Formalism, McMahan and Atwood.

Upon reading McMahan's Critical Approaches for Interpreting Literature, I found Formalism to be special in that it considers the piece of writing alone, rather than in a specific context or in consideration of context, similar to seeing a person for them true selves rather than by gender, sexuality, peer groups, family or any other context. It is this disrobement of surrounding factors that is so rare in today's society, and so charming when it is found in a means of interpreting literature.
The 'close reading' mothod of formally analyzing a work is beneficial because it ensures that all techniques, methods, languages, and so on are fully recognized in the way in which they contribute to the piece, free of historical, cultural, social or economic shadows.
As for the poem in the text, I chose to analyze Margaret Atwood's Death of a Young Son by Drowning. Atwood's imagery is stunningly powerful, as seen in lines 7-9,
"His feet slid on the bank,
the currents took him;
he swirled with ice and trees in the swollen water"
This painful piece seems to recount the death of a boy during birth. Metaphors and similes used to empower the memory of this moment in time, in line 17, "he was hung in the river like a heart."
The tone can be interpreted as filled with grief - the mother in this particular story leaves the reader with powerful symbolism in remembrance of the deceased, "I planted him in this country/ like a flag."
It is tempting to look into Atwood's life and see what would have caused such pain and sucha  story to spring forth - perhaps the author has lost a son through childbirth herself? However, Formal analyzing demands that only the text be looked at. It is in this regard that I shall leave the story here, and for what it is.