When we delve into the world of literary and aesthetic theory, the terms "form" and "formalism" take on distinct meanings and can allude to different formal objects. Specifically, "formalism" refers to an aesthetic philosophy that deals with the purpose or ideal function of artworks.

The Russian formalists are widely credited with being the pioneers who used the term "formalism" in an artistic context. However, some argue that this is not the earliest instance of such usage. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that both the concept and its first use date back to the emergence of modernism in the early twentieth century. This synchronicity of occurrence gives rise to three linked claims that are viewed as significant in the field of literary and aesthetic theory.

This argument can be started by citing Kant's well-known assertion that natural objects are lovely to aesthetic perception when they are seen as having a purposeless purposiveness.

In opposition to all of the previous explanations for the role of art, there is another that is unique to the 20th century: formalism, or the philosophy of art as form. The simplest way to understand formalism's significance is to consider what it was meant to counter: art as representation, art as expression, art as a means of advancing knowledge or truth, moral advancement, or societal progress. Formalists do not dispute that art may accomplish these goals; rather, they contend that when art is created with these goals in mind, its original intent is compromised. Formalism's catchphrase, "art for art's sake, not art for life's sake" asserts the purpose of art to be appreciated and enjoyed through the sense of its complex arrangements of colours, lines, texts, and musical tones.

Scenes from reality can indeed be portrayed, real-world things can be reproduced, and real-life emotions can be expressed through these mediums, but these are unrelated to the main goal of art. In actuality, art is more suited to presenting colours, sounds, and other elements in the art medium for their own sake than it is to the telling of a story or the representation of the outside world.

Organic unity

Aristotle defined a work of art as having "a beginning, a middle, and an end"; it also needs to be cohesive and "hang together" as a single unit. Of course, everything has some degree of oneness. According to philosophers of art, the purest instances of organic unity in the universe are not living things but artistic creations. In these instances, the interdependency of the parts frequently reaches a level of perfection that makes it possible to say, of a melody or sonnet, that the entire poem or melody would suffer if a single note (or word) were removed from its precise location.

Variety of intricacy

This principle flows naturally from the previous one. A blank wall is short on contemplation and has uniformity but lacks diversity. Furthermore, obtaining unity at such a small cost does not represent a victory. A work of art needs to unify and hold in suspension (so to speak) a wide range of parts; the more intricately these elements are interwoven into a single piece, the more accomplished the piece is. The two requirements are frequently expressed as one, unity-in-diversity or variety-in-unity because this fact is so widely acknowledged.

Theme and variations on the theme

Many pieces of art have a recurrent topic or motif that draws attention and serves as the focal point for the other elements. In other sections of the work, this idea is then explored in different ways. This instance of unity-in-variety is unique. There would be great diversity but no cohesive connecting threads in a work of music or literature if every line were completely original and distinct from the others, and unity but lack of variety would result from a composer simply repeating the opening theme or entire sections of the work (which can occasionally occur when they are unsure of how to develop the thematic material). By combining primary themes with other content that is similar to them (unity) but distinct from them (diversity), both unity and variety are maintained.

Growth or progression

When creating a piece of temporal art, each element grows or changes into the next, each part being essential to the one that comes after. If one element were to change or disappear, all the others would also need to change as a result. The concept of development has not been observed if parts of Act IV and Act II could be swapped out without affecting the other's content. In such a case, the material that occurred in between would not have mattered.

Achieving balance is a fundamental aspect of painting. It involves creating a sense of harmony between the right and left portions of the canvas. While mechanical symmetry is one way to achieve balance, myriad other methods can be employed to create variation while still maintaining equilibrium. These methods are too numerous to describe in detail outside of an art criticism book. However, one thing is for certain: an unbalanced arrangement can make even the most beautiful painting appear visually unappealing. For instance, if someone fills one half of their living room with furniture and leaves the other half vacant, it will create an unbalanced and uninspiring arrangement.