Formalistic Approach - 21st century literature Study Guide, Study notes of English

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World Topic: Formalistic Approach Introduction: Formalist Approach in literary criticism emphasizes the form of a literary work to determine its meaning, focusing on literary elements and how they work to create meaning.  It believes that the meaning is revealed by “dissecting” the literary text, by examining the literary elements by determining how it contributed to the essential unity of the literary piece  Formalists examine texts out of the context of their time period, social setting, and author’s background.  Formalist Approach insists that each literary work shows function as a harmonious possessing a universal meaning, which suggests that there is only one “correct” way of reading. A formalist critic examines the form of the work as a whole, the form of each individual part of the text (the individual scenes and chapters), the characters, the settings, the tone, the point of view, the diction, and all other elements of the text which join to make it a single text. After analyzing each part, the critic then describes how they work together to make give meaning (theme) to the text. In analyzing a literary piece using Formalist Approach, you should look into the following elements: Point of view is the viewpoint from which you view the setting, see the action, observe the characters, and hear the conversations. Depending on the powers the author has granted this narrator, you may even be able to see inside a character's mind, learning what he or she thinks and feels. Ask yourself the following questions in analyzing point of view:

1. How does the author's choice of point of view affect the reader's understanding and feelings about the story?
2. Does the point of view in the novel have a particular use?
3. What advantages does the author gain by using this viewpoint?
4. What changes in the novel would have to be made if the point of view were changed?
5. Does the author's choice of point of view reveal or illuminate his/her theme? Setting is more than just the place and time a story takes place. It also includes the atmosphere: the social and cultural context of the story. A novel may have many settings or occur at different times; however, each time and place were selected by the author for a particular reason. Ask yourself the following questions:

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1. Does the setting play an important role in revealing any element of the novel?
2. What information does the setting give me about a situation or a character?
3. What influence does the setting have on the characters or their actions?
4. Does the setting contribute to the novel's theme? Characters are the lifeblood of every novel, and some characters are more important than others. Characters may be round (more like real life with positive and negative traits) or flat (usually stereotypes that symbolize a certain type of person/place/thing). Characters may also be dynamic (changing and growing as the novel's events unfold) or static (those who remain unchanged no matter what happens to them). Ask yourself the following questions about the important characters of the novel?
5. Are the characters physically described? How detailed are these descriptions, and who gives them to you? (a narrator? or another character? reliability?)
6. How do the character's words and actions characterize him/her/it?
7. What is the character's motivation for the decisions and actions he/she/it makes?
8. Are the character's actions believable, given the setting and situations in the novel?
9. How do the characters, their actions and motivations, contribute to the novel's theme? Symbols extend beyond one-to-one comparison. Be cautious when looking for symbols. A symbol is a like signpost, used and oftentimes repeated at key junctures, that alludes to a larger meaning than the signpost normally would indicate. Symbols can be public or private. Public symbols have traditional meanings. The rose which is a well-known symbol of love, and the apple is a religious symbol for forbidden knowledge as in the Adam and Eve story. Private symbols can mean anything the author wishes them to mean, and this meaning is only apparent from the way in which they are used in the text. Theme is the point of the book, the author's message to us: the readers. Theme is often complex, and thus, it may be difficult for two people out of ten to interpret the same theme. Though certain readers may see similar themes, most likely the themes they interpret will be different in some way or another to varying degrees. The theme must logically come from the text; therefore, the theme must be supported by using specific text examples. Questions to ask to get to the theme:
10. What lesson does the author want me (as the reader) to learn from this book?
11. What lesson does the author want me (the reader) to learn about life