Formalist approach Ode to the death of a favorite cat (Favourite)In Thomas Gray's poem “Ode to the death of a favorite cat” , we find many examples of the formalist approach. In this poem we find many examples of alliteration, rhyme schemes, word play, and creative word choices. This poem is very happy and fun to read because the author is very creative in his choice of words and sentences. In the first stanza, we discover where this event takes place or in other words, we discover the setting. The cat is standing on a ledge in its owner's house, looking into a fishbowl and looking at goldfish. In this stanza we find rhyming patterns. In this stanza, this rhyme pattern is A, A, B, C, C, B. In the first stanza, this would be the first two lines (side and dy'd), the third and sixth lines (coup and below), and the fourth and fifth (gentle and inclined). The sixth line of this stanza reads “Looked on the lake below” (gray line 6) represents the choice of words. Gray could have simply stated that the cat...