Formalism
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| + | "It would be hard to find any reputable [[literary critic]] today who would care to be caught defending ''as an idea'' the old [[antithesis]] of [[Style (fiction)|style]] versus [[Content (media)|content]]. On this issue a pious consensus prevails. Everyone is quick to avow that style and content are indissoluble, that the strongly individual style of each important writer is an [[organic]] aspect of his work and never something merely "[[decorative]]." --"[[On Style]] (1966) - Susan Sontag | ||
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| + | “According to the [[formalist]] creed, [[absolute music]] does not possess semantic or representational content. It is not of or about anything; it represents no objects, tells no stories, gives no arguments, espouses no philosophies. According to the formalist, music is ‘pure’ sound structure; and for that reason the doctrine is sometimes called musical ‘purism.'”--[[Peter Kivy]] | ||
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| - | The term '''''formalism''''' describes an emphasis on [[form]] over [[content]] or [[meaning]] in the [[arts]], [[literature]], or [[philosophy]]. A practitioner of formalism is called a '''''formalist'''''. | + | '''Formalism''' may refer to: |
| - | ==Criticism== | + | * [[Form (disambiguation)]] |
| - | In general in the study of the arts and literature, '''formalism''' refers to the style of criticism that focuses on artistic or literary techniques in themselves, in separation from the work's social and historical context. | + | * [[Formal (disambiguation)]] |
| + | * [[Legal formalism]], legal positivist view that the substantive justice of a law is a question for the legislature rather than the judiciary | ||
| + | * [[Formalism (linguistics)]] | ||
| + | * [[Scientific formalism]] | ||
| + | * [[Formalism (philosophy)]], that there is no transcendent meaning to a discipline other than the literal content created by a practitioner | ||
| + | ** [[Religious formalism]], an emphasis on the ritual and observance of religion, rather than its meaning. | ||
| + | ** [[Formalism (philosophy of mathematics)]], or ''mathematical formalism'', that statements of mathematics and logic can be thought of as statements about the consequences of certain string manipulation rules. | ||
| + | ** [[Formalism (art)]], that a work's artistic value is entirely determined by its form | ||
| + | *** [[Formalism (music)]] | ||
| + | *** [[Formalist film theory]], focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film | ||
| + | *** [[Formalism (literature)]] | ||
| + | **** [[New Formalism]], a late-20th century movement in American poetry – sometimes called simply "Formalism" | ||
| + | **** [[Russian formalism]], school of literary criticism in Russia from the 1910s to the 1930s | ||
| + | *** [[New Formalism (architecture)]], a mid-20th century architectural style, sometimes abbreviated to Formalism | ||
| - | ===Art criticism=== | + | ==See also== |
| - | :[[formalism (art)]] | + | * [[Formality]] |
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| - | Aesthetically speaking, formalism is the concept that everything necessary in a work of art is contained within it. The context for the work, including the reason for its creation, the historical background, and the life of the artist, is not considered to be significant. Examples of formalist aestheticians are [[Clive Bell]], [[Jerome Stolnitz]], and [[Edward Bullough]]. | + | |
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| - | ===Literary criticism=== | + | |
| - | :[[formalism (literature)]] | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | In contemporary discussions of [[literary theory]], the school of criticism of [[I. A. Richards]] and his followers, traditionally the [[New Criticism]], has sometimes been labelled 'formalist'. The formalist approach, in this sense, is a continuation of aspects of classical [[rhetoric]]. | + | |
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| - | [[Russian formalism]] was a twentieth century school, based in Eastern Europe, with roots in linguistic studies and also theorising on [[fairy tale]]s, in which content is taken as secondary since the tale 'is' the form, the princess 'is' the fairy-tale princess. | + | |
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| - | ==The Arts== | + | |
| - | ===Poetry=== | + | |
| - | In modern poetry, ''Formalist poets'' may be considered as the opposite of writers of [[free verse]]. These are only labels, and rarely sum up matters satisfactorily. 'Formalism' in poetry represents an attachment to poetry that recognises and uses schemes of rhyme and rhythm to create poetic effects and to innovate. To distinguish it from archaic poetry the term 'neo-formalist' is sometimes used. | + | |
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| - | See for example: | + | |
| - | *''[[The Formalist]]'', a literary magazine (now defunct) for formalist poetry | + | |
| - | *[[New Formalism]], a movement within the [[poetry of the United States]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ===Film=== | + | |
| - | {{main| Formalist film theory}} | + | |
| - | In [[film studies]], formalism is a trait in filmmaking, which overtly uses the language of film, such as [[editing]], shot [[composition (visual arts)|composition]], camera movement, set design, etc., so as to emphasise [[graphical]] (as opposed to [[diegetic]]) qualities of the image. Strict formalism, condemned by [[Realism (arts)|realist]] film theorists such as [[Andre Bazin]], has declined substantially in popular usage since the 1950s, though some more postmodern filmmakers reference it to suggest the artificiality of the film experience. | + | |
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| - | Examples of formalist films may include Eisenstein's ''[[The Battleship Potemkin]]'', [[Sergei Parajanov|Parajanov]]'s ''[[The Color of Pomegranates]]'', Resnais's ''[[Last Year at Marienbad]]'' and Hitchcock's ''[[Blackmail (1929 film)|Blackmail]]''. | + | |
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| - | ==Intellectual method== | + | |
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| - | Formalism can be applied to a set of notations and rules for manipulating them which yield results in agreement with experiment or other techniques of calculation. These rules and notations may or may not have a corresponding mathematical semantics. In the case no mathematical semantics exists, the calculations are often said to be ''purely formal''. See for example [[scientific formalism]]. | + | |
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"It would be hard to find any reputable literary critic today who would care to be caught defending as an idea the old antithesis of style versus content. On this issue a pious consensus prevails. Everyone is quick to avow that style and content are indissoluble, that the strongly individual style of each important writer is an organic aspect of his work and never something merely "decorative." --"On Style (1966) - Susan Sontag “According to the formalist creed, absolute music does not possess semantic or representational content. It is not of or about anything; it represents no objects, tells no stories, gives no arguments, espouses no philosophies. According to the formalist, music is ‘pure’ sound structure; and for that reason the doctrine is sometimes called musical ‘purism.'”--Peter Kivy |
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Formalism may refer to:
- Form (disambiguation)
- Formal (disambiguation)
- Legal formalism, legal positivist view that the substantive justice of a law is a question for the legislature rather than the judiciary
- Formalism (linguistics)
- Scientific formalism
- Formalism (philosophy), that there is no transcendent meaning to a discipline other than the literal content created by a practitioner
- Religious formalism, an emphasis on the ritual and observance of religion, rather than its meaning.
- Formalism (philosophy of mathematics), or mathematical formalism, that statements of mathematics and logic can be thought of as statements about the consequences of certain string manipulation rules.
- Formalism (art), that a work's artistic value is entirely determined by its form
- Formalism (music)
- Formalist film theory, focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film
- Formalism (literature)
- New Formalism, a late-20th century movement in American poetry – sometimes called simply "Formalism"
- Russian formalism, school of literary criticism in Russia from the 1910s to the 1930s
- New Formalism (architecture), a mid-20th century architectural style, sometimes abbreviated to Formalism
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See also
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