Writing about a school of literary theory from the past, i indeed have nothing but. Russian formalism, one of the twentieth centurys most important movements in literary criticism, has received far less attention than most of its rivals. In this paper i explore the complex relation to philosophy of the russian formalists by discussing their radical attempt to redefine the categories of literature and philosophy in the russian cultural sphere. Most importantly, the literary theory known as structuralism developed as an outgrowth of linguistic theories aiming to. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Russian formalism chapter 1 the cambridge history of literary. Formalism emerged after the 1917 revolution in russia bennett 3. A formalist approach 4 the shift from the moral approach to the scientific one is important. Russian formalists saw poetry as something that can be mechanically taken in order to reveal devices that make it up. 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. Dec 09, 2012 what a work of literature says cannot be separated from how the literary work says it, and therefore the form and structure of a work, far from being merely the decorative wrapping of the content, is in fact an integral part of the content of the work.
Russian formalism download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Two famous allegations of formalism clarification needed were leveled at dmitri shostakovich. Russian formalism the johns hopkins guide to literary. A school of literary criticism that emerged in russia around 1915, 3. Russian formalism russian formalism advocated a scientific method for studying poetic language. The composer withdrew his fourth symphony before its planned first performance, and his. 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. Form and content according to russian formalism, to understand literature one has to look at the form as well as the content. Russian formalism was an influential school of literary criticism in russia from the 1910s to the 1930s.
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. What a work of literature says cannot be separated from how the literary work says it, and therefore the form and structure of a work, far from being merely the decorative wrapping of the content, is in fact an integral part of the content of the work. A closer scrutiny, however, reveals a different picture. 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. The subject of literary science is not literature, but literariness, i. 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. An important question to consider is why a theory in poetics should have stirred the heated debate, about questions of ideology and art, in the first place. Russian formalism is just such a locus communis out of which the history of. 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. Pdf the presentation explicates the school of theory and analysis which emerged around 1915 in russia and aimed teo create the science of literature. Formalism, also called russian formalism, russian russky formalism, innovative 20thcentury russian school of literary criticism. Russian formalist criticism four essays, ebook, 1965. Russian literature from 1750 onwards and on the basis of this corpus. Examining formalism in light of more recent developments in literary theory, peter steiner here offers the most comprehensive critique of formalism to date.
Formalists disagreed about what specific elements make a literary work good or bad. Literary theory topic russian formalism, french formalism in very easy and simple style. An essay by nasrullah mambrol on march 17, 2016 10. An overview and extended definition of formalism in. Examining formalism in light of more recent developments in literary theory, peter steiner here offers the most comprehensive critique of. Russian formalisms intense interest in the major questions informing the practice of literary criticism i. They enjoyed that independence until stalin shut them down.
Russian formalism was an active movement in literary criti cism for only fifteen. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Russian formalisms major contributions can be approached in terms of basic perspectives and major research areas. Viktor shkolvskys critical writing was the most prominent work of russian formalism. A checklist of formalist critical questions here is a list of some questions from a formalist perspective. The impact of russian formalism on linguistic structuralism. It cannot be evaluated in terms of cultural and historical externalities. Its central tenant is that the text of the writers work should be the focus of any inquiry or criticism regarding the work.
Formalism also known as new criticism a basic approach. However, the study of literature and the study of language were seen by tyn janov. Mar 08, 2019 literary theory topic russian formalism, french formalism in very easy and simple style. Formalist literary theory essay sample new york essays. The russian formalist movement was championed by unorthodox philologists and literary historians, e. Russian formalism, new criticism, neoaristotelianism. The focus of study should be the literary strategies and craft of the writer. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. These questions can be applicable to the analysis of a short story or a novel. Victor shklovsky 18931984 his essay art as technique 1917 was one of the central statements of formalist theory. Russian formalism s major contributions can be approached in terms of basic perspectives and major research areas. English core paper methodology of literature en5b03 methodology of literature pdf to download the material click on the above link topics covered russian formalism, new criticism, archetypal criticism, myth criticism. A type of literary theory and analysis which originated in moscow and st.
They, as you might guess, started a movement in literary criticism called formalism. Formalism may be defined as a critical approach in which the text under discussion is considered primarily as a structure of words. Russian formalism was a school of literary criticism in russia from the 1910s to the 1930s. What is russian formalism, and what was its effect on literature. Russian formalism keeps life and art apart this treating the two as mutually exclusive. 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. That is, the main focus is on the arrangement of language, rather than on the implications of the words, or on the biographical and historical relevance of the work in question. Both schools of thought believe that literature must be studied on its own terms. The field of literary criticism has been moulded by various criticisms like mimetic criticism, pragmatic criticism, expressive criticism, historical criticism, biographical criticism, sociological criticism, psychological criticism and archetypal. Important formalists included roman jakobson and viktor shklovsky. Click download or read online button to get russian formalism book now. Russian formalists emerged from the russian revolution with ideas about the independence of literature. Russian formalism is just such a locus communis out of which the history of ideas is made.
Russian formalism, marxism, poetics, socialist realism, science, art. According to the russian formalists who coined the term, it is the central concept of art and poetry. What are some good examples of formalism in literature. Russian formalism is a school of literary criticism formed in russia that became highly influential in the early decades of the 1900s. The russian formalists assailed the view of literature as. Formalism is a school of literary criticism that originated in the former soviet union during the first world war. Formalism began in russia during the 20th century by a group of linguis. A formalist, with respect to some discipline, holds that there is no transcendent meaning to that discipline other than the literal content created by a practitioner. Engl 300 lecture 7 russian formalism open yale courses. Bryusov, it represents a radical departure from the previously dominant mimetic theory of art. The following notes are from noel carrolls essay on formalism in the routledge companion to aesthetics. He begins by distinguishing russian formalism from hermeneutics.
Eikhenbaums dependency on core ideas of marxist and darwinian philosophies of struggle and evolution is explained. Get an answer for what is russian formalism, and what was its effect on literature. Petersburg later leningrad and led by viktor shklovsky. But its become a staple of the teaching of literature. 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. Apr 27, 2020 the school of new criticism is comparable to russian formalism, although it did not evolve from it. Some of its concepts are still in use today in literary criticism. According to russian formalism, poetry is the quintessential form of literary language, as it presents speech organized in its entire phonic structure, which deforms practical language to draw attention to itself. It is the study of a text without taking into account any outside influence. It had its heyday in the 1920s and it acquired its name from its emphasis on form rather than on content. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. 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.
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. Formalism formalism is the view that theoretical information about an object, or practical guidance about how to treat it, are to be derived from attention to its form rather than its matter or content. Formalism is a school of literary criticism and literary theory having mainly to do with structural purposes of a particular text. Formalism russian a brief but influential 20thcentury critical method that originated in st.
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. Shostakovich was denounced in the russian newspaper pravda in january 1936 in connection with a moscow performance of his opera lady macbeth of the mtsensk district. Russian formalism, french formalism in very easy and simple style. 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. These connections act as literacy artifacts that are used to understand the movement. 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. English core paper methodology of literature en5b03 methodology of literature pdf to download the material click on the above link topics covered russian formalism, new criticism, archetypal criticism, myth criticism, deconstruction. University of calicut methodology of literature study material. 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. For a fuller account, consult peter steiner, russian formalism 1984.
Two schools of formalist literary criticism developed, russian formalism, and soon after angloamerican new criticism. What is implied here is not the russian ant of the supranational formalist trend which asserts itself pe cally in art and. 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. Formalism is a method of criticism which examines a literary text or artwork through its aesthetic composition such as form, language, technique and style formalism, 2018. The initial perspective was aestheticist, ahistorical, reductive, and mechanistic and is associated with the early shklovskii. 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.
1292 308 614 936 1024 1363 360 489 1551 1470 1135 777 217 1165 1374 808 958 119 1475 759 1179 1504 42 1438 1385 328 1509 399 307 690 512 1475 339 1362 864 414 710 1055