Study Guide to Formalist Analysis
Erin Crook, Gavilan College English Department

Plot:  How does the author reveal what happens?  Which parts of the story are in summary and which are in scene?  What events does the author emphasize and why?  Does the author portray the passing of time in a smooth linear manner, or are there chunks of missing time interspersed with a detailed accounting of events?  Does the action follow the traditional narrative arc, or is it distorted by flashbacks, or other devices, such as beginning the story in medias res (in the middle of things)?

Setting:  How important is the setting to the story – that is, how much does the author emphasize the specific time and place?  Would the story work just as well in another time and place?  What is the cultural climate of the specific time and place, and how does this affect or influence the characters?  How does the physical setting contribute to the “mood” or atmosphere of the story?  How do the characters react to their particular time and place, and the cultural environment it presents?

Character: How is the audience meant to feel about or understand the characters?  Are there one or more characters whose viewpoints seem to differ from the author or narrator?  Why do they act the way they do?  How do the characters develop, if indeed they do?  How does what happens affect the characters – are they fundamentally changed at the story’s end?  Is there a moment of revelation (an epiphany)? How 3-dimensional are the characters – that is, how “real” are they, how complex?  Are there any archetypes or stock characters, and if so, what role do they play in the story?

Theme – what are the universal questions addressed, and how does the author treat them?  What are the main ideas insights or messages of the story?  What is the moving force of the story? How might the reader arrive at an understanding of what the author is suggesting about human nature?  The key is to think generally when considering theme – the author is making a point that holds true for more than just this one story.

Point of View – Who is telling the story?  How reliable is the narrator – how much can we trust him?  What is his stake in the text and the readers’ opinion?  Is the narrator a participant (major or minor) in the story, or an impartial observer?  If impartial, then can the narrator see into the heads of one of the characters more than others?  Whose side is the narrator, and therefore the audience, on?  What does the audience gain and lose by the author’s choice of perspective?  Most importantly, why did the author make the choice he did?  What is he saying about his narrator, and by extension, his own society?

Symbolism:  Is there a thing - an object, a name, or an action - that the author emphasizes particularly?  Might there be more than one interpretation of this symbolic thing?

Tone and style:  How would you describe the story’s tone?  How does the tone lead the reader to an understanding of the characters, and the author’s feelings about the situation?  How do the elements of style – diction and syntax – work to convey the author’s intention?  How much information is provided by the author, and how much does the reader have to provide for himself?