Literary Criticism: Formalism and New Criticism
Introduction to Critical
Theory
Formalism and New Criticism
What do Literary Critics do?
•
Literary critics make
observations about
and
connections between
works of literature, and
between literature and its social and historical
contexts.
•
A literary critic might…
–
Explain how a certain literary effect is achieved using
examples from a work of literature.
–
Explore how a work (or an author, or a group of
authors) treats a theme.
–
Explore a work in the context of another academic
discipline.
What do Literary critics
not
do?
•
Most literary critics are not interested in making
judgments about whether a work of literature is
“well written” or “poorly written.” If a literary
critic is writing about a work, he or she most
likely believes that there is something interesting
and worthwhile to say about it.
•
Most literary critics are not interested in making
moral judgments about a work of literature. They
are usually not concerned about whether a book
is morally “bad” or “good,” and they don’t write
about the work in terms of “agreeing” or
“disagreeing” with it.
What is “Critical Theory”?
•
A Critical Theory is like a set of “lenses” that literary
critics put on in order to bring certain elements of
the work into focus. As is true with real lenses, every
critical "lens" will make the work "look" a little bit
different.
•
Every critical theory has a set of assumptions about
what is
most important
to look at in a work of
literature. By "trying on" these assumptions for
yourself, you can broaden your appreciation for the
work, and for the critical theory or strategy.
Critical "Lens:" Formalism
Formalism assumes that all that is needed in order to
interpret a poem or a work of literature is contained
within the poem itself
.
Formalist critics…
•
are mostly unconcerned about historical/cultural
context and biographical information about the
author.
•
are very concerned with sound, form, word choice,
literary effects, and "close reading." ("Close reading"is a detailed analysis of the literary effects produced
by a work without referring to outside influences.)
Formalism in a Nutshell:
•
“A key belief underlying New Critical analysis [.
. .] is that literature expresses
‘universal’
meanings beyond its own time period and
cultural context.
The New Critics asserted that
the sole task of the critic is to explore
precisely how, through
language and form
,
those meanings are expressed and powerfully
impressed upon readers” (Hall 14).
History of Formalism
•
“New Criticism,” which is another name for
formalism, began in the 1920's as a reaction
against the a current trend in literary criticism
that New Critics (Formalists) did not like. Before
the New Critics, most literary criticism focused
heavily
on the life of the author and concerns
outside of the literature itself.
Three Influential Formalist Critics:
•
T.S. Elliot
•
Robert Penn Warren
•
Cleanth Brooks
If any of this sounds familiar…
•
You are probably are
already familiar
with many of the
tools that formalists used to analyze literature, and you
may have
already
practiced formalist criticism yourself.
•
This is because formalists were
so influential
that they
changed the way that literature (especially poetry) was
taught to elementary and high school students.
•
So, if you have ever figured out the rhyme scheme of a
poem, discussed how alliteration draws attention to
certain words, or pointed out that a line break in
just
that place
in a poem enhances the theme of the whole
work, you have done what formalist critics do.
Formalism’s Continuing Impact
•
The bad news (for fans of formalism): Not a lot of
literary critics write “pure” formalist criticism any
more. Most modern literary criticism
does
deal with
social and cultural contexts, a practice that Formalists
thought unnecessary.
•
The good news:
Every
other type of literary criticism
uses the assumptions and vocabulary of Formalism as a
base to build on, and all of them share Formalism’s
assumption that
a close reading of a work that pays
attention to word choice, sound, form, and other
literary elements is a vital part of the interpretive
process.
Questions formalists might ask:
•
What are the
effects
produced by this work? (Formalists
differentiate between effects and feelings.) For example, they
might be drawn to the way Robert Browning cleverly unfolds
the story of "My Last Duchess" or the use of irony in
"Ozymandias."
•
How do
individual
word choices, sound patterns, and other
literary devices combine to create this effect?
•
What are some of the tensions in this work (between ideas,
between forces, between people…)? How do the things
discussed above (rhyme, sound patterns, imagery, etc.)
create, then heighten or lessen those tensions?
•
Is this work
internally consistent?
How does it maintain that
consistency?
•
If the work contains literary allusions, how do those allusions
function
within the confines
of the poem?
To Become Proficient at Formalism, a
Student Should…
•
Be familiar with the vocabulary specific or common to the
study of literature. Concepts like “stanza,” “motif,” “metaphor,”
and “alliteration” are central to a Formalists discussion of
how
a work of literature does what it does.
•
Read an introduction to Formalist criticism. Many “Intro to
Critical/Literary Theory” books have chapters about
Formalism/New Criticism. Find one of these books and read
the chapter carefully, looking up unfamiliar words/concepts as
you go.
•
Read examples of Formalist criticism. If a critic announces that
he/she is doing a “close reading” or an “explication” of a
poem, there’s a good chance that critic is relying heavily on
Formalist assumptions. (There’s even a journal called
The
Explicator
that only publishes close readings of works of
literature.)
Literary critics analyze and interpret works of literature, delving into social and historical contexts. They focus on techniques, themes, and cross-disciplinary exploration. Formalism, a critical lens, emphasizes internal elements of a text over external influences, seeking universal meanings expressed through language and form. New Criticism, a form of formalism, emerged in the 1920s, concentrating on textual analysis devoid of historical context.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Introduction to Critical Theory Formalism and New Criticism
What do Literary Critics do? Literary critics make observations about and connections between works of literature, and between literature and its social and historical contexts. A literary critic might Explain how a certain literary effect is achieved using examples from a work of literature. Explore how a work (or an author, or a group of authors) treats a theme. Explore a work in the context of another academic discipline.
What do Literary critics not do? Most literary critics are not interested in making judgments about whether a work of literature is well written or poorly written. If a literary critic is writing about a work, he or she most likely believes that there is something interesting and worthwhile to say about it. Most literary critics are not interested in making moral judgments about a work of literature. They are usually not concerned about whether a book is morally bad or good, and they don t write about the work in terms of agreeing or disagreeing with it.
What is Critical Theory? A Critical Theory is like a set of lenses that literary critics put on in order to bring certain elements of the work into focus. As is true with real lenses, every critical "lens" will make the work "look" a little bit different. Every critical theory has a set of assumptions about what is most important to look at in a work of literature. By "trying on" these assumptions for yourself, you can broaden your appreciation for the work, and for the critical theory or strategy.
Critical "Lens:" Formalism Formalism assumes that all that is needed in order to interpret a poem or a work of literature is contained within the poem itself. Formalist critics are mostly unconcerned about historical/cultural context and biographical information about the author. are very concerned with sound, form, word choice, literary effects, and "close reading." ("Close reading" is a detailed analysis of the literary effects produced by a work without referring to outside influences.)
Formalism in a Nutshell: A key belief underlying New Critical analysis [. . .] is that literature expresses universal meanings beyond its own time period and cultural context. The New Critics asserted that the sole task of the critic is to explore precisely how, through language and form, those meanings are expressed and powerfully impressed upon readers (Hall 14).
History of Formalism New Criticism, which is another name for formalism, began in the 1920's as a reaction against the a current trend in literary criticism that New Critics (Formalists) did not like. Before the New Critics, most literary criticism focused heavily on the life of the author and concerns outside of the literature itself. Three Influential Formalist Critics: T.S. Elliot Robert Penn Warren Cleanth Brooks
If any of this sounds familiar You are probably are already familiar with many of the tools that formalists used to analyze literature, and you may have already practiced formalist criticism yourself. This is because formalists were so influential that they changed the way that literature (especially poetry) was taught to elementary and high school students. So, if you have ever figured out the rhyme scheme of a poem, discussed how alliteration draws attention to certain words, or pointed out that a line break in just that place in a poem enhances the theme of the whole work, you have done what formalist critics do.
Formalisms Continuing Impact The bad news (for fans of formalism): Not a lot of literary critics write pure formalist criticism any more. Most modern literary criticism does deal with social and cultural contexts, a practice that Formalists thought unnecessary. The good news: Every other type of literary criticism uses the assumptions and vocabulary of Formalism as a base to build on, and all of them share Formalism s assumption that a close reading of a work that pays attention to word choice, sound, form, and other literary elements is a vital part of the interpretive process.
Questions formalists might ask: What are the effects produced by this work? (Formalists differentiate between effects and feelings.) For example, they might be drawn to the way Robert Browning cleverly unfolds the story of "My Last Duchess" or the use of irony in "Ozymandias." How do individual word choices, sound patterns, and other literary devices combine to create this effect? What are some of the tensions in this work (between ideas, between forces, between people )? How do the things discussed above (rhyme, sound patterns, imagery, etc.) create, then heighten or lessen those tensions? Is this work internally consistent? How does it maintain that consistency? If the work contains literary allusions, how do those allusions function within the confines of the poem?
To Become Proficient at Formalism, a Student Should Be familiar with the vocabulary specific or common to the study of literature. Concepts like stanza, motif, metaphor, and alliteration are central to a Formalists discussion of how a work of literature does what it does. Read an introduction to Formalist criticism. Many Intro to Critical/Literary Theory books have chapters about Formalism/New Criticism. Find one of these books and read the chapter carefully, looking up unfamiliar words/concepts as you go. Read examples of Formalist criticism. If a critic announces that he/she is doing a close reading or an explication of a poem, there s a good chance that critic is relying heavily on Formalist assumptions. (There s even a journal called The Explicator that only publishes close readings of works of literature.)
