art is its form – the way it
is made and its purely visual aspects – rather than
its narrative content or its relationship to the visible
world. In painting therefore, a formalist critic would
focus exclusively on the qualities of colour, brushwork,
form, line and composition.
Formalism as a critical stance came into being in
response
to
impressionism
and
postimpressionism (especially the painting of Cézanne) in
which unprecedented emphasis was placed on the
purely visual aspects of the work. In 1890 the postimpressionist painter and writer on art, Maurice Denis,
published a manifesto titled Definition of NeoTraditionism where he emphasised that aesthetic
pleasure was to be found in the painting itself not its
subject. This became one of the most widely quoted
texts in the history of modern art:
Remember, that a picture, before it is a picture of a
battle horse, a nude woman, or some story, is
essentially a flat surface covered in colours arranged in
a certain order.
Guide Questions
•
How the work is structured or organized (formed)
•
The major and the minor characters
•
How it begins
•
How the characters are related to one another
•
How it is advancing/transiting to the next lines
•
Actions of the characters
•
How it ends
•
The language of the literary work
•
How the plot is built
•
Style of the writing
•
How the plot relates to its structure
•
Literary devices such as imageries, similes,
•
How each part of the work relates to the work as
a whole
•
How all the parts relate to one another
•
How the narrator/speaker narrates the story
•
Point of view of the narrator
metaphors, ironies, paradox, etc.
•
How the literary devices function to create
meaning