21st Century Literature from the Philippines

MODULE 2
Lesson 4

I. INTRODUCTION

Formalists disagreed about what specific elements make a literary work "good" or "bad"; but generally,
Formalism maintains that a literary work contains certain intrinsic features, and the theory "...defined
and addressed the specifically literary qualities in the text" (Richter 699). Therefore, it's easy to see
Formalism's relation to Aristotle's theories of dramatic construction.

Formalism attempts to treat each work as its own distinct piece, free from its environment, era, and
even author. This point of view developed in reaction to "...forms of 'extrinsic' criticism that viewed the
text as either the product of social and historical forces or a document making an ethical statement"
(699). Formalists assume that the keys to understanding a text exist within "the text itself" (a common
saying among New Critics), and thus focus a great deal on, you guessed it, form (Tyson 118).

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

1. Develop effective critical skills in both oral and written communication of ideas, supporting
arguments, and discussion of examples from the text and other source;
2. Explain the relationship of context with the text meaning;
3. Understand the literary meanings in context and the use of critical reading strategies and;
4. Use Formalism Theory to analyze literary pieces.

II. ACTIVITY
Directions: Read the excerpt below and answer the following questions. Write your answer on the blank
provided.
“One thing in considering my state of mind now, seems to me beyond dispute; that I have, at last, bored
down into my oil well, and can’t scribble fast enough to bring it all to the surface. I have now at least 6
stories welling up in me, and feel, at last, that I can coin all my thoughts into words. Not but what an
infinite number of problems remain; but I have never felt this rush and urgency before… Now suppose I
might become one of the interesting – I will not say great—but interesting novelists? Oddly, for all my
vanity, I have not until now had much faith in my novels, or thought them my own expression.
The truth is that writing is the profound pleasure and being read the superficial. I have made a very quick
and flourishing attack on To the Lighthouse, all the same – 22 pages straight off in less than a fortnight. I
am still crawling and easily enfeebled, but if I could once get up steam again, I believe I could spin it off
with infinite relish. Think what a labour the first pages of Dalloway were! Each word distilled by a
relentless clutch on my brain.”
 1. Which part of the plot appears in the description above? __________________________
2. What sensory image is being described in the text? __________________________
3. What is the tone of the speaker? __________________________
4. What is the mood presented in the text? __________________________
5. What point of view is presented in the above text? __________________________
III. ANALYSIS
Directions: Examine the text presented in the warm up activity. Then, answer the following questions.
1. Who is narrating or telling what happens in the work?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. How is the narrator, speaker, or character revealed to readers? How do we come to know and
understand this figure?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. What are the time and place of the work—it’s setting? How is the setting related to what we know
of the characters and their actions? To what extent is the setting symbolic?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. What kind of language does the author use to describe, narrate, explain, or otherwise create the
world of the literary work?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. What is the work’s plot? How is its plot related to its structure?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

IV. ABSTRACTION

FORMALISM DEFINITION AND PROPONENTS

The major arguments/positions of new criticism/formalism emphasize on a work of literature as

autonomous. It focuses on elements of the text (character, setting, imagery, conflict, plot, rhythm and
rhyme). Texts possess meaning in and of themselves; therefore, analyses should emphasize intrinsic
features rather than extrinsic ones.
Formalism theory stresses that art is artificial and that a great deal of acquired skill goes into it as
opposed to the old classical maxim that true art conceals its art. The Russian Formalists, led by Viktor
Shklovsky, aimed to establish a ‘science of literature’ – a complete knowledge of the formal effects
(devices, techniques, etc.) which together make up what is called literature. The Formalists read literature
to discover its literariness – to highlight the devices and technical elements introduced by the writer in order
to make language literary.

Roman Jackobson (1896-1982) identified six (6) functions of language these are:
1.Referential (context: descriptive, e.g. deixis)
2.Aesthetic/poetic (message ‘for its own sake’: operative)
3. Emotive/expressive/affective (sender, self-expression)
4.Conative (receiver, e.g. vocative or imperative)
5.Phatic (channel/medium of interaction, e.g. greetings)
6.Metaligual (code: language explains language)

Context

Sender Message Receiver

Channel

Code

Corresponding to the six factors affecting communication

T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) was also one of the major proponents of New Criticism. According to him, literature
emanates the natural processes of human consciousness. It has four different approaches and these are:

1.Affective Fallacy: meaning lies in the text, not in the reader.

- Confusing the meaning of a text with how it makes the reader feel. A
reader’s emotional response to a text generally does not produce a
reliable interpretation.
2.Intentional Fallacy: abstraction of authorial intention (the text as an object)
- Equating the meaning of a poem with the author’s intention
3.Intrinsic Approach: the text can be understood from within itself, external factors are not
relevant to understanding the text (Ivor Armstrong Richards)
4.Formalistic Approach: detailed analysis form (e.g. stylistics)

The key ideas in this theory are:

1.Baring the device – this practice refers to the presentation of devices without any
realistic ‘motivation’ – they are presented purely as devices. For example, fiction
operates by distorting time in various ways – foreshortening, skipping, expanding,
transposing, reversing, flashback and flash-forward, and so on.

2.Defamilairization – this means making strange. Everything must be dwelt upon and
described as if for the first time. Ordinary language encourages the automatization of
our perceptions and tends to diminish our awareness of reality. It simply confirms
 things as we know them (e.g. the leaves are falling from the trees; the leaves are
green).

3.Retardation of the narrative – the technique of delaying and protracting actions.

Shklovsky draws attention to the ways in which familiar actions are defamiliarized by
being slowed down, drawn out or interrupted. Digressions, displacement of the parts of
the book, and extended descriptions are all devices to make us attend to form.

4.Naturalization – refers to how we endlessly become inventive in finding ways of making

sense of the most random or chaotic utterances or discourse. We refuse to allow a text
to remain alien and stay outside our frames of reference – we insist on ‘naturalizing’ it.

5.Carnivalization – the term Mikhail Bakhtin uses to describe the shaping effect of
carnival on literary texts. The festivities associated with the Carnival are collective and
popular; hierarchies are turned on their heads (fools become wise; kings become
beggars); opposites are mingled (fact and fantasy, heaven and hell); the sacred is
profaned; the rigid or serious is subverted, mocked or loosened

Critical Questions to consider

1. How is the work structured or organized? How does it begin? Where does it go next?
How does it end?
2. What is the work’s plot? How is its plot related to its structure?
3. What is the relationship of each part of the work to the work as a whole? How are the
parts related to one another?
4. Who is narrating or telling what happens in the work?
5. How is the narrator, speaker, or character revealed to readers? How do we come to
know and understand this figure?
6. Who are the major and minor characters, what do they represent, and how do they
relate to one another?
7. What are the time and place of the work—it’s setting? How is the setting related to
what we know of the characters and their actions? To what extent is the setting
symbolic?
8. What kind of language does the author use to describe, narrate, explain, or otherwise
create the world of the literary work?

GUIDED PRACTICE
Remember the story ‘Spaghetti by Brylle Tabora? Consider and try to understand how Formalism theory is
being utilized in the sample literary analysis below.

The story ‘Spaghetti’ by Brylle Tabora, uses the third person omniscient point of view
where the narrator knows the actions of all the characters in the story. The plot of the story
shows the sequence of events where the protagonist of the story go through identity crisis and
confusion. This feeling of uncertainty is the result of the two conflicts present in the story such
as man vs. man and man vs. himself. The use of simile where the protagonist is being
compared to a drag queen “like drag queen” metaphors the feminine side of the main
character. In addition to, flashback can also be seen all throughout the story the same with
the use of idiomatic expression. The symbolism of the story are the failed spaghetti which
signifies gender identity crisis and the judgment he receives from the people around him that
eventually adds to his self-confusion and the dining table which connotes to a solace place for
his feeling of isolation that sooner becomes his place of comfort and realization.
The tone of the story is questioning and informal. The writer uses informal language
and is inquisitive toward its character’s identity. Likewise, the mood of the story is reflective
and detached. The reader can feel the character’s isolation and contemplation during his
gender identity crisis.
To conclude, theme of the story tells that we are living in a world full of onlookers who
ready to judge and criticize but continue to walk with confidence and pride.
Sample Paradigm for Formalism

Spaghetti by Brylle Tabora

Symbolism

Elements of the story Literary Devi

Characters
The 8yr.old boy Failed Spaghetti – it Flashback – T
Father and Mother symbolizes the boy’s reminiscing ev
The Manansalas gender identity crisis the past such
Bert worsen by social conflict. classmate, Be
Classmate Dining Table –signifies half-naked me
place of comfort and Simile – (Like
isolation for the boy Idioms – (drag
Plot of the Story point fingers, t
Exposition: He was in the dining feely)
table fiddling with his mother’s failed
spaghetti. Imagery
Complication: His classmate told Visual – He flipped through the
him he was gay, queer and queen. cable TV and stopped at this Point of Vie
He was not sure of himself. channel showing half-naked person om
Rising Action: He asked his parents men
if he’s gay or queer. Auditory - The room is quiet and Tone – inform
Climax: His parents were arguing perfectly still, as it always is, questioning
and questioning him where did he when his parents aren’t around. Mood – reflec
learn about it. Gustatory – Fiddling with his detached
Falling Action: His parents left him mother’s failed spaghetti
alone in the dining table. Tactile – Suddenly, he starts to
Denouement: The dining room feel the walls begin to close on Conflict
began to transform into runways he him. Everything becomes cold. Man vs. Man
watched on TV and saw those half- Man vs. Hims
naked men. Setting
Resolution: He realized that he was Place - House, in the
attracted to those half-naked men in dining table
the runways. Time - Night, Dinner

Theme: Life is runways; full of spectators who

make judgments and assumptions about your
identify; walk with confidence and pride!
 FlickerFadeGone by Carljoe Javier

He brought the pistol up to shoulder level, let his right hand fingers wrap smoothly around it, put the
palm of his left hand on the butt for support. The gun was light in his hand as he swung it from left
to right, clearing the perimeter while he zoomed into the grocery store.
He’d been through this before, but he still tensed as he slid through the store’s shattered glass
door. He went over the mission’s specs in his head: at least 30 perps in the store, plus three
employees still inside.

Bang bang bang, three to the chest. Reload. One had jumped in front of him as he stepped through
the diaper aisle. Next aisle, canned goods, three perps, one holding a knife to a hostage. His arm
glided from left to right, bang bang, two in the chest, perp down. Bang, headshot. Reload. Last
crook on the right with the hostage: one to the leg, hostage runs, bang, headshot. Reload.
He went through the rest of the grocery in the same methodical manner. Bang bang bang, reload;
bang bang bang, reload; bang bang bang, reload; it was a rhythm that he’d developed over the
years. Cutting down the perps gave him a rush, but his adrenaline got pumping whenever there
was a hostage to save.
As he went through the cashier’s counters he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears and
feel the pistol getting slippery from his sweating palm. One more hostage, he thought.
Bang, ugh, he’d taken a hit. A thug had popped up from behind a counter with the hostage. While
the woman struggled against him the thug raised his arm to take aim again. Bang bang bang,
reload.
ALL HOSTAGES SAVED. He smiled, put the pistol back in his holster and wiped his palms on his
pants. He watched onscreen as his statistics were tallied: Hits Taken: 1; Hostages Saved: 3; Shots
Taken: 105; Hits: 97; Accuracy: 92%. Not bad, he said to himself.
He left the machine and paced around the empty arcade trying to decide what enemies he’d face
next. He took the nylon string necklace that served as a key chain off. In his right hand he played
with the master key, sliding it through his fingers. With it he was the master of the arcade; with one
turn of the key he could become Spiderman or Cyclops, a World War II pilot, an F-1 racer; or he
could take up a gun and shoot down secret agents, terrorists, terminators, zombies, dinosaurs. He
played almost all the games, and the games where there were people to save drew him most.

Then that night, the boy used to dream of disappearing. He's facing the mirror and trying to
disappear. First, he used to stare at his reflection at the mirror, and then he imagine that his
reflection disappear. That he was no longer there. But his mother caught him staring at the mirror.

For him, the girl is the Princess Toadstool that always needs his help and always thank him for
rescuing and saving her from the enemies. The girl brought the boy back to the real world. He
always remember the face of the girl.

She always went to the arcade every Sunday with his two brothers. They played different games in
the arcade. She is an ordinary costumer. He hadn’t seen her as more than arcade visitor until he
saw her one day. Wearing a dress that made the boy remembers the pink dress of the princess in
the games: Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros.

The storekeeper wore a nylon necklace and keys hanging on it. The storekeeper take the necklace
off and put the key into the hole and fix, the machine started up again. He could still remember the
machine and what he felt when the game started. The man controls all the games, power and
pleasure to his hand or on that necklace with keys. The only thing he couldn’t remember was what
the man looked like.

One Friday, the girl comes to the arcade with her friends wearing school uniform. The girls in
mustard colored dress and the boys in blue pants. He remember the days when he was studying
and attending classes and when they only attend periodical examinations, he's playing arcade
before going home.

After that day, he didn’t play any games. He waited for Sunday where she would come in. And he
watched her as they come in with her brothers. Her brothers moved from game to game and she
followed them. When the machine they are playing malfunctions, she called him.

He waited her to recognized what happen on Friday, what he'd done for her. She just gave him a
blank smile and thanks him for fixing the machine. After that, he felt so down and alone. He thought
that no one bothered to notice him. He felt that it is just because of the key on his necklace.

They bump him or just leave him ahead of his house. The boy just waits for his mother to work
some chores for him to grab the mirror without noticing him.

The book has the connection of fantasy and reality, on this story it will enable you to realize what
the difference is and how the fantasies differ to the reality. The events happen in the arcade house.
It will give us lessons that we should remember and apply to our life. The characters are the boy
(son, and later, a shop keeper), parents of the boy, a girl, girl’s boyfriend, and the shop keeper.
Now this is the summary for the story or book.

The store were full of boys, playing arcades. His father brought him a chair where he can stand to
reach the keyboard. His father plays space invaders, but he died quickly. His father put in a new
quarter, but he died again, then another set of game. On his last game, the coin slot jammed. So,
his father went to the store keeper.

He doesn't know what to say so he didn't say anything to the boy and used to stay with him until
her friends came to get her. As she was leaving, she thank him and the boy told that he notice her
every Sunday. She smiled and flattered. Then he said that he'd see her Sunday, and she smiled
and left.

The storekeeper, put him outside the arcade. He grabbed him in the collar and led him out of the
arcade and handed him over the guard. He used to take the girl into the back room where she
could sit down.

While he was playing, the machine brought him to the other places, other world where he can be
another person, and made him different people. As he watched the light of the shots from the gun
and feel himself slowly fading into the screen. He always play arcade in few years. He zoned out
himself from his parent’s sermon. His parents went abroad. He push himself away from the real
world. He drop school and used to work to an arcade, as a storekeeper, in the shop near the mall.
Then his father brought him to the arcade again where he found the world that he was destined to
inhabit. He play again, the gun's shot has the rhythm: bang, bang, bang, reload.

The gun's shot has the rhythm: bang, bang, bang, reload.

His mother asked him why he's staring at the mirror and when he try to explain that he wanted to
disappear, he was brought him by ear and his mother commanded him to forget that foolishness.
His parents sent him out of the house to play with the neighborhood’s kids. But he never play with
them because they were loud, rowdy, and rough, and pushed him away to the ground and made
fun of his hoody.

A seven year old boy with his father is walking along the street. All stores were brightly lighted,
except for one store that was dark black and has blinking and flashing lights. Bombs, shots of a
pistol, booms and pops is heard as they pass by. They went to the store.

They don’t remember and recognize the boy who works to the arcade in the past few years. The
owner thought that the boy will not show up for work so find a new guy. After a week, they needed
to replace one of the machines, that machine has a key that stuck on it slot and it started the game
and never stops. He was back in the reality when he saw the girl holding one boy's arm. He saw
his Princess Toadstool with a villain and he waited his chance for him to attack and destroy the
castle of the man. The wait was'nt long, because the boy, started to call the girl as a stupid, a
waste of time, and a mistake to hang out with.

The boy used not be anyone in this world because he knew that there's another world for him, a
world that he is awesome and important. For a few years, he lost himself in the arcade. The only
thing that he brings himself back to the real world is the occasional letters, calls, and packages
from his parents from abroad. Until he met a girl. He waited for the time that he was alone. He
turns the key to machine and started the game. He watched himself fading away, disappearing.
And when he saw that the game was started, he used to play. Every time he play, he doesn’t feel
blank. When he's playing the arcade, he couldn’t feel useless anymore.

Then one morning, the guard found a gun hanging to its arcade machine and a copy of master key
was stuck to the machine's slot. The guard thought that the employee from the night shift just forgot
it so he returned it to the owner of the arcade. The owner asked the guard if he notice the late
shifter and the guard said that he didn’t.

Then the girl's brother came up to him and said that his sister was calling him. So he went over the
racing game because he saw the girl sitting to it. He fixed the machine and smiled, and the girl
smiled back to him. People just call him to fix the machine. People only approach him when they
need a turn of the key. But in the game, he was awesome, and he felt important.
V. APPLICATION
A. Direction: The boy in the story ‘FlickerFadeGone’ felt he was alone and unimportant as a result, he spent
all his days in playing games in the arcade to escape from the reality. Remember the time when you were
weak and low. Then fill out the speech balloons with your life experiences and how you handle your down
encounters.

Forgotten:
Belittled: ____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
_______
____________________________
_______

Troubled and Alone:

____________________________
Feeling Lost: ____________________________
____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________ _______
____________________________
_______
Criteria for Grading Points
Content 5
Organization and Structure 3
Grammar, Punctuation, and 2
Spelling
Total 10
B. Directions: Read and analyze the story ‘FlickrFadeGone’ by Carljoe Javier using Formalism. Use the
paradigm provided for your analysis.

FlickrFadeGone
Symbolism

Elements of the story Literary Devi

Characters

Plot of the Story

Exposition: Imagery

Point of V
Complication:

Rising Action:

Tone –
Climax: Mood –

Falling Action:

Conflict
Denouement:

Resolution: Setting

C. Comprehension Questions. Directions: Answer the questions in complete sentences

1. Why is the story entitled FlickerFadeGone? Theme:

 ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Why do you think the boy disappeared at the end of story?
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
3. Why do you think some people prefer to play video games than play with real people?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. What are the symbolisms in the story? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES

Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. Fourth Edition. New Jersey:
Pearson Education, Inc., 2007.
Holland, Norman H. The Dynamics of Literary Response. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989.
Iser, Wolfgang. The Act of Reading: A Theory of Aesthetic Response. London: The Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1987.
Tompkins, Jane P. Ed. Reader-Response Criticism: From Formalism to Post-Structuralism. London: The
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992.