1. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature
Chapter 3: Formalisms
A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature

2. Chapter 3: Formalism
Abandons historical and biographical information and focuses on the work as a separate entity
Formalistic critics examine the intrinsic factors of the work’s structure
“Art for art’s sake”

3. Chapter 3
I. The Process of Formalist Analysis: Making the Close Reader
Elements of prose and poetry, terms, structure, imagery
II. A Brief History of Formalist Criticism
A. The Course of Half a Century

4. History of Formalism (cont’d.)
B. Backgrounds of Formalist Theory
C. The New Criticism
The “Fugitives” (Ransom, Tate, Brooks, Warren); relationship of metaphysical poets to modern poets (cf Eliot); important textbooks such as Understanding Poetry and Understanding Fiction (Brooks and Warren); other texts by Gordon, Tate, Wimsatt, Kermode
D. Reader-Response Criticism: A Reaction

5. Key Terms and Devices
III. Constants of the Formalist Approach: Some Key Concepts, Terms, and Devices
Form and Organic Form
(Schorer): “the difference between content, or experience, and achieved content, or art, is technique”
B. Texture, Image, Symbol
Crucial role of imagery and symbol; metaphor versus allegory

6. Key Terms (cont’d.) C. Fallacies Affective, intentional
D. Point of View
First-, second-, and third-person; reliability
E. The Speaker’s Voice
F. Tension, Irony, Paradox

7. Using the Formalist Approach
Making the Close Reader, p. 74
History of Formalist Criticism, p. 76
The “New Criticism,” p. 78
“A slumber did my spirit steal…,” p. 93

8. Application of the Formalistic Approach
The formalist critic dissects the poem solely using structural devices (imagery, diction, metaphor) to convey the meaning of “To His Coy Mistress”
Prominent motifs of the poem:
Space/Time metaphor
Sexuality