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Formalist Literary

Criticism

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History

1920s and 1930s oneschool of Formalistliterary criticism

developed calledNew Criticism. It isstill the major formof literary criticism

applied to analysingtexts in secondaryschools.

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Definition

a form of literary criticism in which the text is

viewed as a complete, isolated unit. Meaning

is found by studying one or more key

elements.

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Explanation

It focuses on the elements of fiction and emphasizes how

these elements work together to create, in a work of quality, a

coherent whole: unity of plot, theme, and character, through

use of tone, point of view, imagery, purposeful action,

dialogue, and description.

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Key Elements

Language

Imagery

Point of View Plot Structure

Character

Development andMotivation

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Strengths

Reader does not need any additional knowledge other than

whats provided in the text for interpreting the work.

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Weaknesses

It ignores the authors intentions

It assumes that good literature is coherent and that a

text that is not coherent by its standards is not good

literature.

it divorces literature from its larger cultural context

it assumes that readers can refrain from investing

emotionally in their reading and can/should respond

objectively to texts