Russian formalism, associated with russian critics viktor shklovsky and roman jakobson among others, aimed to ascertain the qualities of a literary work as a kind of scientific object, emphasizing the socalled literariness of the text. Opoyaz, an acronym for russian words meaning society for the study of poetic language, founded in 1916 at st. Viktor shklovsky 18931984 was, among other things, one of the founders of the intellectual movement that we today call russian formalism. Viktor shklovsky, boris eichenbaum, and their buddies start getting together to talk about poetry. Petersburg, where shklovsky was the leader of the opayaz group. Russian formalism challenged the traditional idea of critical literary analysis that art should conceal its literary devices. A school of literary criticism that emerged in russia around 1915, 3. He begins by distinguishing russian formalism from hermeneutics. The definition of estrangement first appeared in print in shklovsky s essay art as device iskusstvo kak priem i n 1916. Victor shklovsky s 1914 essay on futurist poetry, the resurrection of the word marked the beginning of russian formalism. In retrospect, formalism was only the first literary draft of a plentitude of modern russian and european isms. They enjoyed that independence until stalin shut them down. Viktor shklovskys theory of prose and the folklorization of literature14.
Defamiliarization is one of the key concepts of russian formalism and shklovsky is one of its most important theorists. Russian formalism in some senses began with a lecture by shklovsky entitled the place of futurism in the history of language, delivered when he was still a young student, on december 23, 19, at the stray dog cabaret, a center of theatrical experimentation. Jun 11, 2014 this is a picture of viktor shklovsky, one of the main voices behind a way of thinking about literature that today is known as russian formalism. Victor shklovosky, a founder of the opayaz group in russia, occupies a significant position in russian formalism by introducing his literary concept of art as. Shklovsky is defining one of the key concepts of formalism here. Torii shozos alphabet trap authors mignon, taylor citation.
The origins of russian formalism date back before the russian. Formalism is perhaps best known is shklovsky s concept of defamiliarization. Petersburg, russiadied december 8, 1984, moscow, russian literary critic and novelist. Russian formalism by victor erlich in the last two decades, the western student of literature has come increasingly cognizant of the body of literary theorizing practical criticism known as russian formalism. Get an answer for what are the features of russian formalism. A checklist of formalist critical questions here is a list of some questions from a formalist perspective. With a series of landmark papers, he taught generations of readers that, in the art of literature, content simply doesnt matter. At the time that shklovsky was writing, there was a change in the use of language in both literature and everyday spoken russian. For the science of literature, both independent and factual methods are. Bakhtin 18951975 mikhail bakhtin is best known for his radical philosophy of language, as well as his theory of. Russian formalism, which emerged around 1915 and flourished in the 1920s, was associated with the opojaz society for the study of poetic language and with the moscow linguistic society one of the leading figures of. Shklovsky was a source of aphorisms and a force of nature, the father of formalism and its enfant terrible, its troubleshooter erlich, russian formalism 76 and troublemaker kaverin, skandalist. Historicizing the isolation of literature repeats that isolation in a different register, cutting off from continued life not the literary but viktor shklovsky.
The role of folklore study in the rise of jessica evans. Victor shklovsky, art as technique born in 1893, victor shklovsky was a leading figure in the school of literary and linguistic theory known as russian formalism, which flourished at the time of the russian revolution. The russian formalist, victor shklovsky, reinterprets. Victor shklovsky 18931984 his essay art as technique 1917 was one of the central statements of formalist theory. On the european continent, formalism emerged primarily out of the slavic intellectual circles of prague and moscow, and particularly out of the work of roman jakobson, boris eichenbaum, and viktor shklovsky. Introduction the poet, bookmaker, editor and bibliophile torii shozd 19321994 wrote seven volumes of poetry and two books of prose. From formalism to poststructuralism raman selden volume 8 of the cambridge history of literary criticism the second to be published deals with the most hotly debated areas of literary theory, including structuralism, poststructuralism, semiotics, and hermeneutics. Engl 300 lecture 7 russian formalism open yale courses. He was a major voice of formalism, a critical school that had great influence in russian literature in the 1920s. Viktor shklovskys theory of prose was published in 1925. Defamiliarization also includes the use of foreign languages within a work. Apr 06, 2012 literary criticism, ii, russian formalism 1.
Shklovsky became an important critic and theorist of art and literature in the. An able champion, he describes formalism s evolution, notes its major workers and works, clears away decayed axioms, and rescues literature from primitive historicism and other dangers. Victor shklovsky coined the term defamiliarization to describe the role that art and literature can play in turning us around in the world so that we see things with fresh eyes. American new criticism, led by american critics such as john crowe ransom and cleanth brooks. An able champion, he describes formalism s evolution, notes its major figures and works, clears away decayed axioms, and rescues literature from primitive historicism and other dangers. It includes the work of a number of highly influential russian and soviet scholars such as viktor shklovsky, yuri tynianov, vladimir propp, boris eichenbaum, roman jakobson, boris tomashevsky, grigory gukovsky who revolutionised literary criticism between 1914 and the 1930s by establishing the specificity and autonomy of poetic language and literature. The formalist adage that the purpose of literature was to make the stones stonier nicely expresses their notion of literariness.
Although the theories of russian formalism and new criticism are similar in a number of respects, the two schools largely developed in. At first, opponents of the movement of russian formalism applied the term formalism derogatorily, because of its focus on the formal patterns and technical devices of literature to the exclusion of its subject matter and social values. Nabokovs formalism is manifest in his invocation of structure, and his bergsonian essentialism in his insistence on the centrality of the individual creative consciousness. Russian formalismsecond edition 2005 russian formalism is the name for a group of literary scholars and linguists who between 1916 and1929, while most were still in their twenties, developed a series of innovative theoretical concepts, claims,models, and methodological norms concerning various aspects of the literary system and its study.
Refamiliarizing viktor shklovsky cambridge university press. Viktor shklovsky s toward a theory of the comic analyzes the problem geometrically. Throughout, steiner elucidates the basic principles of the formalists and explores their contributions to the study of poetics, literary history, the theory of literary genre, and prosody. But viktor shklovsky 18931984, enfant terrible of the russian formalists. The theory of the formal method by boris eichenbaum eichenbaum is one of the great members of russian formalism who tried to systematize formalist principle to set up a theory. Examining formalism in light of more recent developments in literary theory, peter steiner here offers the most comprehensive critique of formalism to date. Art as technique 1917 viktor shklovsky art is thinking in images.
An essay by nasrullah mambrol on march 17, 2016 10. Viktor shklovsky 18931984 was one of the founders of the intellectual movement we today call russian formalism along with boris eichenbaum, roman jakobson, vladimir propp, yuri tynianov, others. The formalist school of thought refused to naturalize text by attributing it to the state of mind of the author, but instead it focused its critical writing on the novels literariness which checks naturalization. How does it differ from other formalistic ideology. One of its representatives, viktor shklovsky coined the term defamiliarization ostranenie in russian.
These questions can be applicable to the analysis of a short story or a novel. Russian formalism was an influential school of literary criticism in russia from the 1910s to the 1930s. Modern narrative theory begins with russian formalism in the 1920s, specifically with the work of roman jakobson, yury tynyanov, and viktor shklovsky. The formalists conceptualization of literary art is shown to be. Shklovsky concludes the 1929 edition of theory of prose with an essay on. Habituation devours works, clothes, furniture, ones wife, and the fear of war. Russian formalism russian formalism was important in the soviet union until 1929, when it was condemned for its lack of political perspective. What are the major differences between russian formalism and. Jul 22, 2015 victor shklovsky was at the beginning of the russian formalism and wrote a lot of interesting works about russian artists and cinemamakers of the early soviet times, especially about sergei eisenstein. It includes the work of a number of highly influential russian and soviet scholars such as viktor shklovsky, yuri tynianov, vladimir propp, boris eichenbaum, roman jakobson, boris tomashevsky, grigory gukovsky who revolutionised literary criticism between 1914 and the 1930s by establishing. Feb 07, 2018 the many approaches to russian formalism february 7, 2018 dylnfshr tzvetan todorov packs a lot into his short essay, some approaches to russian formalism, in which he introduces and critiques the various arguments made by a number of russian formalists. V iktor shklovskys name has become synonymous with the russian formalist movement that he helped to found in the early decades of the 20 th century. Tomashevsky, shklovsky, petrovsky, tynyanov, jakobson, and eikhanbaum, to name a few.
The russian formalists emerged from the russian revolution with ideas about the independence of literature. Primarily shklovsky questions the way in which people act the. Russian formalism emerged in the opening decades of the twentieth century as a reaction to the mystification of literature found in the influential paneuropean arts movement of symbolism. Russian formalism, one of the twentieth centurys most important movements in literary criticism, has received far less attention than most of its rivals. Of the russian formalist critics, roman jakobson and viktor shklovsky are probably the most wellknown. A later essay by shklovsky that makes similar points, art as technique. Russian formalist and czech structuralist literary theory. Several ideas shklovsky delineates are relevant towards reading toriis. Other participants include boris eichenbaum, roman jakobson, vladimir propp, and yuri. A collection of his essays and articles on film was published in literature and cinematographyfirst english edition aadhu rated it liked it may 01, its influence would be widely felt in shkloovsky twentieth century art and literary. Material abstract this product of doctoral labour is a. Eikhenbaums dependency on core ideas of marxist and darwinian philosophies of struggle and evolution is explained. It establishes the convergences between the thought of key formalists viktor shklovsky, boris eikhenbaum, yury tynianov and german idealist philosophers immanuel kant and georg hegel. What are the major differences between russian formalism.
In my view, the formation of structuralism is best studied as a merger of. Russian formalism is an authoritative introduction to the movement that was a major precursor of contemporary critical thought. Compare and contrast between russian formalism and the new. Criticism and russian formalism, the movements consolidated and legitimized literary.
The definition of estrangement first appeared in print in shklovsky s essay art as device iskusstvo kak priem i n. Victor shklovsky, art as technique justin childress. Formalism, also called russian formalism, russian russky formalism, innovative 20thcentury russian school of literary criticism. But if we treat shklovsky as the type specimen of the species unreconstructed formalist, weve mislabeled him. It was not until after the russian revolution in 1917 that ther.
Theres an admirable purity to a literature that doesnt aspire to be. A formalist approach 4 the shift from the moral approach to the scientific one is important. The essential point for the verification of a hypothesis of. Art as technique was a crucial document in the field of linguistic theory of russian formalism. Literary criticism 336 eng iirussian formalism dr mohammed fahmy raiayh 2. Art as technique by victor shklovsky victor shklovosky, a founder of the opayaz group in russia, occupies a significant position in vi,tor formalism by introducing his literary concept of art as technique, thereby making the notion of defamiliarization as a central tenet of the russian formalism. For a fuller account, consult peter steiner, russian formalism 1984. It is a school of literary criticism that originated in the former russia around 1915. Formalism s scientific language and methodical aspirations are discussed. Russian formalist, victor shklovsky, on defamiliarization as. Shklovsky himself is still praised as one of the most important literary and cultural theorists of the twentieth century.
This product of doctoral labour is a reappraisal of russian formalism. By then, however, they had produced essays that remain among the best defenses ever written for. He is one of the major figures associated with russian formalism. Literary criticism 336 eng ii russian formalism dr mohammed fahmy raiayh 2. Because this wasnt just important for the formalists. Later, largely through the work of the structuralist linguist roman jakobson, it became influential in the west, notably in. Htmlgiant blog archive viktor shklovsky wants to make you. Russian formalism download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. In the theory of the formal method 1927 boris eichenbaum defends russian formalism from many attacks. Eichenbaum tries to employ scientific procedures and establish formalism, a scientific theory. Shklovsky suggests, the effects of revolutionary estrangement on the self were cer. The impact of russian formalism on linguistic structuralism. This concept is super importantso make sure you get really familiar with it before you start defamiliarizing. Russian formalism was probably the first school in literary theory that looked at poetry and literature in general as true linguistic phenomena.
Viktor shklovskys 1925 book theory of prose might have become the most important work of literary criticism in the twentieth century had not two obstacles barred its way. Russian formalism is the european counterpart of the angloamerican new criticism. Viktor shklovsky the russian formalists studied the laws whereby. A type of literary theory and analysis which originated in moscow and st. It had its heyday in the 1920s and it acquired its name from its emphasis on form rather than on content.
Todays idea of humor compels a psychological reading, but russian formalism, which practiced replacing psychology with structure, offers an alternative. The role of folklore study in the rise of russian formalist and. Critics have frequently accused russian formalism of supporting an apo. Petersburg, which is way up north from moscow, so they needed a whole new name, too. The presentation explicates the school of theory and analysis which emerged around 1915 in russia and aimed teo create the science of literature. Russian formalist and czech structuralist literary theory by jessica evans merrill doctor of philosophy in slavic languages and literatures university of california, berkeley professor irina paperno, chair russian formalism and czech structuralism are understood to have initiated the study of. Tynyanov combined his skills as a historical novelist with formalism to produce, with jakobson, theses on language 1928, read more. Russian formalism, new criticism, neoaristotelianism. Viktor shklovsky s 189 31984 c oncept of ostranenie, or estrangement,1 has become part of the basic vocabulary of literary theory and is familiar even to those who know little about its origins in russian formalism. Formalism is a school of literary criticism that originated in the former soviet union during the first world war. Viktor shklovsky boris eichenbaum roman jakobson vladimir propp yuri tynianov understand artworks.
The attempt of this school was to make the study of literature more scientific. The russian formalists literary criticism emphasised how literary or artistic devices unique to imaginative writing actually functioned. Lets talk first about where viktor shklovsky himself started. Shklovsky brings out that there comes a point were perceptions become habitual thus becoming.
On the dissimilarity of the similar bruce stone jul 08 2011 but we should remember that shklovsky attributed a deeply humane and benevolent purpose to the virtuosic machinery of literature. Petersburg later leningrad and led by viktor shklovsky. Russian formalism was a literary movement in russia that started in 1915, where literary scholars like victor shklovsky, andrei bely, and potebnya had multiple theoretical aesthetics to how literature can be interpreted. Before the twentieth century, most literary theorists tended to view the relation between text and meaning through the prism of history, psychology, symbolism, and literary biography. Victor shklovsky s main concern was the idea of montage, both in writing and cinema. It includes the work of a number of highly influential russian and soviet scholars such as viktor shklovsky, yuri tynianov, vladimir propp, boris eichenbaum, roman jakobson, boris tomashevsky, grigory gukovsky who revolutionised literary criticism between 1914 and the 1930s by establishing the. The formalist tradition developed in russian literary criticism in the late nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth, especially in the work of the moscow linguistic circle. Verfremdung in german, which refers to the intentional deviation from practical, everyday language in poetry and literature.
The possibilities of socialpsychological methodology as applied to national specificity of research activity in russia are examined. Constructivism, born in the 1920s and 30s, concentrated formalism s. Rediscovered in the west in the 1960s, the work of the russian formalists has had an important influence on structuralist theories of literature, and on some of the more recent varieties of marxist literary criticism. Jan 16, 2017 before the twentieth century, most literary theorists tended to view the relation between text and meaning through the prism of history, psychology, symbolism, and literary biography. In the theory of the formal method 1927, boris eichenbaum defends russian formalism against various attacks. Russian literary formalism routledge encyclopedia of philosophy. The theory of the formal method by boris eichenbaum. Russian formalism and defamiliarization on world literature. Viktor shklovsky, in full viktor borisovich shklovsky, born january 24 january 12, old style, 1893, st. This video is a part of video series where arpita explains frequently asked critical theories in ugc net set jrf exams.
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