Formalism in Literature - Essay Example

Formalism refers to literary/practical criticism where a literary text is critically analysed in order to get a clear understanding of what the is trying to say. Various authors write different texts with different intentions. These texts are designed to convey certain meaning to the readers. However, of notable concern is the fact that meaning from the written text can be gained after critically analysing it. This analysis was previously done on the basis of the historical context of the text by taking into consideration factors such as culture and background of the author.

However, a new dispensation emerged that was primarily concerned with creating a deep understanding of the text so as get a clear meaning of what the author will be trying to say. Formalism gained popularity in the twentieth century in reaction to certain theories of literature that emphasised on aspects such biography of the author and cultural context of the text when analysing it. The concept of formalism was popularised by the Russians as he Anglo Americans in the 1930s as they sought to grasp an insight of how and why different texts were written.

From this period onwards, people began to analyse literary works from a different perspective other than cultural elements. Thus, formalism is primarily concerned with critically analysing different components of a text ranging from the literary devices used in writing it such as grammar, tone, diction or choice of words style of writing, theme as well as other aspects such as images and irony. When analysing a text, we pay particular attention to aspects such as grammar and syntax since they are primarily concerned with outlining how words are arranged in order to build meaningful sentences.

There are different styles that can be used by different authors to convey the same message to the targeted audiences. Essentially, this is when formalism comes in handy since it attempts to analyse the strategy used by the author to convey his message to the readers. Other writers carefully choose different literary devices when writing their work. These may include elements such as image, rhetoric as well as irony among others. These literary devices are meant to appeal to the interests of the readers and they convey meaning in a subtle but special manner which requires the reader to be critical in order to understand what the writer is trying to convey.

The meaning of the text can be lost if a casual approach is taken when reading it. Formalism also entails a scenario where the reader tries to grasp the main theme of the reading as well as its plot in order to gain an understanding of the main idea portrayed in the text. Basically, it can be observed that it is quite easy to grasp the meaning of the text through analysing it from a critical point of view. This allows the readers to criticise the views portrayed by the author in an objective manner rather than passively accepting everything as true.