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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