THEORISTS OF
RUSSIAN FORMALISM
ARSHA ANIL
S2 MA ENGLISH
Russian
Formalism
• Russian Formalism was a significant literary theory that emerged
in the early 20th century in Russia, primarily between the 1910s to
1930s.
• This movement aimed to establish a scientific approach to the
study of literature focusing on the form and structure of literary
texts rather than their content or the authors intentions.
• Russian formalists posited that the structure and esthetic
qualities of a text are more important than its subject matter or
the historical context of its creation.
Major Theorist of Russian
Formalism
• VIKTOR
SHKLOVSKY
• ROMAN
JAKOBSON
• BORUS
EICHENBAUM
• YURI TYNIANOV
Viktor
Shklovsky
• Shklovsky was a Russian literary
Theorist,critic,writer and pamphleteer.
• One of the major figure associated to Russian
Formalism.
• He is praised as one of the most important
literary and cultural theorists of the 20th
century.
• In 1916 he founded OPOYAZ ( A society for the
study of poetic language).
• This along with Moscow linguistic circle
developed the critical theorists and techniques
of Russian Formalism.
MAJOR WORKS
• Art as Device (1917)
• Zoo or Letters Not About Love (1923)
• Theory of Prose(1925)
• Leo Tolstory(1963)
• Energy of Delusion: A Book on Plot (1981)
CONCEPTS & CONTRIBUTIONS
1.DEFAMILIARIZATION (Ostranenie)
Challenges the automatic and routine perception of everyday
objects.
• By presenting the familiar in an unfamiliar way, artists force
audiences to experience the world with renewed awareness.
2.ARTISTIC LANGUAGE And DEVIATION
“artistic language” characterized by linguistic devices that
deviate from ordinary, practical language.
• metaphors and similes, contribute to the unique and aesthetic
quality of literary works.
3.FORMALISM’S IMPACT ON LITERARY STUDIES
• This departure from historical and biographical criticism paved
ROMAN JAKOBSON (1896-1982)
• Roman Jakobson a well known linguistic, literary
theorist and critic who was connected to Formalism
and structuralism was born in 1896.
• Russian American linguistic and literary theorist.
• He developed revolutionary new techniques for the
analysis of linguistic sound system.
• Jacobson escaped from Prague in early March 1939
via Berlin for Denmark, where he was associated
with the Copenhagen linguistic circle and such
intellectuals as Louis Hjelmslev.
• He emphasized the significance of comprehending
the particular linguistic devices and strategies such
as metaphor, metonymy and sound patterns .
MAJOR WORKS
• Linguistic and Poetics (1960)
• Closing Statement: Linguistic and Poetics (1964)
• Two Aspects of Language and Two Types of Aphasic
Disturbances(1956)
• Shifters, Verbal Categories and Russian Verb(1957)
• On Realism Art (1921)
CONCEPTS & CONTRIBUTIONS
1.POETIC FUNCTION Of LANGUAGE
• Concept of the “poetic function of language is central to his
contributions to Formalism.
2.METAPHOR AND METONYMY
• Exploration of metaphor and metonymy as fundamental
elements in language has become influential in both
linguistics and literary theory.
3.SHIFTERS
• Analysis of shifters contributes to the understanding of
linguistic delixis-the way language points to or refers to
elements in the context of communication.
BORIS EICHENBAUM (1886-
1959)
• Born in 1886, Boris Eichenbaum was a well known
critic and academic linked within the formalist
movement.
• He was a leading member of the OPOJAZ
• In the area of literary analysis in particular he made
significant contributions.
• Promoted literary analysis as a separate academic
discipline from its social and historical
circumstances.
• Emphasised the value of looking at the particular
literary devices and methods used by authors.
• Emphasised the significance of form and structure in
understanding a literary work in his renowned essay
MAJOR WORKS
• The Theory of the “Formal Method”(1922)
• How Gogol’s ‘Overcoat’ Is Made (1919)
• Pushkin and the Historical School of Philology (1927)
• The Literary Factory (1928)
CONCEPTS & CONTRIBUTIONS
1. Formal Method
• Eichenbaum’s notion of the ‘formal method’ is central to
formalist principal.
2. Autonomy of Literary Language
• Like other formalists, Eichenbaum stressed the autonomy
of literary language.
• He argued that the language of literature has its own
rules and functions different from everyday language and
should be studied on its own terms.
3. Importance of Literary Devices
• Significance of literary device and techniques in shaping
the meaning and impact of literary work.
4.Shift from Historical Context
• Formalist shift away from historical and biographical
interpretations of literature.
• Focus on the intrinsic qualities of literary works.
YURI TYNIANOV (1894-
1943)
• A well known critic and theorist linked with the
formalist movement Yuri Tynyanov was born in 1894.
• Major figure in Russian Formalism a literary theorist,
critic and novelist who played a key role in developing
modern literay theory.
• He was closely associated with OPOJAZ along side
Viktor Shklovsky, Boris Eichenbaum , Roman
Jakobson .
• Unlike some formalists Tynyanov also wrote novels,
screenplays and historical fiction blending theory and
creativity .
• In exploring the dynamic relationship between
literature and it’s historical setting he made
particularly significant contributions to the area of
literary criticism.
MAJOR WORKS
• The literary Factory (1924)
• The problem of verse language (1924)
• On literary Evolution (1927)
• Permanent Evolution (1927)
• Ararat (1933)
CONCEPTS & CONTRIBUTIONS
1. Literary Fact
• Central to his formalist approach
• The idea underscores the uniqueness of literature as an
independent and self regulating system.
2.Verse Language
• Exploration of verse language contribution to the formalist
understanding of the distinctiveness of poetic language .
3.Literary Evolution
• Discussions on literary Evolution challenge static views of
literature.
• Literary forms and genres as dynamic entities that adapt
and transform over time
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