ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Formal analysis

Formal analysis is like when you look at a picture and try to understand what it's trying to say without reading any words. You might notice things like colors, shapes, lines, and textures that help you understand what the picture is all about.

Formal analysis works the same way, but instead of looking at a picture, you look at something like a poem, play, or piece of music. You pay attention to how it's put together, like the words, the rhythm, and the patterns. You also look at how it makes you feel and what it might be trying to say.

When people do formal analysis, they might write down their observations and then try to make sense of them. For example, they might notice that a poem has a lot of short, choppy sentences that create a feeling of urgency. They might then think about what that urgency might mean for the poem overall.

Formal analysis helps us understand things that might be hard to put into words. It helps us appreciate the beauty and complexity of creative works and see more deeply into their meanings.