NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Peter Kivy opposes the idea of Formalism as the basis of how to determine what an art is. He deems that representation is the significant part of determining art because without meanings and representation words have no value. Roger Fry, Quintin Bell and Walter Pater are on the other side of the issue and believe that only the formal aspect of art really has any value. The representation of the words are not important, only the formal aspect matters (Kivy, pg. 25). In the poem Victor, by W. H.
Auden, I will take a deeper look into the issue of Formalism and determine whether it is the defining element of art. The theory of Formalism was derived by Roger Fry and Quintin Bell, who thought the only part of art that had any significant meaning was the formal aspect (Kivy, pg. 12). Fry and Bell turned to the Form as the sole defining property of art (Kivy pg. 25). They felt there was no relevance as to whether or not the representational aspect of art was harmful or not and believed this was a possible theory of art because absolute music was now considered an art form with no absolute meaning. The interest of poetry is not representational, it is the pattern of the sounds in the words.
Poetry consists solely of sound, and does not have to be affiliated with any representation. Every poem has an exercise in rhythmic sound but no distinct significance. Walter Pater was another philosopher who believed in the views of Formalism. His views were very similar to Fry and Bells and they all shared many of the same values when it came to art.
He thought that, all art strives towards the condition of music (Kivy, pg. 28). He felt that absolute music took a certain form, and the formal aspect of art is what was significant. Pater also felt that representation in a poem has little interest or meaning. One has to look at the form, how it flows, its rhythm and, sentence structure to determine if the poem truly is art. Peter Kivy thought the theory of Formalism that Roger Fry, Quintin Bell and Walter Pater believed in was unfounded and flat out wrong (Kivy, pg. 27). He thought that the formal component was the backdrop of a poem, it added interest and made literature more readable but could not be in any way considered the meaning for determining anything, let alone an art.
He thought a piece of art was truly art through use of representation. Kivy noted that the poem and words have to represent something, if the poem was art. Without representational content the poem is simply meaningless words and has no story. He thought that the form of the poem was not the determining factor of whether or not the poem was meaningful, it was the representational part of the poem that provoked the readers feelings and images. Through this process Kivy ultimately realized that it was wrong to define all the arts using the same criteria because they would become twisted and mangled and lose their importance. Poetry should be looked at on an individual basis and have its own set of standards and rules.
In poetry, the representation is the meaningful part of a poem that should be examined, but this might not be true with all arts. One can not experience painting, literature and poetry simply by form, if this is done then all the meaning is extracted. Rhythms created by word patterns are important in a poem, but can not be the determining factor. Kivy concluded that perhaps the arts are not as similar as once thought. We should think of poetry as an individual art.
In the poem Victor by W. H. Auden, Kivy's view about formalism can be applied throughout the piece. An important literary device Auden used throughout the poem was rhyme scheme. This is the ABCB device where the second and the fourth lines of each stanza rhyme. The manager sat down in his office, Said; Victors a decent fellow but Hes too mousey to go far.
The consistent rhyme scheme adds an extra dimension to the form of the poem. It creates a pattern to interest the reader and provides part of the framework of the poem. This entices the reader to stay focused and foreshadows what is to come in the rest of the poem. It also creates a rhythm that produces the reader to continue reading at a steady pace. To regulate the pace, punctuation is used efficiently and often. The author wants to force the reader to pause at essential points and assess what the value of each line is.
There is also more insight to be gained by the different types of devices. For the way in which the artist employs the medium is, in effect, part of the content, because it expresses something in the artists point of view about the content (Kivy, pg. 117). At this point of the poem, the author is emphasizing the point that he is trying to get across. The author may feel that the use of a poetic device exhibits his feelings on how important an issue is, and he feels that adding scope is the best way to get his point across.
The form provides an idea of what the artist is thinking. This truly ties in the form and the content of a work because the author is attempting to stress his point by using form. Another characteristic of the framework is the use of beat. In each stanza the introductory sentence has 8 syllables, the second has 6, the third has 10 and finally the fourth has 8. This is an interesting way to tie all the stanzas together. It creates a rhythmic structural pattern and helps to form a music like experience.
Whenever there is a beat within a verse and from verse to verse, there is the feeling of continuation. When this is not achieved, the poem feels choppy and it is harder for the reader to follow along because the rhythm is constantly interrupted. The reader may also feel that there is a continuous start stop experience that detracts from the poem. Formally, the poem as a whole has a very strong sense of unity from verse to verse because in many ways each verse is the same.
The poem is written in the Quatrain form, which is four lines per stanza. The second and the fourth lines are indented and the first and third lines are not indented which presents uniformity. When the reader first glances at the poem, it looks clean and polished and in a sequence or order. Another poetic device that is used is simile. A Simile often creates a mental image in the readers head, which causes the reader to close their eyes and picture their thoughts. But her kisses were like the best champagne, gives the reader a chance to better understand how sensual the kisses where.
Their value is compared to an expensive bottle of the best champagne. Personification in the poem also enhances the readers understanding and appreciation. When a object takes on a human characteristic, it often peaks the interest of the reader. But the wind said; She must die. This is a great example because it extracts the character and what he is feeling at the moment. It also bestows an inanimate object, the wind, the ability to speak.
The reader gets a better impression of the whispering quality of Victors internal thoughts. I think the view of Formalism that is used by Bell, Fry and Pater does not hold any ground in deciding what is an art. Literary devices add to a poem in a very significant way. They make the poem more enjoyable for the reader and generate flow in any piece.
However, I am in agree ance with Peter Kivy on the issue. To be an art there has to be representation because if a work has no meaning then we are left with inconsequential words. I think when looking at any piece of work one has to look at the representation before anything and then form is used to add character and depth. Bibliography:
Free research essays on topics related to: fry, w h auden, verse, rhyme scheme, representation
Research essay sample on W H Auden Rhyme Scheme
