Explore Russian Formalism in English Literature: key concepts, major theorists like Viktor Shklovsky and Roman Jakobson, important works, and literary theory MCQs. Perfect for UGC NET and literature students.
📚 Russian Formalism in English Literature
🔹 What is Russian Formalism?
Russian Formalism was a major literary movement that began in Russia in the 1910s and 1920s, primarily focused on the form and technique of literary texts. It broke away from traditional criticism that emphasized author biography or social context and instead asked:
"What makes a text literary?"
✍️ Key Features of Russian Formalism:
-
Literariness:
The central idea is literariness—what makes a work of writing a work of literature, as opposed to ordinary communication. -
Defamiliarization (Ostranenie):
Introduced by Viktor Shklovsky, it refers to the technique of making the familiar appear strange or new through the use of language. -
Form Over Content:
Focus was on how something is written (form, structure, language), not what is written (theme or message). -
Language as a Device:
Literary language is seen as constructed, self-aware, and structured differently than everyday language. -
Autonomy of Literature:
Literature should be studied as a distinct and independent system—not tied to psychology, history, or ideology.
🧠 Key Russian Formalists:
-
Viktor Shklovsky – concept of defamiliarization
-
Roman Jakobson – emphasized language and poetic function
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Boris Eikhenbaum – historical development of literary devices
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Yuri Tynianov – literary evolution as a dynamic system
📖 Influence on English Literature Studies:
-
Helped shape New Criticism and Structuralism
-
Promoted close reading and technical analysis
-
Influenced later theorists like Roland Barthes and Tzvetan Todorov
📌
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📘 MCQs on Russian Formalism
1. Who introduced the concept of “Defamiliarization” in literary theory?
A) Roman Jakobson
B) Viktor Shklovsky
C) Boris Eikhenbaum
D) Osip Brik
✅ Answer: B) Viktor Shklovsky
2. What is the main concern of Russian Formalism?
A) Author's biography
B) Historical background
C) Form and technique of literature
D) Reader's emotional response
✅ Answer: C) Form and technique of literature
3. Which essay by Shklovsky introduced the idea of ‘Art as Device’?
A) Theory of Prose
B) On Realism in Art
C) Art as Technique
D) Poetics and Linguistics
✅ Answer: C) Art as Technique
4. “Literariness” is a key concept in Russian Formalism. It refers to:
A) The biography of the author
B) The history of the text
C) The quality that makes a text literary
D) The message of the text
✅ Answer: C) The quality that makes a text literary
5. Roman Jakobson's theory influenced the development of:
A) Romanticism
B) Psychoanalytic Criticism
C) Structuralism
D) Postcolonialism
✅ Answer: C) Structuralism
6. What does “Defamiliarization” aim to do?
A) Simplify the language
B) Make the familiar unfamiliar
C) Focus on character development
D) Avoid poetic devices
✅ Answer: B) Make the familiar unfamiliar
7. Which of the following was NOT a Russian Formalist?
A) Viktor Shklovsky
B) Roman Jakobson
C) Boris Eikhenbaum
D) Roland Barthes
✅ Answer: D) Roland Barthes
8. What is the Russian term for “Defamiliarization”?
A) Literaturnost
B) Ostranenie
C) Poetik
D) Znachenie
✅ Answer: B) Ostranenie
9. The formalists believed that literary language is:
A) Transparent and direct
B) Same as everyday speech
C) Constructed and self-referential
D) Irrelevant to meaning
✅ Answer: C) Constructed and self-referential
10. “Theory of Prose” is written by:
A) Jakobson
B) Tynianov
C) Shklovsky
D) Brik
✅ Answer: C) Shklovsky
11. The Formalists focused on:
A) Ideological critique
B) Economic conditions
C) Devices and functions in literature
D) Religious symbolism
✅ Answer: C) Devices and functions in literature
12. Russian Formalism laid the foundation for:
A) Reader-response theory
B) Feminist criticism
C) New Criticism
D) Ecocriticism
✅ Answer: C) New Criticism
13. Which term refers to the literariness of a text?
A) Fabula
B) Syuzhet
C) Literaturnost
D) Mythos
✅ Answer: C) Literaturnost
14. Jakobson’s major contribution to literary theory was in:
A) Narrative technique
B) Syntax and semantics
C) Poetic function of language
D) Cultural history
✅ Answer: C) Poetic function of language
15. Who among the following connected literature and linguistics systematically?
A) Sigmund Freud
B) Roman Jakobson
C) Georg Lukács
D) T.S. Eliot
✅ Answer: B) Roman Jakobson
PYQS
Q.1 Arrange the following terms in the chronological order of emergence:A. Heresy of Paraphrase B. Stream of Consciousness
C. Practical Criticism D. Defamiliarization
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
1. D, B, C, A 2. B, D, A, C
3. B, D, C, A 4. D, C, B, A
Answer: 3
Q2 Which two terms among the following are associated with formalist criticism?
A. aura B. actant
C. narratee D. defamiliarization
E. foregrounding
Choose the correct answer from the options given below.
1. A and Conly 2. B and D only
3. B and Conly 4. D and E only
Answer: 4
Q.3 Which two terms among the following are associated with formalist criticism?
B. actant
C. narratee
D. defamiliarization
E. foregrounding
Choose the correct answer from the options given below.
1. A and C only
2. B and D only
3. B and C only
4. D and E only
Answer: 4
Q.4 Arrange the following terms in the chronological order of emergence:
A. Heresy of Paraphrase
B. Stream of Consciousness
C. Practical Criticism
D. Defamiliarization
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
1. D, B, C, A
2. B, D, A, C
3. B, D, C, A
4. D, C, B, A
Answer: 3
5. Victor Shklovsky’s name is associated with
(A) Post-modernism (B) New Historicism
(C) Reader Response Theory (D) Russian Formalism
Answer: - D
