FORMALISTIC APPROACH

            Formalistic criticism, one of the modern criticisms is also known as textual criticism or new criticism or modern criticism or ontological criticism or aesthetic criticism. For, the formalistic critics lay stress only on the text of an author. Text alone becomes be all and end all for them. Whereas, the traditional critic advocate many approaches like, i) Biographical approach ii) socialogial approach iii) Historical approach iv) Psychological approach v) Marxian approach.

            The formalistic critics focus only on the work of art. Biographical approach insist the critic to have a fair knowledge about the life of the author. Before, criticizing his work of art, as the life of the author becomes part of his work also. They remain inseparable. Sociological approach, it is which makes a critic trace out the culture and life the people of the author’s time. For, literature devoid of the society seem to be incomplete. A critic therefore must have a very good knowledge of the age of the people in which the work of art is written. But the modern critics are of the view that all these approaches are irrelevant to literary criticism. Because they are not oriented to literature at all. Critics like T. S. Eliot, I. A. Richards, F. R. Leavis are the great exponents of formalistic criticism.

            T. S. Eliot, in his Tradition and Individual Talent says that “a true poem is that which presents the extinction of the poet and not exposition of the poet’s life”. The poem in his opinion must not become the mouth piece of the poet. When a poem is published feels T. S. Eliot, the poet is dead. The umbilical cord between the author and his text is severed when the book is published.

            I. A. Richards in his Practical Criticism says that formalistic approach is but intrinsic while all other approaches are irrelevant for modern critic. A work of art therefore, in his opinion, must be analysed in the light of the text of the author. Although some of the modern critics called Chicago critics, vary a little from the formalistic approach, they also focus only on the work of art, they feel that the text should be criticized on the basis of its various aspects like metre, rhyme, simile, metaphor, structure, alliteration, assonance, oxymoron, grammatical pattern and its aesthetic sense.

           

James smith, a formalistic critic analyses Shakespeare play As You Like It a romantic comedy applying the tools of formalistic criticism. The play is generally called as a romantic comedy, in his opinion is totally unromantic in nature. To begin with, he starts criticizing the character melancholic Jaques. The melancholy of Jaques is not innate in nature. It is assumed, he compares Jaques with Macbeth and Hamlet. The melancholy of both Macbeth and Hamlet seems to be genuine while that of Jaques is unreal and artificial. Macbeth is rudely shaken when he is informed that lady Macbeth is dead. He loses interest in the worldly life. He says,

“Life is a tale

 told by an idiot

full of sound and fury

signifying nothing”.

            The pathetic cry of the villainous character elevates him to the level of a tragic hero. Hamelet is too young to commit the murder. He, therefore procrastinates, which snowballs into a great problem and results in his melancholy. He cries thus “To be or not to be..” the melancholy of Jaques is forced to him through his “wide travel”. Even Roselind finds out the nature of his grief. She therefore prefers, a clown like Jaques.

            Touchstone , the clown is no difference melancholic Jaques. He is unromantic. Although, he falls in love in Audrey the Shepherdess, his love for Audrey is nor sincere, neither genuine. He wants to marry her with the help of a bogus priest and dessert her later. His division of human life into seven stages is also unromantic. He seems to be more pessimistic than romantic. Rosalind the protagonist of the play also seems to be unromantic in nature. It is true that, she falls in love with Orlando. But the fact remains that she has not fallen headlong in love with him. She tries to cure the melody of her lover with wolves howling at the moon during night. Thus all the main characters of the romantic play As You Like It are in fact unromantic. It is therefore wrong to call it as a romantic comedy. Thus, James Smith, one of the great exponents of formalistic criticism analyses Shakesperean play As You Like It.