Use Your Instrument!
"If language is our instrument of thought, as it is certainly our instrument of expression, then we are always in the position of trying to think about language in language."
Keesey (342)
We talk about language in language. We think about language in language. We write about language in language. There really is no escape to one's language. And we've seen that the formalists and the intertextual critics explore the idea of what language really means in texts. I think that is why I have agreed with formalists and intertexual critics the most so far because I never want to escape from language as language. I think the words on the page are the most important parts of a work.
We, humans, are surrounded by language in all aspects of live from birth until death. It is the way that we talk, express ourselves, interact, and become successful. It is interesting that you say that "the most important parts of a work is its language." This is very true because without language, then how could we begin?
I think that a formalist reading is very important, as first, because it allows the reader to determine the basic facts, language, and then move into a different school or type of criticism.
Good Blog!
I agree with both of you. I also think that post structuralism deals with the change in language that occurs as we develop, this contributes to the intertextual and formalist critic.
The interesting thing about language is it crosses barriers, just think even if you can't hear or speak there is a language which was developed so that you could communicate and read and write. Language is an amazing thing when we sit and think about it instead of just taking it for granted because it is something that comes natural to us.