form and content
Structure and meaning
Form and content are the two aspects of any creative work—what it says versus how it says it.
Content is the subject matter, themes, or message; form is the structure, style, or medium that delivers it.
A poem about grief (content) might use sonnets or free verse (form).
The distinction matters in criticism, though the two are often inseparable: The form and content reinforce each other perfectly.
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
- narrativeAccount of events
- layoutSpatial arrangement of elements
- genreCategory of creative work
- balanceSteadiness or amount owed
ontology · dialectics · color theory · phenomenology · metaphor · typography · visual language · substance · essence · proportion · diction · synthesis · style · epistemology · hierarchy · texture · medium · inner life
- prose styleprose style, diction, word choice, elegance, flow
form, content, forms, formed, forming, formal, formally, informal, informally