A readers guide to contemporary literary theory 5th edition. A basic approach to reading and understanding literature. A checklist of formalist critical questions here is a list of some questions from a formalist perspective. Formalism, structuralism, semiotics, poetics jstor. 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. For the most part, traditional formalism is no longer used in the academy. Literary criticism is the practice of interpreting and writing about. The primary method of formalism is a close reading of the text, with an emphasis on metaphorsimileirony or the patterns of image and action. The presentation explicates the school of theory and analysis which emerged around 1915 in russia and aimed teo create the science of literature.
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. Formalism also known as new criticism a basic approach to reading and understanding literature. New criticism was a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated american literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. Russian formalism, one of the twentieth centurys most important movements in literary criticism, has received far less attention than most of its rivals. Formalism, new criticism, structuralism, poststructuralism. Study flashcards on literary criticism new criticism and russian formalism at. What are some good examples of formalism in literature. Part of the expla nation for this may lie in the tendency of many slavists to be less concerned with current.
An overview and extended definition of formalism in. Engl 300 lecture 7 russian formalism open yale courses. Formalism began in russia during the 20th century by a group of linguis. This exciting collection of essays and manifesti reminds us of the form behind formalism. The russian formalists were an eclectic con stellation of figures from a variety of fields, including literary criticism, linguistics, phi. This is the case for formalism, which is but one of many branches of literary theory.
Bakhtin 18951975 mikhail bakhtin is best known for his radical philosophy of language, as well as his theory of the novel, underpinned by concepts such as dialogism, polyphony, and carnival. However, formalism, or the concept of strict literary formalism, has often been attacked by individual literary critics or schools of criticism on the. 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. Russian formalism download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. The attempt of this school was to make the study of literature more scientific in nature. 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. The formalist approach regards literature as a very specific unit of human knowledge that has to be examined on its own terms and for its own sake. Most importantly, the literary theory known as structuralism developed as an outgrowth of linguistic theories aiming to. 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. Literary theory and schools of criticism introduction. 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.
Russian formalism, new criticism, neoaristotelianism. It is the study of a text without taking into account any outside influence. Formalism also known as new criticism a basic approach. Click download or read online button to get russian formalism book now. The formalist school of thought refused to naturalize text by attributing it to the state of mind of the author, but instead it focused its critical writing on. Get an answer for what is russian formalism, and what was its effect on literature. Examining formalism in light of more recent developments in literary theory, peter steiner here offers the most comprehensive critique of formalism. His essay art as technique 1917 was one of the central statements of formalist theory.
New formalisms and literary theory will make you think again about both concepts. Russian formalism was a 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. There has been a renewed interest in form among groups like the new formalists. The formalist approach to literature, or formalism, is a broad branch of literary criticism that seeks to examine a text on its own terms, independent of the texts societal or authorial context. A formalist approach 4 the shift from the moral approach to the scientific one is important. 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. However, new critical theories are still sometimes used in secondary and postsecondarylevel instruction in literature and writing tyson 115. Russian formalism, marxism, poetics, socialist realism, science, art. New criticism literary theories a guide libguides at. Formalist theory has dominated the american literary scene for most of the twentieth century, and it has retained its great influence in. It is this feeling of discord that i wish to convey in my first chapter. 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 347 look for symbolic, or some other, significance for the specific items and animals chosen for the. While ordinary language serves the purpose of communication, literary language is selfreflexive, in that it offers readers a special experience by drawing. Formalism was the dominant mode of academic literary study in the united states and united kingdom from the end of the second world war through the 1970s,and particularly the formalism of the new critics, including i. To understand literary history it thus becomes necessary to investigate those neigh. Formalism views literature as a special mode of language and proposes a fundamental opposition between poetic literary language and the practicalordinary language. University of calicut methodology of literature study material. I find this is crucial to analyzing a text because, contrary to the formalist school of theory, literature should not be read in a vacuum. Petersburg later leningrad and led by viktor shklovsky.
Victor shklovskys 1914 essay on futurist poetry, the resurrection of the word marked the beginning of russian formalism. He begins by distinguishing russian formalism from hermeneutics. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Eliot new criticism tradition and the individual talent minda rae amiran new criticism some paradoxes of new criticism 20 in the new criticism. Essay literary theory and queer theory theory differ from formalism and new criticism in the way that they look at both the text and the world in which they were created. It focuses on the importance of close reading a piece of literature, mainly, poetry to understand how it functions as a selfcontained object. First introduced in the early 20 th century in america by john crowe ransom, new criticism was created out of the formalist movement. These questions can be applicable to the analysis of a short story or a novel. A strictly formalist critic would, for example, approach the great gatsby as a structure of words, ignoring the details of fitzgeralds life and the social and historical contexts of the novel. Russian formalism was a literary movement a school of literary criticism that emerged in former soviet union in early phase of 20 th century. Formalism is a school of literary criticism and literary theory having mainly to do with structural. Formalists disagreed about what specific elements make a literary work good or bad. Russian formalism second edition 2005 russian formalism is the name for a group of literary scholars and linguists who between 1916 and 1929, while most were still in their twenties, developed a series of innovative theoretical concepts, claims. What is russian formalism, and what was its effect on.
For a fuller account, consult peter steiner, russian formalism 1984. A readers guide to contemporary literary theory raman selden peter widdowson peter brooker fifth edition a readers guide to contemporary literary theoryis a classic introduction to the everevolving field of modern literary theory, now expanded and updated in. Mikhail bakhtin is best known for his radical philosophy of language, as well as his theory of the novel, underpinned by concepts such as dialogism, polyphony, and carnival. Formalism, innovative 20thcentury russian school of literary criticism. Formalism, also called russian formalism, russian russky formalism, innovative 20thcentury russian school of literary criticism. Introduction to literary theory prestwick house, inc. Literary theory and schools of criticism introduction a very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. Formalism,in the broadest sense, was the dominant mode of academic literary study in the unitedstates and united kingdom from the end of the second world war through the 1970s,and particularly the formalism of the new critics, including, among others, i. A type of literary theory and analysis which originated in moscow and st. Literary criticism is the practice of interpreting and writing about literature as the latter,in turn, strives to make sense of the world. Formalist theory has dominated the american literary scene for most of the twentiethcentury.
Russian formalism challenged the traditional idea of critical literary analysis that art should conceal its literary devices. Formalist literary theory essay sample sample essays. Pdf the presentation explicates the school of theory and analysis which emerged around 1915. The formalist tradition developed in russian literary criticism in. 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. Russian formalism the johns hopkins guide to literary. Opoyaz, an acronym for russian words meaning society for the study of poetic language, founded in 1916 at st. 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. Russian formalism s intense interest in the major questions informing the practice of literary criticism i.
Russian formalism and new criticism 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. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. Introduction to literary theory powerpoint sample pdf. Formalist theory has dominated the american literary scene for. Literary criticism new criticism and russian formalism. Formalism accomplishes this examination by evaluating the formal aspects of a text. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a selfcontained, selfreferential aesthetic object. According to the formalists, the dynamics of literary evolution were driven by the constant interaction between literature and extraneous, nonliterary systems. Formalism is a school of literary criticism and literary theory having mainly to do with structural purposes of a particular text.
Formalist literary theory in america, cambridge 326 pdf cleanth brooks formalism the well wrought urn. Fry engages with the major themes and strands in twentiethcentury literary theory, among them hermeneutics, modes of formalism, semiotics and structuralism, deconstruction, psychoanalytic approaches, marxist and historicist approaches, theories of social identity, neopragmatism and theory. The different schools of literary criticism each make their own case for privileging certain aspects of a text over other characteristics, and some strains of literary theory have withstood the test of time better than others. The formalist approach focuses on the form of the literary text itself. Eikhenbaums dependency on core ideas of marxist and darwinian philosophies of struggle and evolution is explained. 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. An essay by nasrullah mambrol on march 17, 2016 10.
369 916 1406 813 1248 519 446 44 1468 665 290 364 1337 7 1523 51 202 135 403 1129 168 450 1262 1145 1602 1233 664 522 1322 1167 364 1399 1044 864 1116