Russian Formalism

Before Russian Formalism

Before the Russian Revolution in 1917, people read books from a religious perspective

Pushkin wrote “Romantic” poetry

After the Revolution many groups of people started looking at literature as a science

Moscow Linguistic Circle (1915-1924)

Group of writers and poetsFound reoccurring themes in literature and

poetryAesthetics were now a science“The main task of the Circle is a

methodological revolution” Roman Jakobson was the First Chairman of

the MLC

Roman Osipovich Jakobson

Russian linguist and philosopher. Addressed issues of language, art theory and their

relationships. The new Russian poetry , 1921, and on Czech verse,

with particular reference to Russian verse , 1923. In these works, especially in the second, and clearly stated his vision of poetry as a linguistic system dominated by their own specific laws, which always confronts a distinction between significant and insignificant elements, and also the use of these poetic purposes.

The interest will be a constant literary phenomena of the studies of Jakobson, in his Observations on the prose of the poet Pasternak , 1935, said (later re-address these issues in their studies of aphasia) the overall relationship and dialectic between “metaphor “(similarity) and” metonymy “(contiguity), two opposite and complementary guidelines, based on the bipolarity of language itself, and in 1942 took up the poetic verses of Mayakovsky unknown.

Early Life of Jakobson

Born October 11, 1896 in Moscow – July 18, 1982 in Boston.

Was born in Russia to a well off family of Jewish decent.

He became fascinated by language.He studied at the Lazarev Institute of Oriental

Languages and then in the Historical-Philological Faculty of Moscow University.

As a student Jakobson was a leading figure in the Moscow Linguistic Circle and took part in Moscow's active world of avant-garde art and poetry.

Mid-Life

1920 was a year of political upheaval in Russia, and Jakobson relocated to Prague as a member of the Soviet diplomatic mission to continue his doctoral studies.

He immersed himself both into the academic and cultural life of pre-war Czechoslovakia and established close relationships with a number of Czech poets and literary figures.

He also made an impression on Czech academics with his studies of Czech verse.

In 1926, he became one of 4 founders of the "Prague school" of linguistic theory.

 Jakobson's universalizing structural-functional theory of phonology, based on a markedness hierarchy of distinctive features, was the first successful solution of a plane of linguistic analysis according to the Saussurean hypotheses.

This mode of analysis has been since applied to the plane of Saussurean sense by his protégé Michael Silverstein in a series of foundational articles in functionalist linguistic typology.

WWII

Jakobson and his wife fled many times to evade the war.They were smuggled underground in coffins and dressed

up as peasants by the Norwegian.Jakobson made it to New York where he worked in a

hospital continually conducting his works.He then moved to Harvard where he stayed until

retirement.In his last decade he maintained an office at

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was an honorary Professor Emeritus.

In the early 1960s Jakobson shifted his emphasis to a more comprehensive view of language and began writing about communication sciences as a whole.

Works

Jakobson had three principle ideas in linguistics.

linguistic typologymarkednessand linguistic universalsThe three concepts are closely intertwined.Typology – The classification of languages in terms of shared

grammatical features (as opposed to shared origin).Markedness – (Very roughly) a study of how certain forms of

grammatical organization are more "natural" than others.Linguistic – Universals is the study of the general features of

languages in the world.

Jakobsons Main Function of Communications

Jakobson distinguishes six communication functions, each associated with a dimension of the communication process:

  Functions Referential – Contextual information Aesthetic – Auto-Reflection Emotive – Self expression Conative – Vocative or imperative

addressing of receiver Phatic – Checking channel working Metalingual – Checking code working One of the six functions is always the

dominant function in a text and usually related to the type of text.

For example: In poetry, the dominant function is the poetic function: the focus is on the message itself.

Mikhail Bakhtin Full Name: Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin Born in: Orel, south of Moscow Born: November 17th, 1895 Died: March 7th, 1975. At the age of 80 Grew up in Vilnius and Odesa, these were cosmopolitan towns that offered;

usually heterogeneous mix of disparate languages and cultures. He later moved to Nevel and then Vitebsk in the wake of the revolutions (1917).

Studied:Philology in St.Petersburg University. Was in association with other intellectuals which was called the "Bakhtin

circle". Valentin Voloshinov and Pavel Medvedev were also apart of this circle. In the "Bakhtin circle" they shared a variety of interests such as; German philosophy and the new physics of Planck, Einstein, and Bohr.

He completed several works on ethics and aesthetics, which among them "Toward a Philosophy of the Act" which was published long after his death.

From 1924-2929 he lived in Leningrad along with his wife Elena Alexandrovna. While living here he was unemployed due to suspicions from religious activities and a bone disease. His right leg was amputated in 1938 due to the bone disease.

During the late 1920's Bakhtin wrote; "Problems of Dostoevskys art" (Published 1929). He may or may not have written other books which were published such as; "Voloshinovs Freudianism: A critical Sketch and Marxism and the Philosophy of Language".

His interests in his early years shaped his thinking throughout his career. Experiences in Vilnius and Odessa exposed him to a rich and complex mix of different languages, groups, cultures and classes.

He would often publish his works under his friends names due to the fact of Stalinist censorship. His works were an attack on a formalist view of history.

Bakhtin Circle

Was a 20th century school of Russian thought.

(1895-1975)Members of the group focused on the

questions of significance in social life in general and artistic creation; the way which language registered the conflicts between social groups.

Bakhtin’s Works

Bakhtin wants to use the author-hero model which is; “As a reciprocal principle within society and as a model of relations in literary composition. In the first model authors and heroes change their roles constantly, the unique perspective of each subject allows the objectification of others except oneself, who is objectified by others”.

Bahktin's approach to language only really begins to show through the Voloshinov's 1926 essay. The Voloshinov's essay has been seen by many as the earliest example of pagmatics. This essay was the first work of the circle to be presented as an eplicity Maxist text. In the essay the author defines aesthetics as a certain form of social interaction “Completion by the creation of the artistic work and by its continual rereations in cocreative perception and it does not require and other objectificatons”.

Wanted to attempt a fusion of Marxism and Freudism

Toward A Philosophy of Act (1986)

Published in the USSR in 1986 In the essay he stated 3 claims of being;

I both actively and passively participate in Being. My uniqueness is given but it simultaneously exists only to the

degree to which I actualize this uniqueness (in other words, it is in the performed act and deed that has yet to be achieved).

Because I am actual and irreplaceable I must actualize my uniqueness.

Bakhtin also suggests that the psyche is made of three parts ;

I-For-Myself I-Four-The-Other Other-For-Me

Victor Borisovich Shklovsky

January 24, 1893 (Saint-Petersburg) – December 6, 1984 (Moscow)

Great Influence on Russian Literature in the 1920’s

Created the Society of Poetic Language in 1914

Also a member of the Moscow Linguistic Circle

Literature has a large amount of literary devices

Creator of ostranie, which means “make strange”

Russian Formalism

Use of Literary DevicesDefamiliarization Story vs. Plot

Literary Devices

Russian Formalist’s found a large amount literary devices in literature

Alliteration: Sally the Slow Sloth Allusion: Mentioning a past work without

really mentioning it The Formalists thought that literary devices

were part of the “science” in literature and writing.

Notice Something?

Russian Formalism

Due to all of the literary devices that are being used in the work, it make’s it harder for the reader to actually understand what the author is writing. It will also cause the reader to have a different perception of the work.

Russian Formalists referred to this as literariness, because of all the literary devices in the work.

This literariness also causes defamiliarization...

Defamiliarization

Shklovsky’s theory was that we are to see the world as automatic as possible

To defamiliarize, is to make that automatic world, rough.

Side effects include : “Huh?” “Wtf?” “Oh I thought that was a _______!”

Black Beauty

7:55- 11:00

Black Beauty

Why is it defamiliarization?

Ballet

ACTIVITY ONE

Symbols

Russian Formalism

Automatic World To change the Automatic World we will have

to defamiliarize Automatic World Examples : Black Beauty: Just A book with people talking Ballet: Just dancing Music: Just notes on a page Symbols: Just pictures with no meaning

Story vs. Plot

The Russian Formalist’s put the difference between the Story and the Plot

Story: is what the text is about Plot: is how the text is constructed Literary devices are found in the story

Lindsey Decides to Write a Story

Plot Characters: Bear Fox Whale

Scene: In a forest by the ocean Plot: Bear looses hat Go on a quest to find it They find the whale wearing it Bear get’s his hat back

The HatBy: Lindsey

One day, on the West Coast of Canada, lived a bear. He was the tallest bear in all the forest and had fur as black as night. His name was “Bear.” Bear’s best friend was a fox, they were an odd couple but they went hunting together and had many inside jokes. Bear walked over to Fox’s den and knocked at the door. Fox came out and winced at the sun creeping through the trees. “Fox, have you seen my hat?” asked Bear. “No,” said Fox. “Did you have it when you went to bed?” “I can’t remember.” “Let’s go check, maybe the wind took it somewhere,” said Fox. The two friends went and looked all around Bear’s cave, but could not find it. They couldn’t understand how the hat was gone. Bear thought he had it when he was fishing, so they decided to go look on the beach. Bear and Fox couldn’t find it on the rocky beach. Bear was sad, because that was his favourite hat, and the sun would make his head hot if he didn't have it on. “Look out there!” yelled Fox. “It’s my hat!”

The Hat

Just then, a big black and white face came out of the water, he had white ovals by his eyes, and his bottom jaw was all white. It was an Orca whale and had a very big dorsal fin. “But this is my hat,” said the whale. “Look inside of it,” said Bear. “It has my name on the inside!” The whale dipped his head in the water which caused the hat to tip. When the whale resurfaced he could see Bear’s name written on the inside of the hat. “I’m sorry for taking your hat, would you like to swim out here and take it? I cannot go to close to the beach or I will be stuck.” “Will you eat me?” asked Bear. The whale shook his head and watched as Bear walked into the water and started swimming towards the hat. When he got to the hat he put it in his mouth and flipped it on his head. It was cool because of the water, but it felt nice. “Thank you for keeping it safe!” said Bear. The whale waited until Bear had reached the shore before swimming away. Bear was happy that he had his hat back, and the two best friends walked back into the forest for another adventure.

USE YOUR SKILLS

Literary Devices: “fur as black as night”, “creeping through the trees”

Defamiliarization: Animals don’t talk, and they don’t wear hats

Story vs Plot: Used the Plot to write the story

ACTIVITY TWO

The Death of Russian Formalism