The formalist perspective focuses on analyzing the form and structure of literature itself, examining elements like imagery, symbols, themes, and how all components work together. It began in 1920s Russia as a scientific lens to objectively analyze literature following the 1917 revolution. Formalism ignores contextual aspects like the author's life and cultural influences, instead concentrating on the text itself, including tensions, ambiguities, and how parts relate to the whole. It uses techniques like close readings to understand a work's universal message about the human condition.