Russian formalism and defamiliarization on world literature. First half of course on russian formalist concepts. Other participants include boris eichenbaum, roman jakobson, vladimir propp, and yuri. Formalism also known as new criticism a basic approach to reading and understanding literature armstrong atlantic state university formalist theory has dominated the american literary scene for most of the twentieth century, and it has. What are the basic differences between russian formalism and. Russian formalism before and after the digital humanities the legacy of the moscow linguistic circle and the digital humanities today divergence vs. Russian formalism stressed that what a piece of literature means cannot be dismissed from how it says it. In my introduction i explain the concept of defamiliarization which stems from russian formalism. Lets talk first about where viktor shklovsky himself started. Defamiliarization is an old concept, stemming from russian formalism which can be placed in the period between 1915 and 1930 approximately. It is a school of literary criticism that originated in. Formalism is a literary theory that was spearheaded by two main bodies russian formalists and new critics which focused on understanding the literary text through the text itself. Two modern examples of the literary strategy of defamiliarization are james joyces stream of consciousness writing, and the use of magical realism by gabriel garcia marquez in his novels. Russian formalism synonyms, russian formalism pronunciation, russian formalism translation, english dictionary definition of russian formalism.
It is not coincidental that several articles in the volume refer to russian formalism s main concept ostranenie. An essay by nasrullah mambrol on march 17, 2016 10. Application of the concept of defamiliarization in. Sep 01, 2009 introduction to the russian formalist tradition 09. Oct 16, 2010 examples of defamiliarization october 16, 2010 in interaction design weve been exploring the idea of defamiliarization as a means of making the familiar seem strange and jeff requested examples so heres the first one that popped into my mind tiltshift photography.
Viktor shklovsky boris eichenbaum roman jakobson vladimir propp yuri. He begins by distinguishing russian formalism from hermeneutics. Defamiliarization is not simply a question of perception. It had its heyday in the 1920s and it acquired its name from. It had its heyday in the 1920s and it acquired its name from its emphasis on form rather than on content. Russian formalism was an influential school of literary criticism in russia from the 1910s to the 1930s. Engl 300 lecture 7 russian formalism open yale courses. By then, however, they had produced essays that remain among the best defenses ever written for both literature and its theory. Rigorous or excessive adherence to recognized forms, as in religion or art.
Sterne lays bare the structure of the novel, which increases. Apr 06, 2012 literary criticism, ii, russian formalism 1. Pdf the presentation explicates the school of theory and analysis which emerged around 1915 in russia and aimed teo create the science of literature. Its central tenant is that the text of the writers work should be the focus of any inquiry or criticism regarding the work. Graduate seminar on slavic contributions to 20th c. Art as technique by victor shklovsky bachelorandmaster. Russian formalism definition of russian formalism by the. Russian formalism motivation key termsconcepts motivation defamiliarization vladimir propp defamiliarization victory shklovsky saw laurence sternes novel tristram shandy as being without any kind of motivation. Russian formalism challenged the traditional idea of critical literary analysis that art should conceal its literary devices. Roman jakobson, mentioned earlier as, arguably, the most important figure of russian formalism, took the lead amongst the formalist scholars in defining the object of their analysis. 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. Two schools of formalist literary criticism developed, russian formalism, and soon after angloamerican new criticism.
Defamiliarization by nasrullah mambrol on march 17, 2016 4. Shklovsky was made to retract many of his formalist statements and genuinely. The russian formalists tried to explain how aesthetic effects were produced by literary devices, and how literary writing differed from nonliterary. According to the russian formalists who coined the term, it is the central concept of art and poetry. Its principles posed a great shift from the traditional approaches during its time, and so it sparked a movement in the field of literary studies that would. Steiner, 1984, cornell university press edition, pdf in english. Pdf the presentation explicates the school of theory and analysis which emerged around 1915 in.
Russian formalism influenced the literary theory of structuralism. Defamiliarization has been associated with the poet and playwright bertolt brecht, whose verfremdungseffekt estrangement effect was a potent element of his approach to theater. Habituation devours works, clothes, furniture, ones wife, and the fear of. Jan 24, 20 formalism is a literary theory that was spearheaded by two main bodies russian formalists and new critics which focused on understanding the literary text through the text itself. Introduction to the russian formalist tradition 09. Its principles posed a great shift from the traditional approaches during its time, and so it sparked a movement in the field of literary studies. Russian formalism the johns hopkins guide to literary. Formalism is a school of literary criticism that originated in the former soviet union during the first world war. According to russian formalism defamiliarization is the basic function of all devices 1987.
The definition of estrangement first appeared in print in shklovskys essay art as device iskusstvo kak priem i n 1916. Russian formalism article about russian formalism by the. A term used by the russian formalist viktor shklovsky to describe the capacity of art to counter the deadening effect of habit and convention by investing the familiar with strangeness and thereby deautomatizing perception. 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. Other articles where defamiliarization is discussed. The russian formalists concept of defamiliarization, proposed by. An original signed hard copy of the signature page is on file in university archives. I understood well what they said about whipping and christianity.
Apr 27, 2020 it is left to the writers to find new approaches to defamiliarization. Russian formalism is the european counterpart of the angloamerican new criticism. Defamiliarization comprises both the slowing down and the increased difficulty impeding of the process of reading and comprehending and an awareness of the literary procedures devices. A school of literary criticism that emerged in russia around 1915, 3. What are the major differences between russian formalism and. Formalism also known as new criticism a basic approach to. Russian formalism synonyms, russian formalism pronunciation, russian formalism translation, english dictionary definition of russian.
In fact, as willett points out, verfremdungseffekt is a translation of the russian critic viktor shklovskijs phrase priem ostranenija, or device for making. They enjoyed that independence until stalin shut them down. Defamiliarization is a core concept of russian formalism. Literary criticism 336 eng iirussian formalism dr mohammed fahmy raiayh 2.
What are the major differences between russian formalism. 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 which was roman jakobson and prague. One of its representatives, viktor shklovsky coined the term defamiliarization ostranenie in russian. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link. Russian formalist, victor shklovsky, on defamiliarization. Petersburg through the group opoyaz, and in moscow via the moscow linguistic circle. It is the study of a text without taking into account any outside influence. Examining formalism in light of more recent developments in literary theory, peter steiner here offers the. 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. Eikhenbaums dependency on core ideas of marxist and darwinian philosophies of struggle and evolution is explained. The opojaz group, the society for the study of poetic language pomorska.
Russian formalism second edition 2005 russian formalism is the name for a group of literary scholars and linguists who between 1916 and 1929, 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. 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. Achievements the russian formalists tried to explain how aesthetic effects were produced by literary devices, and how literary writing differed from nonliterary. Verfremdung in german, which refers to the intentional deviation from practical, everyday language in poetry and literature. Formalism russian a brief but influential 20thcentury critical method that originated in st. Viktor shklovsky 18931984 was, among other things, one of the founders of the intellectual movement that we today call russian formalism. In this essay, shklovsky defines estrangement in the following. The russian michail bakhtin is a highly original thinker who moves between the boundaries of russian formalism and contemporary critical theory. By nasrullah mambrol on march 17, 2016 4 the russian formalists concept of defamiliarization, proposed by viktor shklovsky in his art as technique, refers to the literary device whereby language is used in such a way that ordinary and familiar objects are made to look different.
An able champion, he describes formalisms evolution, notes its major figures and works, clears away decayed axioms, and rescues literature from primitive historicism and other dangers. Russian formalist critics, who had begun to move toward formalism as a result of technical analysis of works like pushkins, adopted saussures linguistic work on signs and signifiers and the. Here is how the horse regards the institution of private property. Art as technique 1917 viktor shklovsky art is thinking in images.
What are the basic differences between russian formalism. Formalism also known as new criticism a basic approach to reading and understanding literature armstrong atlantic state university formalist theory has dominated the american literary scene for most of the twentieth century, and it has retained its great influence in many academic quarters. Russian formalism is a school of literary criticism formed in russia that became highly influential in the early decades of the 1900s. I will argue that purely formalist understandings of defamiliarization view this. Viktor shklovsky, who is a theorist of russian formalism, has pointed out that the technique of art is to. Russian formalism and the digital humanities monday, april, 2015 9. Important formalists included roman jakobson and viktor shklovsky. Art as technique by victor shklovsky 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 technique, thereby making the notion of defamiliarization as a central tenet of the russian formalism. Formalism was the key break away from 19th century positivistic authorfocused methods of literary study. Formalism was the dominant mode of academic literary study in the us at least from the end of the second world war through the 1970s, especially as embodied in rene wellek and austin warren s theory of literature 1948, 1955. Literature, as they saw it, was an autonomous product, and should be studied by appropriate methods, preferably scientific. A case for the literary carnivalesque formalism, also called russian formalism. Weve been exploring the idea of defamiliarization as a means of making the familiar seem strange and jeff requested examples so heres the first one that popped into my mind tiltshift photography. Examining formalism in light of more recent developments in literary theory, peter steiner here offers the most comprehensive critique of formalism to date.
Readers were shocked to discover that the protagonist and principal narrator of kholstomer was an old horse. They, as you might guess, started a movement in literary criticism called formalism. Htmlgiant blog archive viktor shklovsky wants to make you. 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. The narrator of kholstomer, for example, is a horse, and it is the horses point of view rather than a persons that makes the content of the story seem unfamiliar. Shklovsky uses the russian neologism ostranenie, the translation of which has. Defamiliarization defamiliarization of that which is or has become familiar automatically perceived is the basic use of literary language. According to the russian formalists who coined the term, it is the central. Formalism, structuralism, semiotics slavic 200, spring 2016. Formalist literary theory essay sample new york essays. Art and literature have the ability to make us see the world anew to make that which has become familiar, because we have been overexposed to it, strange again. 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. The russian formalists emerged from the russian revolution with ideas about the independence of literature. Arts scrupulous or excessive adherence to outward form at the expense of inner reality or content 2.
It was not until after the russian revolution in 1917 that ther. 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. 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. Definition of formalismformalism is, as the name implies, an interpretive approach that emphasizes literary form and the study of literary devices within the text. It arose in opposition to earlier and competing schools of criticism, which the formalists believed were focusing too much on extraliterary concerns, like history, sociology, and psychology, and not.
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. This technique involves exploring the differences between. Russian formalism was a school of literary criticism in russia from the 1910s to the 1930s. The term represents the way in which literature, and art in general, obliquely and ceremoniously depicts human experience by enstranging objects, events or abstract phenomena in order to slow down the readers perception so that he or she will. Defamiliarization or ostranenie is the artistic technique of presenting to audiences common things in an unfamiliar or strange way in order to enhance perception of the familiar. It focused, as the name suggests, on the form itself of the artwork, preferably in a more rigorous method than the frequently impressionistic readings from previous times. Presented at the 100 years of russian formalism, institut slavianovedenia. In the theory of the formal method 1927, boris eichenbaum defends russian formalism against various attacks.
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 which was roman jakobson and. Defamiliarization and foregrounding are such important formalist principles that they lead directly into formalist definitions of literature itself. Keywords ostranenie, defamiliarization, estrangement, deautomatization, foregrounding. And thats largely thanks to these russian dudes known as the formalists, who lived and worked at the turn of the 20th century in russia. Russian formalism was born, as one should suspect, in russia, specifically in moscow, in the early twentieth century, between 1910 and 1915. The russian formalists concept of defamiliarization, proposed by viktor shklovsky in his art as technique, refers to the literary device whereby language is used in such a way that ordinary and familiar objects are made to look different. In becoming a leader of the school of thought called russian formalism, he. In other words, the structurestyle of literature is not just artifice. Defamiliarization is a literary technique in which the process of writing is itself focused on more than any particular plotline. But its become a staple of the teaching of literature. Russian formalism was probably the first school in literary theory that looked at poetry and literature in general as true linguistic phenomena. Brecht and russian formalism in britain in the 1970s.
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