formalists
/ˈfɔːrməlɪsts/
noun
- People who follow or support a strict set of rules, forms, or conventions, especially in art, literature, or music.
- Many formalists rejected the new style of painting because it broke the established forms.
- In the debate, the formalists insisted on following the traditional rules of composition.
- The formalists argued that a poem's meaning comes from its structure, not the author's life.