Russian-alism.ppt

RussianFormalism Formalisminthebroadestsensereferstoatypeofcriticismthatemphasizesthe form ofatextratherthanitscontent Formalistcriticsalsotendtoavoiddiscussionofanyelementsdeemedexternaltothetextitself history politics biography Morenarrowly FormalismreferstothecriticsandtheoristsworkinginRussia actually theSovietUnion inthe1910sand1920s MajorfiguresincludeVictorShklovsky BorisEichenbaum VladimirPropp MorphologyoftheFolktale YuriTynianov OnLiteraryEvolution andRomanJakobson LinguisticsandPoetics andJanMukarovsky RussianFormalistsemphasizedthe literariness ofartistictexts whichtheyfoundinthelinguisticandstructuralfeaturesofliterature asopposedtoitssubjectmatter Forexample VictorShklovsky inhisfamousessay ArtasTechnique offershisnotionofdefamiliarizationasthedefiningfeatureofliterarytexts Arttakesthatwhichisfamiliarand makesitstrange slowingdowntheactofperceptionandmakingthereaderseetheworldinnewways TheFormalistsalsointroducedthedistinctionbetweenwhattheycalled story and plot TheFormalists understandablyenough oftenemphasizedthosetextsthathadcomplexandsophisticatedplotsandlanguage featuresthatshowtheir literariness TristramShandy RussianformalismexertedamajorinfluenceonthinkerssuchasMikhailBakhtinandYuriLotman andonstructuralismasawhole Themovement smembersarewidelyconsideredthefoundersofmodernliterarycriticism UnderStalinitbecameapejorativetermforelitistart Russianformalismwasadiversemovement producingnounifieddoctrine andnoconsensusamongstitsproponentsonacentralaimtotheirendeavours Infact Russianformalism describestwodistinctmovements theOPOJAZ SocietyfortheStudyofPoeticLanguage inSt PetersburgandtheLinguisticCircleinMoscow Therefore itismoreprecisetorefertothe RussianFormalists ratherthantousethemoreencompassingandabstracttermof Formalism ImportantideasRussianformalismisdistinctiveforitsemphasisonthefunctionalroleofliterarydevicesanditsoriginalconceptionofliteraryhistory RussianFormalistsadvocateda scientific positivisticmethodforstudyingpoeticlanguage totheexclusionoftraditionalpsychologicalandcultural historicalapproaches TwogeneralprinciplesunderlietheFormaliststudyofliterature First theliteraryfeaturesthatdistinguishitfromotherhumanactivitiesmustconstitutetheobjectofinquiryofliterarytheory second literaryfacts havetobeprioritizedoverthemetaphysicalcommitmentsofliterarycriticism whetherphilosophical aestheticorpsychological Toachievetheseobjectivesseveralmodelsweredeveloped Theirmainendeavourconsistedindefiningasetofpropertiesspecifictopoeticlanguage beitpoetryorprose recognisablebytheir artfulness andconsequentlyanalysingthemassuch MechanisticFormalismTheOPOJAZ theSocietyfortheStudyofPoeticLanguage groupheadedbyViktorShklovskywasprimarilyconcernedwiththeFormalmethodandfocusedontechniqueanddevice Literaryworks accordingtothismodel resemblemachines theyaretheresultofanintentionalhumanactivityinwhicha specificskilltransformsrawmaterialintoacomplexmechanismsuitableforaparticularpurpose Thisapproachstripstheliteraryartifactfromitsconnectionwiththeauthor reader andhistoricalbackground AclearillustrationofthismaybeprovidedbythemainargumentofoneofViktorShklovsky searlytexts ArtasTechnique artisasumofliteraryandartisticdevicesthattheartistmanipulatestocrafthiswork Shklovsky smainobjectivein ArtasTechnique istodisputetheconceptionofliteratureandliterarycriticismcommoninRussiaatthattime Itisgenerallyagreedthatliteraturewasconsidered ontheonehand tobeasocialorpoliticalproduct wherebyitwastheninterpretedasanintegralpartofsocialandpoliticalhistory Ontheotherhand literaturewasconsideredtobethepersonalexpressionofanauthor sworldvision expressedbymeansofimagesand symbols Inbothcases literatureisevaluatedonabroadsocio politicaloravaguepsychologico impressionisticbackground TheaimofShklovskyisthereforetoisolateanddefinesomethingspecifictoliterature or poeticlanguage these aswesaw arethedeviceswhichmakeupthe artfulness ofliterature Formalistsdonotagreewithoneanotheronexactlywhata device is norhowthesedevicesareusedorhowtheyaretobeanalyzedinagiventext Thecentralidea however ismoregeneral poeticlanguagepossessesspecificproperties whichcanbeanalyzedassuch SomeOPOJAZmembersarguedthatpoeticlanguagewasthemajorartisticdevice Shklovskyinsistedthatnotallartistictextsde familiarizelanguage someofthemachievedefamiliarizationbymanipulatingcompositionandnarrative OrganicFormalismDisappointedbytheconstraintsofthemechanisticmethodsomeRussianFormalistsadoptedtheorganicmodel Theyutilizedthesimilaritybetweenorganicbodiesandliteraryphenomenaintwodifferentways asitappliedtoindividualworksandtoliterarygenres Anartifact likeabiologicalorganism isnotanunstructuredwhole itspartsarehierarchicallyintegrated Hencethedefinitionofthedevicehasbeenextendedtoitsfunctionintext Sincethebinaryopposition materialvs device cannotaccountfortheorganicunityofthework Zhirmunskyaugmenteditin1919withathirdterm theteleologicalconceptofstyleastheunityofdevices Steiner RussianFormalism 19 Theanalogybetweenbiologyandliterarytheoryprovidedtheframeofreferenceforgenrecriticism Justaseachindividualorganismsharescertainfeatureswithotherorganismsofitstype andspeciesthatresembleeachotherbelongtothesamegenus theindividualworkissimilartootherworksofitsformandhomologousliteraryformsbelongtothesamegenre Steiner RussianFormalism 19 Themostwidelyknownworkcarriedoutinthis traditionisVladimirPropp sMorphologyoftheFolktale 1928 Havingshiftedthefocusofstudyfromanisolatedtechniquetoahierarchicallystructuredwhole theorganicFormalistsovercamethemainshortcomingofthemechanists Still bothgroupsfailedtoaccountfortheliterarychangeswhichaffectnotonlydevicesandtheirfunctionsbutgenresaswell SystemicFormalismThediachronicdimensionwasincorporatedintotheworkofthesystemicFormalists Themainproponentofthe systemo functional modelwasYuryTynyanov Inlightofhisconceptofliteraryevolutionasastruggleamongcompetingelements themethodofparody thedialecticplayofdevices becomesanimportantvehicleofchange Steiner RussianFormalism 21 Sinceliteratureconstitutespartoftheoverallculturalsystem theliterarydialecticparticipatesinculturalevolution Assuch itinteractswithotherhumanactivities forinstance linguisticcommunication Thecommunicativedomainenrichesliteraturewithnewconstructiveprinciples Inresponsetotheseextra literaryfactorstheself regulatingliterarysystemiscompelledtorejuvenateitselfconstantly Eventhough thesystemicFormalistsincorporatedthesocialdimensionintoliterarytheoryandacknowledgedtheanalogybetweenlanguageandliteraturethefiguresofauthorandreaderwerepushedtothemarginsofthisparadigm LinguisticFormalismThefiguresofauthorandreaderwerelikewisedownplayedbythelinguisticFormalists e g LevJakubinsky RomanJakobson Theadherentsofthismodelplacedpoeticlanguageatthecentreoftheirinquiry AsWarnerremarks Jakobsonmakesitclearthatherejectscompletelyanynotionofemotionasthetouchstoneofliterature ForJakobson the emotionalqualitiesofaliteraryworkaresecondarytoanddependentonpurelyverbal linguisticfacts 71 ThetheoreticiansofOPOJAZdistinguishedbetweenpracticalandpoeticlanguage Practicallanguageisusedinday to daycommunicationtoconveyinformation In poeticlanguage accordingtoLevJakubinsky thepracticalgoalretreatsintobackgroundandlinguisticcombinationsacquireavalueinthemselves Whenthishappenslanguagebecomesde familiarizedandutterancesbecomepoetic Steiner RussianFormalism 22 TheFormalistmovementattemptedtodiscriminatesystematicallybetweenartandnon art Thereforeitsnotionsareorganizedintermsofpolaroppositions OneofthemostfamousdichotomiesintroducedbythemechanisticFormalistsisadistinctionbetweenstoryandplot Storyisachronologicalsequenceofevents whereasplotcanunfoldinnon chronologicalorder Theeventscanbeartisticallyarrangedbymeansofsuchdevicesasrepetition parallelism gradation andretardation Themechanisticmethodologyreducedliteraturetoavariationandcombinationoftechniquesanddevicesdevoidofatemporal psychological orphilosophicalelement LinguisticFormalismTheadherentsofthelinguisticFormalists e g RomanJakobson placedpoeticlanguageatthecentreoftheirinquiry Jakobsonmakesitclearthatherejectscompletelyanynotionofemotionasthetouchstoneofliterature ForJakobson theemotionalqualitiesofaliteraryworkaresecondarytoanddependentonpurelyverbal linguisticfacts Thisestrangementservesliteraturebyforcingthereadertothinkaboutwhatmighthavebeenanordinarypieceofwritingaboutacommonlifeexperienceinamorethoughtfulway Apieceofwritinginanovelversusapieceofwritinginafishingmagazine Attheveryleast literatureshouldencouragereaderstostopandlookcloseratscenesandhappeningstheyotherwisemighthaveskimmedthroughuncaring Thereaderisnotmeanttobeabletoskimthroughliterature Whenaddressedinalanguageofestrangement speechcannotbeskimmedthrough Intheroutinesofeverydayspeech ourperceptionsofandresponsestorealitybecomestale blunted andastheFormalistswouldsay automatized Literaturebyforcingusintoadramaticawarenessoflanguage refreshesthesehabitualresponsesandrendersobjectsmoreperceptible Eagleton WhatIsLiterature ThetheoreticiansofOPOJAZdistinguishedbetweenpracticalandpoeticlanguage Practicallanguageisusedinday to daycommunicationtoconveyinformation Inpoeticlanguagethepracticalgoalretreatsintobackgroundandlinguisticcombinationsacquireavalueinthemselves Whenthishappenslanguagebecomesde familiarizedandutterancesbecomepoetic Steiner RussianFormalism 22 SoundPatternsinPoetryRussianFormalistswerethefirsttostudythefunctionofsoundpatternsinpoetrysystematicallyandobjectively IntheirfirstcollectiveworkAnthologiesontheTheoryofPoeticLanguage 1916 the contributors Shklovsky Jakubinsky Polivanov andKushner assignedsoundacentralroleinpoeticspeech Inaddition theyarguedthatinpoetry wordsareselectedonthebasisoftheirsound nottheirlexicalmeaning Thislineofcriticismdetachedpoeticlanguagefrompracticallanguage LinguisticAnalysisoftheTextIn APostscripttotheDiscussiononGrammarofPoetry Jakobsonredefinespoeticsas thelinguisticscrutinyofthepoeticfunctionwithinthecontextofverbalmessagesingeneral andwithinpoetryinparticular 2