New formalism is like putting together a big puzzle. In this puzzle, you have words that you can choose from and you have to put them together in a certain way that makes sense and sounds good. You want to make sure all the pieces fit together perfectly so that when you're done, you have a beautiful picture.
Now, instead of a puzzle, think of a poem. The words you choose and the way you put them together is very important. New formalism is like a group of people who really care about putting the pieces of a poem together in the best way.
New formalists care about certain things when they're putting together a poem puzzle. They like to make sure the poem sounds good when you read it out loud. They also like to use rhyming and patterns to make the poem look nice on the page.
So, in summary, new formalism is like putting together a poem puzzle, where the words and the way they fit together is very important, and new formalists want the poem to sound good and look nice on the page.