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. An overview and extended definition of formalism in. Though considering the historical context of the birth of formalism seems contrary to the movement itself, it is important to signal that formalism was a reaction to and against marxist literary. A checklist of formalist critical questions here is a list of some questions from a formalist perspective. Eliot 196 formalism 197 russian formalism 197 the new criticism 202 viii contents. Formalism reduces the importance of a texts historical, biographical, and cultural context. Russian formalism and defamiliarization on world literature. Shklovsky makes cleanth brooks look positively curmudgeonly. Apr 27, 2020 the school of new criticism is comparable to russian formalism, although it did not evolve from it. They, as you might guess, started a movement in literary criticism called formalism. It had its heyday in the 1920s and it acquired its name from.
Engl 300 lecture 7 russian formalism open yale courses. The upshot is that russians rise against tsar nicholas ii and that creepy guy whos always trailing him, rasputin and kaboom. Russia, country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern europe and northern asia. History, doctrine second revised edition by erlich, victory and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Petersburg russia abstract it is a prevailing opinion nowadays that saussurean semiology and peircean theory of signs are two major semiotic schools which, although they have certain theoretical and historical background in common. This material explains the historical background of the concepts presented in chapter 5. Once the preeminent republic of the union of soviet socialist republics u. Formalism, also called russian formalism, russian russky formalism, innovative 20thcentury russian school of literary criticism. The context for the work, including the reason for its creation, the historical background, and the life of the artist, is not considered to be significant.
The focus is on form, not content, on language, not on exophora biography, culture, history, religion 6. The author substantiates leading position of social psychology relying on russian culture historical school, wfestem psychology and psychology of science in the studies of research cultures and. An overview prasannata ramtirthe research scholar savitribai phule pune university pune. Russian formalism article about russian formalism by the. Viktor shklovsky boris eichenbaum roman jakobson vladimir propp yuri.
Formalism, innovative 20thcentury russian school of literary criticism. Ms india stylistics is a systematic way of exploring a literary text especially the language of a text and tries to explain how language creates meaning, style. Points of convergence vitaly kiryushchenko state university, st. A case for the literary carnivalesque formalism, also called russian formalism. A school of literary criticism that emerged in russia around 1915, 3. 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. In painting, formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as color, line, shape, texture, and other perceptual aspects rather than content, meaning, or the historical and social context. Verfremdung in german, which refers to the intentional deviation from practical, everyday language in poetry and literature. 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. Russian formalism is a lot more comprehensive and flexible than american formalism. These features include not only grammar and syntax but also literary devices such as meter and tropes.
The end of the century set the stage for the reign of prince oleg, famous for the unification of the novgorod and kiev regencies, and later the transfer of the capital from novgorod to kiev. 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. Petersburg through the group opoyaz, and in moscow via the moscow linguistic circle. Close reading, which eschewed biographical and historical research, seemed ideally suited to the postwar influx of firstgeneration university students, many of whom did not share any common cultural background. Both schools of thought believe that literature must be studied on its own terms. Tynyanov combined his skills as a historical novelist with formalism to produce, with jakobson, theses on language 1928, read more. 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. 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.
Opoyaz, an acronym for russian words meaning society for the study of poetic language, founded in 1916 at st. A historical analysis of hawthornes young goodman brown by meghan harmon 27 3 formalism 33 historical background 34 russian formalism 35 mikhail bakhtin 36 reading as a formalist 40 form 41 diction 43 unity 45 what doesnt appear in formalist criticism 46 writing a formalist analysis 47 prewriting 47. Examining formalism in light of more recent developments in literary theory, peter steiner here offers the most comprehensive critique of formalism to date. The new criticism a dominant angloamerican critical theory that originated in the 1920s and 1930s, stressing the importance of reading a text as an independent and complete work of art. Get an answer for what are the features of russian formalism. How does it differ from other formalistic ideology.
It had its heyday in the 1920s and it acquired its name from its emphasis on form rather than on content. Formalism also known as new criticism a basic approach. Dec 06, 2011 any introductory study into formalism relies on looking at the historical and social movements that were shaping such an emergent mode of criticism. Russian formalism, one of the twentieth centurys most important movements in literary criticism, has received far less attention than most of its rivals. Russian formalism was an influential school of literary criticism in russia from the 1910s to the 1930s. He begins by distinguishing russian formalism from hermeneutics. Russian formalism exerted a major influence on thinke. The russian michail bakhtin is a highly original thinker who moves between the boundaries of russian formalism and contemporary critical theory. The russian language has become a source of cultural history, being at that time very similar to other slavic languages. A readers guide to contemporary literary theory fifth edition.
Formalists arent interested in the historical context of a literary work. Ms india stylistics is a systematic way of exploring a literary text especially the language of a text and tries to explain how language creates meaning, style and certain effect. Even though several of erlichs conclusions are erroneous this is an important study. The school of new criticism is comparable to russian formalism, although it did not evolve from it. Examining formalism in light of more recent developments in literary theory, peter steiner here offers the. Russian formalism was a school of literary criticism in russia from the 1910s to the 1930s. 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. Any introductory study into formalism relies on looking at the historical and social movements that were shaping such an emergent mode of criticism. A readers guide to contemporary literary theory 5th edition. Viktor shklovsky boris eichenbaum roman jakobson vladimir propp yuri tynianov understand artworks. The russian formalists emerged from the russian revolution with ideas about the independence of literature. By then, however, they had produced essays that remain among the best defenses ever written for both literature and its theory. Modern narrative theory begins with russian formalism in the 1920s, specifically with the work of roman jakobson, yury tynyanov, and viktor shklovsky. The formalists were allies of the futurists and they included linguists, literary historians, and critics, but also poets.
The focus of study should be the literary strategies and craft of the writer. Moving thru historical creation of each approach starting in 20th c criticism roots in other philosophers aristotle, longinus, etc. 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. They enjoyed that independence until stalin shut them down.
I give it 3 stars not because its not good, but who really enjoys reading russian formalist literary theory. Jan 01, 1973 i give it 3 stars not because its not good, but who really enjoys reading russian formalist literary theory. These features include not only grammar and syntax but also literary devices. 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. Eikhenbaums dependency on core ideas of marxist and darwinian philosophies of struggle and evolution is explained.
Russian formalism was probably the first school in literary theory that looked at poetry and literature in general as true linguistic phenomena. Formalism also known as new criticism a basic approach to. 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. Richards ibid ideological imaginative literature insisted jazyka jurij. What are the major differences between russian formalism and. Important formalists included roman jakobson and viktor shklovsky. Petersburg later leningrad and led by viktor shklovsky. 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. Generally speaking, formalism is the concept which everything necessary in a work of art is contained within it.
Roman osipovich jakobson october 11, 1896 july 18, 1982 was a russian thinker who became one of the most influential linguists of the twentieth century by pioneering the development of structural analysis of language, poetry, and art. A formalist approach 4 the shift from the moral approach to the scientific one is important. Adios, russian monarchy or should we say do svidaniya. A historical analysis of hawthornes young goodman brown meghan harmon 26 formalism 33 historical background 33 russian formalism 35 reading as a formalist 36 form 36 diction 38 unity 40 what doesnt appear in formalist criticism 42 paraphrase 42 intention 42 biography 42. Russian formalism was born, as one should suspect, in russia, specifically in moscow, in the early twentieth century, between 1910 and 1915. Early formalism developed quite independently in america and russia but it was russian formalism, which flourished during the pre and postrevolutionary period in russia, that had the more farreaching effects.
The american new critics began to popularize their ideas shortly before the rapid expansion of the university system after world war ii. R commonly known as the soviet union, russia became an independent country after the dissolution of the soviet union in december 1991. At its extreme, formalism in art history posits that everything necessary to comprehending a work of art is contained within the work of art. These questions can be applicable to the analysis of a short story or a novel. It cannot be evaluated in terms of cultural and historical externalities.
Russian literary criticism in the nineteenth century literature is the essence of a nations history. But its become a staple of the teaching of literature. 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. One of its representatives, viktor shklovsky coined the term defamiliarization ostranenie in russian. It is the first comprehensive book in the west on russian formalism. Formalism also known as new criticism a basic approach to reading and understanding literature. 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. Formalism is a school of literary criticism that originated in the former soviet union during the first world war.