Class Assignment (Assigned by Prof Dr Sohail Ansari)

By: Tooba Noor

Q:  Denial of influences external to the writer is beneficial as it does not prejudice analysis; however a writer is molded into the cauldron of time. Examine formalistic approach in the light of above statement.

Formalist Criticism: 

 This approach regards literature as “a unique form of human knowledge that needs to be examined on its own terms.” All the elements necessary for understanding the work are contained within the work itself. Of particular interest to the formalist critic are the elements of form—style, structure, tone, imagery, etc.—that are found within the text. A primary goal for formalist critics is to determine how such elements work together with the text’s content to shape its effects upon readers.

My Comment on this Assignment:

The writer is the production of time and place. His thoughts, ideas, notions are influenced by the particular time in which he is living. His writings typify the social, economic, political, and personal conditions of the time. As, the writer has the ability to absorb all the ingredients of his age, time, and period and can reflect it in his works.  So if we judge his works on its own terms, we will automatically get to know about all the elements of that particular time.  It is not the demand of reading/learning to go through the life and age of particular writer in order to understand his knowledge shared in his works because the writer is the building of nation constructed by stiff bricks of time. The more we visit the building, the more we feel the harshness of bricks.