Hello readers!!
This blog is part of the celebration of the virtual Teacher's Day in the Department of English conducted by the MKBU.in which we discuss about the Russian Formalism.
What is Russian Formalism?
Formalism is a school of literary criticism.
It is originated in the former Soviet Union during 1st World War.
Formalism influenced Russian Literary Criticism from 1914 to 1930.
Focusses on the literary devices and form of a text
Formalists believed that literary language was different from everyday speech or usage.
According to them literary language had a special function to perform.
It stressed the importance of studying form.
The formalists were also linguistics, who were interested in scientific examination of style.
• Their interest in form and literariness developed into a study of literary devices called foregrounding.
They made a study of the rhythmic patterns, syntax, structures, imagery, etc.
Features:
Literature has certain characteristics and features that make it different from ordinary language
Defamiliarization 'making strange' the object of perception so as to enhance perception
Literariness: How the distinguishing features of a text make up a text. How are they new?
The Formalist Group:
Viktor Shklovsky
Peter Bogatryrev
Yury Tynyanov
Osip Brik
Boris Eichenbaum
Boris Tomashevski
Roman Jakobson
Vladimir Propp
Jan Mukorovsky
Impact of Formalism
1. It has origin in Russia in the time of 1917 revolution.
2. It's impact on Europe as well as in America.
3. It established Prague Linguistic Circle
4. It planted the seeds of structuralism.
5. It showed interest in scientific examination of style.
6. It shows literary language as special kind of language.
It led to establish the.
The Bakhtin School -
It is emerged in the second half of formalist era.
It is led by Mikhail Bakhtin and Pavel Medved.
Basic tenets of the school were the language could not be separated from ideology. Language is socially constructed sign-system.
OPOYAZ: Society for the Study of Poetic Language:
Founded: 1916 in Petrograd.
Objective: Analyzing the specific properties of literary language. Contribution: Developed core ideas of Formalism, including the importance of literary devices and the autonomy of art.
Moscow Linguistic Circle (MLC)
Founded: 1915 in Moscow.
Key Figures: Roman Jakobson, Grigory Vinokur.
Focus: Linguistic structure of texts, phonology, and the scientific study of
language. Impact: Collaborated with OPOYAZ, reinforcing the formalist approach to literary analysis.
Petrograd Linguistic Circle (PLC)
Founded: Post-Revolution in Petrograd.
Key Focus: Similar to OPOYAZ, with a strong emphasis on linguistics in literary studies.
• Role: Played a crucial part in the spread and development of Formalist ideas.
Conclusions
• Russian Formalism revolutionized literary analysis by shifting the focus from the content of a work to its form and structure.
The work of Russian Formalists laid the foundation for later theoretical movements such as Structuralism and had a lasting impact on the study of literature and linguistics. By challenging traditional approaches, Russian Formalism paved the way for a more scientific and systematic exploration of literary texts.
Thankyou...
Be learner!!
