Formalism in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities
Formalism is the first lens, typically, through which literary analysts will view A Tale of Two Cities, because of the duality of his sentences and his elevated use of vocabulary. The first paragraph of the First Book is a trove of duality and an exposition in Formalism."It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness" (Dickens 3). These contradicting, polarizing statements shape the framework for the novel to come. Things are not so black-and-white, Dickens reveals through this first passage. There are kings sitting on both thrones - in London and in Paris - and there are rich and poor in both settings. But there is also a gray area of morality, juxtaposition between light and dark, and social climbing. Dickens employs an abundance of imagery and strong vocabulary to help the reader gain a clearer image of what he is describing. “So entirely had it lost the life and resonance of the human voice, that it affected the senses like a once beautiful colour faded away into a poor weak stain” (Dickens 38). This profound use of imagery can be seen in plenty in A Tale of Two Cities.
“You dogs! Said the Marquis, but smoothly, and with an unchanged front, except as to the spots on his nose: “I would ride over any of you very willingly, and exterminate you from the earth. If I knew which rascal threw at the carriage, and if that brigand were sufficiently near it, he should be crushed under the wheels” (Dickens 117).
Through a Formalist lens, Dickens shows the rich’s supremacy through his descriptions of Marquis and the proletariat. The Marquis does not explode angrily, but he smoothly addresses the poor with an unchanged front. The poor are not unperturbed and ready to fight him, but rather they were “so cowed was their condition, and so long and hard their experience of what such a man could to them…that not a voice, or hand, or even an eye was raised” (Dickens 117).
“Repression is the only lasting philosophy. The dark deference of fear and slavery, my friend," observed the Marquis, "will keep the dogs obedient to the whip, as long as this roof," looking up to it, "shuts out the sky.” (Dickens 128).
Through a Formalist lens, Dickens uses a compare and contrast model in this passage (dogs to whip, roof to sky) to show that repression will last as long as the roof keeps out the sky, so, forevermore.
“You dogs! Said the Marquis, but smoothly, and with an unchanged front, except as to the spots on his nose: “I would ride over any of you very willingly, and exterminate you from the earth. If I knew which rascal threw at the carriage, and if that brigand were sufficiently near it, he should be crushed under the wheels” (Dickens 117).
Through a Formalist lens, Dickens shows the rich’s supremacy through his descriptions of Marquis and the proletariat. The Marquis does not explode angrily, but he smoothly addresses the poor with an unchanged front. The poor are not unperturbed and ready to fight him, but rather they were “so cowed was their condition, and so long and hard their experience of what such a man could to them…that not a voice, or hand, or even an eye was raised” (Dickens 117).
“Repression is the only lasting philosophy. The dark deference of fear and slavery, my friend," observed the Marquis, "will keep the dogs obedient to the whip, as long as this roof," looking up to it, "shuts out the sky.” (Dickens 128).
Through a Formalist lens, Dickens uses a compare and contrast model in this passage (dogs to whip, roof to sky) to show that repression will last as long as the roof keeps out the sky, so, forevermore.