#russian formalist

[thephilosophyofbirds]

Birds hold fast to a branch even when they sleep. People should hold fast to each other that way.

Viktor Shklovsky

[markhaacrit-blog]

the Norton anthology of theory and criticism: Formalism

Formalism rose to prominence in the early 20th century.defined in opposition to subjectivist theories of literature such as Romanticism, which were perceived to be solipsistic and relativistic.

– not interested in the feelings of poets

– not interested in the responses of readers

– not interested in representations of "reality"

instead formalism attends to artistic structure and form.

the two best-known schools are:

Anglo-American new criticism

Russian formalism

focus on the literary object. - separating criticism from the study of sources, biography, social and historical context, politics and other "extrinsic" matters.

advocates "close reading" but avoids paraphrase and thematic statements. examining the complex stylistic orchestrations that compose poetry.

new critics – seek a set of organic relationships of literary element is, such as images, symbols, troops, features and genre and style, settings, tones. overall unity often depends on ambiguity, Paradox, irony.

Kant – "purposive nurse without purpose" and Coleridge's "reconciliation of opposite or discordant qualities" – is seen as the defining feature of poetry.

seeks to distinguish the literary from the ordinary use of language found in everyday speech, journalism, and scientific writing where direct communication is the key element.

Russian formalist critics such as Roman Jakobson and Boris Eichenbaum distinguish between the literary and the nonliterary. They view literature as a verbal art rather than a 'reflection of reality' or an expression of emotions. separating criticism from psychology, sociology and intellectual history they focus on the distinguishing features of literature - what most separates literature from other modes of discourse is that it draws attention to its own medium – a complex texture of formal devices and strategies. including versification, style, narrative structure.

new critics – study the convergence of elements in the literary structure.

Russian formalist – examine the creative deviation of elements from the background of literary norms and convention.

the importance of formalism cannot be understated because it is the dominant mode of modern criticism - against which much later theory defines itself.