The following lists of questions should be useful in discovering arguments you might make about a short story, poem, play, or film.
Formalist Questions
- How do various elements of the work-plot, character, point of view, setting, tone, diction, images, symbol, etc.-reinforce its meaning?
- How are the elements related to the whole?
- What is the works major organizing principle? How is its structure unified?
- What issues does the work raise?
