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

FORM--------------------

CONTENTFormalism/New Criticism =

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

Can be performed without much research

Emphasizes value of literature apart from its context (makes it timeless)

Virtually all critical approaches must begin here

Advantages:

- Text is seen in isolation

- Ignores context

- Reduces literature to little more than a collection of rhetorical devices

Disadvantages:

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:iYN4nqF26ZYJ:wwww.ksu.edu.sa/colleges/art/eng/461-Eng/Literary%2520Criticism%2520Map.htm+advantages+and+disadvantages+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