Formalism As A Linguistics Theory: A Comparative Stylistic Analysis Of Poetic Literature

Abstract

A good piece of literature usually carries a good form with aesthetic pleasure. Form of a literary piece of work is highly significant for its recognition and tagging to a particular genre. The most popular genres are usually followed by the poets even after centuries of their acceptance and recognition. The study in hand has examined two literary pieces of the same genre but different literary ages stylistically. One written by William Shakespeare and other by John Keats. Both are the popular poets of their ages. The comparative stylistic analysis has targeted the form in terms of structure, simile, metaphor, symbolism, imagery, etc. in both poems. The analysis is theoretically linked to the linguistic theory of formalism. Both poems fall under the category of sonnet and share the similar form although they stand centuries/ages apart in terms of their production/creation. Metaphors, similes and imageries have been used by the poets to achieve the same literary objectives. Moreover, one (produced in the eighteenth century) seems to be the copy of other (produced in the sixteenth century) in terms of its form.