Formalism is defined by Dictionary.com as "philosophy" and includes art, literary criticism, and art.
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This resource will help you understand literary theory and schools of criticism and how they are used in the academy.
Formalism maintains that a literary work contains certain intrinsic features, and that the theory addresses the specific literary qualities in the text.It's easy to see the relation between Formalism and the theories of dramatic construction.
Formalism tries to treat each work as its own piece, free from the environment, era, and even author.This point of view was developed because of forms of "extrinsic" criticism that viewed the text as either the product of social and historical forces or a document making an ethical statement.A common saying among New Critics is that the keys to understanding a text are within the text itself.
Traditional Formalism is no longer used in the academy.New Critical theories are sometimes used in secondary- and post-secondary-level instruction in literature and writing.The New Formalists have renewed interest in form.