The Use of Formalist Approach in Literary Piece

FORMALISTIC APPROACH

I. INTRODUCTION

The focus of this paper is to analyze the three poems that was written by Thomas Stearns Eliot, Walt Whitman and the last is the famous Filipino writer that is Dr. Rolando Carbonell. Those are the authors of our literary piece that will be analyze with the Critical analysis of what are the assigned topic using Formalist approach in every area of the literary piece of how the poem are good in texture, symbol, imagery and all parts of formalist of how it will connect to the approach.

II. DISCUSSION

At first the author’s background and the early life of author will be tackled and that is, Thomas Stearns Eliot (2016). He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 26, 1888. He lived in St. Louis during the first eighteen years of his life and attended Harvard University. In 1910, he left the United States for the Sorbonne, having earned both undergraduate and master’s degrees and having contributed several poems to the Harvard Advocate. It was in London that Eliot came under the influence of his contemporary Ezra Pound, who recognized his poetic genius at once, and assisted in the publication of his work in a number of magazines, most notably "The Love Song of J. Alfred" in Poetry in 1915.

Thomas Stearns Eliot wrote a poem entitled “The Love Song of J. Alfred,” this poem is a melancholy poem of one man’s frustrated search to find the meaning of his existence. The speaker’s strong use of imagery contributes to the poems theme of communion and loneliness. The Poem begins with an invitation from the speaker to follow him through his self-examination. The imagery of this invitation begins with a startling simile, “Let us go then you and I. When the evening is spread out against the sky/ like a patient etherized upon a table.” This simile literally describes the evening sky, but functions on another level. His description of the “etherized” evening indicates an altering of perception, and an altering of time, which creates a dreamlike quality throughout the poem. This dreamlike quality is supported throughout the poem with the “yellow fog” that contributes to the slowed-down-etherized feeling of the poem. Time and perception are effectively “etherized” in this poem. It is almost as if the poem is a suspended moment of realization of one man’s life, “spread out against the sky”. The imagery of the patient represents his self-examination. Furthermore, the imagery of the “etherized patient” denotes a person waiting for treatment. It seems this treatment will be the speaker’s examination of himself and his life. The speaker repeats his invitation and asks the reader to follow him through a cold and lonely setting that seems to be the speaker’s domain. The imagery of the journey through the city is described as pointed to lead the reader to an overwhelming question. His description of the urban city is quite dreary:

“Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, The muttering retreats Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster shells; Streets that follow like a tedious argument Of insidious intent.” This is the lonely setting that he lives out his meager existence. This city is suspended under the same anesthesia that spreads the evening like an “etherized patient.”

According to Reynolds D,S. (1995) The speaker moves his attention from the city to his final destination; “the room the women come and go Speaking of Michael Angelo.” This couplet contrasts with the previous urban landscape and adds anticipation to the ominous tension surrounding the event. This line also is about time. The couplet suggests that the speaker has been around to see these women “come and go,” implying that he has been situated in the high societal environment for some time. The line also implies that while others have come and gone from the social circles he is a part of; he has stayed stagnating. On the way, he deliberates on whether he can find value in the cold superficial environment, and ask the overwhelming question, “Do I dare Disturb the universe?”. He feels if he can master the courage to ask the question, he may at last find value in his life: “would it have been worth while To have bitten off the matter with a smile,? To have squeezed the universe into a ball.” Ultimately, he fails at both tasks. Throughout the poem, the themes of time’s passage and age continue to illustrate the unhappiness of the speaker’s life. He reveals the measured out portions of life he has lived: “I have measured out my life in coffee spoons.” This line shows the speaker’s inability to seize the day. He also employs subtle devices, such as thinning hair and resulting bald spot, as indicators of age and the importance he feels now that he is past his prime: “Time to turn back and descend the stair, With a bald spot in the middle of my hair– (They will say: ‘How his hair is growing thin’)” This shows the speaker’s fear of being laughed at. Furthermore, this line shows his desire to “disturb the universe,” and his fear that he will be scoffed at for not acting his proper age. When he speaks of time it is in a contradictory fashion. On one hand, he feels a sense of urgency as he travels to the party, because must decide if he will ask his question. Yet, while he agonizes over whether to attempt a change in his life, he tells them that time is plentiful, explaining “there will be time for you and time for me And time yet for a hundred in decisions And for a hundred visions and revision. Before taking of the toast and tea” This seems to be the speaker trying to escape his conviction of asking the question through rationalization. The speaker’s growing indifference towards his sophisticated social circle, where time is suspended reflected his aging weariness. Ironically, he has catered to the proprieties of high society for years, and remains unaware of how time has ingrained the same emptiness into his own nature: “For I have known them all already, known them all I know the voices with a dying fall And I have known the eyes already, known them all And I have known the arms already, known them all” In this lines, Thomas Eliot shows that he is part of the societal circle, and has shared the shallowness of living that he finds repulsive in his peers.. He understands the his inability to “disturb the universe” when he considers how he will approach his intended romantic interest, but realizes his leisurely way of life has left him ill-prepared to deal with the responsibilities that accompany change: “I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.”

Not so surprise, after declining to “dare disturb the universe,” he becomes resigned to his unchanging fate in superficial, sophisticated style. He imagines himself walking along a perfect beach, wearing fine “white flannel trousers,” He has not lost or gained anything, the labor of his decision has added up to nothing of consequence. The speaker talks compulsively of the party scene, but actually speaks to no one. Even as the scene unfolds in his mind, he is rendered practically speechless by the scrutiny of the cultured society matrons as they “fix” their gazes upon him: “The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase, And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin, When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall, Then how should I begin?” From this line, it stated that he is reduced to a bug under the scrutiny of his peers; there approval pins him down and renders him unable to ask his question. He is tense and excited at the prospect of his question changing his life, but knows he will feel horribly self-conscious, and it frightens him. He is certain if he asks his question and reveals his feelings, he will not be understood. Surely, he would be made the fool. He decides it is not worth the effort after all: “I am no prophet-and here’s no great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, And I have seen the eternal footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short I was afraid.”

In this line prove that, the speaker fears betray his desires. He knows the approval he covets comes from a frivolous, futile, class of people. He has heard them talk for years and knows only fashion, appearance, art, and style are deemed worthy of discussion. In fact, he listened so long he cannot hear their voices anymore. He can only hear “voices dying with a dying fall,” not unlike the indistinguishable hum of music playing in another room. But this is fine with him, because he and his world are once again at a comfortable place.

Finally and permanently, the speaker accepts that he will never be a prophet like Lazarus or a prince like Hamlet, and he slips into the safety of a fantasy world.

The next is the literary piece of Walt Whitman, before the analysis of the poem let us know who is Walt Whitman and his contribution.

According to JohnsonT. , (1998) he cited that Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in West Hills, New York. He considered one of America's most influential poets, Whitman aimed to transcend traditional epics and eschew normal aesthetic form to mirror the potential freedoms to be found in America. In 1855 he self-published the collection Leaves of Grass; the book is now a landmark in American literature, though at the time of its publication it was considered highly controversial. The poem of Walt Whitman with the entitled of “When I heard the learn’d astronomer” Whitman wrote this poem in free verse, like most of his other poems. It consists of one single stanza with eight lines. The lines vary in length and have different stressed and unstressed syllables, which gives the poem an anecdotal feel. The first four lines of the poem all begin with "When" as the speaker recalls sitting and listening to the astronomer lecture. These first four lines function as a setup; and the final four lines describe the speaker's reaction to the experience well as the lesson from the poem.

In this poem, Whitman uses the example of the astronomer to show the difference between academic learning and experiential learning. The speaker finds the astronomer's lectures stars and mathematical formulas to be boring. He does not feel any sort of connection to the subject matter until he goes outside and sees the stars for himself. Looking up at the night sky is not an experience that one can experience in a classroom, no matter how "learned" the teacher might be Whitman felt very strong that experiencing life's marvels was the only real way to learn. In this poem, Whitman draws out the stark contrast between the speaker and the educated astronomer. Whitman writes the speaker's voice to emphasize the fact that he is not an academic. For example, he shortens "learned" to "learn'd" when describing the sophisticated professor. The speaker quickly grows bored while listening to the astronomer talk about theories and mathematical equations. The astronomer, however, represents a highly educated and refined class that has a more structured approach to learning. The speaker and the astronomer serve as foils to each other - characters have opposite beliefs. The writer uses this disparity to highlight each individual's distinct characteristics. Even though this poem is short, Whitman establishes a clear and vivid setting. First, he describes the classroom and lecture hall, where the astronomer is using charts to illustrate his theories and the audience's polite applause. Whitman's skill in creating evocative imagery is most powerful in the second half of the poem. The speaker is clearly inspired as he "glides" out into the "mystical moist night air" and admires the dazzling stars above him. Whitman paints pictures with these words. Ultimately, this poem serves to highlight the difference between wisdom and knowledge. In the context of this poem, wisdom is the process of learning through experience and exploration (the speaker appreciates the wonders of the night sky only when he sees it for himself). Knowledge, on the other hand, comes from research, reading, and established theories. Academic knowledge is a more tangible form of intelligence; while wisdom, on the other hand, is intuitive. The astronomer attempts to relay his academic knowledge in his lecture, but the speaker does not connect to the subject matter from such a distance.

The last one is the most famous Filipino writer Rolando Carbonell has a poem entitled Beyond Forgetting which he offer to his wife named Letty Liboon also known as a singer. Rolando Carbonell was born on October 23, 1946 and died on December 15, 2009 at the age of 63. they know that Rolando Carbonell had been residing in Calexico, Imperial Country, California. In the poem entitled “Beyond forgetting id one of the most famous Love Poem, written by Rolando. From the title itself the meaning is about the person who cannot forget the past relationship he had. It is a devotional love poem dedicated for the person he loved. The text itself used figurative speech with its title beyond forgetting is an example of hyperbole which he wanted to say that the memories they had was always haunting him even he escape from it. A lost heart and the desire to rekindle the flame that they had been before can sense in this poem also in terms of tone of the poem, it gives so much of emotions and passion. Indeed the love that he has is so passionate and so strong that it will live forever even in the absence of his beloved. As observe the author written the poem in a simple text wherein every readers who would analyse the poem will easily to understand the message and the meaning of it. This kind of literary piece was written to express the emotion and feelings of the author regarding with the logingness he feel. “You went away because you mistook my silence for indifference.

” But silence my dear is the language of my heart.”

In this line the author uses personification wherein he used the word silence to describe his attitude of behaviour of being quiet. Moreover in this line “Remember , I came, because the knowing loneliness is there and will be lost until the music is sung, until the poem is heard, until the silence is understood until you come to me again. The repetition of the word until it has been noticed in this line, and the word was until it was used to give importance to the day that the author wanting to experience again with his love ones.

III. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, by not knowing the author’s background or even the history of the literary piece can analyse the poem by it structure or words by the means of symbols and also the texture of the text and also the flow of the particular literary piece. It also gives a lot of information about the structure and how we can analyse the poem regarding the formalist approach and its use.

LIST OF REFERENCES

________( 2015), Poetry Foundation Retrieved August 21 from

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock

________(2016), Biography.com Editors T.S Eliot. Retrieved August 23, 2017 from

https://www.biography.com/people/ts-eliot-9286072

Reynolds D,S.(1995), A Cultural Biography, Whitman W.

Retrieved August 21, 2017 from The Song of Himself (1999), by Jerome Loving. https://www.biography.com/.amp/people/walt-whitman-953012

JohnsonT. , (1998) When I Heard the learned astronomer by Walt Whitman Retrieved August 21, 2017 from http://www.gradesaver.com/walt-whitman-poems/study-guide/summary- when-i-heard-the-learnd-astronomer

Carbonell R. Biography of Rolando Carbonell (2011) Retrieved August 2017 from http://CarbonellRolando.com/w6chn

_________(2010), Beyond Forgetting by Rolando Carbonell Retrieved August 2017 from https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/filipinobookshelf m/2010/05/03/beyond- forgetiing/amp/