formalist critic
...thod that formalists use to examine the relationships within a piece of literature is close reading, or in other words, a slow step-by-step analysis and explication of a text. This close reading has an objective to get an idea of how the elements work together to influence the reader. Because the elements can influence the reader, formalists believe that form and content of literature can never be separately understood. Formalist critics know just as well as anybody that literary works get completed only when they are read and that they are reshaped every time they are read by a person with a different religion, belief, or a viewpoint. So, formalist critics know perfectly well that the interpretation-as opposed to the given format-is also an important part of literature. However, the formalist critic is concerned primarily with the work itself and the process of composition. Speculation on the mental processes of the author takes the critic away from formalist criticism and into the areas of biography and psychology. "Light and Darkness in "Sonny's Blues"" by Michael Clark is a good example of formalist criticism. This piece of writing does not discuss what kind of mental process the author might have had or what kind of influence the author might have got from his envir...