Formalism in Literature

Formalism is a school of literary criticism and theory focused on the structural purposes of a text. It emphasizes the study of the text itself, without considering external factors such as cultural influences, authorship, or societal context. The primary focus of formalism is on modes, genres, discourse, and forms.

Key Concepts in Formalism

• Structural Analysis: Formalism centers on analyzing the inherent features of a text, including its grammar, syntax, meter, and tropes.
• Rejection of External Influences: It brackets notions of culture, society, and authorship, focusing solely on the text.
• Focus on Form: The form of a literary work is as significant as its content, with the form contributing to the overall message and meaning.

Historical Context and Development

• Rise Against Romanticism: Formalism gained prominence in the early 20th century as a reaction against Romanticism, which emphasized individual creativity and the artist.
• Russian Formalism and New Criticism: Two major movements within formalism were Russian formalism and Anglo-American New Criticism.
  • Russian Formalism began with the Society for the Study of Poetic Language (OPOYAZ) in 1916, associated with figures like Boris Eichenbaum, Viktor Shklovsky, and Yury Tynyanov.
  • Anglo-American New Criticism focused on the text and its intrinsic elements, sidelining historical context.

Pedagogical Implications

• Teaching Composition: Critics like William H. Thelin have analyzed teaching methods that integrate traditional composition with political discourse.
• Text as Autonomous: Mary Ann Cain argues that texts stand alone as complete entities, independent of the writer, and that writing should be taught as a natural act.

Russian Formalism

• Key Concepts:
  • Defamiliarization: Proposed by Viktor Shklovsky, this concept describes how literary language presents the world in new and strange ways, allowing readers to see familiar things differently.
  • Plot vs. Story: Distinguishing between the sequence of events (story) and the way they are presented (plot).
• Criticism and Decline: Russian formalism faced criticism post-Russian Revolution and was politically suppressed, but its ideas survived and influenced later thinkers.

The Prague Circle and Structuralism

• Influence on Linguistics: The Prague Linguistic Circle, influenced by Roman Jakobson and others, integrated formalism with developments in linguistics.
• Structuralism: Building on formalism, structuralism emerged to further explore how texts function as systems of signs within a larger cultural context.

Further Study

• Influential Figures: Notably, theorists like René Wellek and Austin Warren were pivotal in the development of formalism in literature.
• Critiques and Evolution: Over time, formalism has been critiqued for neglecting the socio-political aspects of literature, but recent academic trends show a resurgence of interest in its methodologies.

Related Concepts

• New Criticism: A form of Anglo-American formalism focusing on the text itself.
• Structuralism: An extension of formalism into cultural and linguistic systems.

References

• Formalism and its critiques have been widely discussed, with foundational texts by Viktor Shklovsky and René Wellek among others.
• Further reading includes works by notable critics and historians, such as Lee T. Lemon, Marion J. Reis, and Tzvetan Todorov.

These notes provide an overview of formalism in literary studies, highlighting its key principles, historical development, and pedagogical impact.