Formalism – Complete Study Material

Introduction

Formalism is one of the most important approaches in modern literary theory. It focuses primarily on the literary text itself—its language, structure, form, style, imagery, sound, narrative techniques, and other artistic devices.

Formalists argue that literature should be studied as a form of art rather than primarily through the author's biography, historical background, political circumstances, or personal intentions.

What is Formalism?

Formalism is a school of literary criticism that emphasizes the form and techniques of a literary work.

The central question is:

What makes a literary work literary?

Formalists attempt to answer this by examining the special use of language and artistic techniques in literature.

Instead of asking:

What was the author's personal life?
What historical event influenced the author?
What did the author intend?

a Formalist critic asks:

How is the text constructed?
What literary devices does it use?
How does its language differ from ordinary language?
How do its different elements work together?

Russian Formalism

The term Formalism is most closely associated with Russian Formalism, a movement that developed in Russia during the early twentieth century.

It became particularly influential during the period around 1910–1930.

Two important organizations associated with Russian Formalism were:

1. Moscow Linguistic Circle

Founded in 1915, it was concerned with linguistics and the scientific study of language.

2. OPOYAZ

OPOYAZ was an abbreviation associated with the Society for the Study of Poetic Language.

It became an important centre of Russian Formalist thought.

Major Russian Formalists

Important names associated with Russian Formalism include:

Viktor Shklovsky
Roman Jakobson
Boris Eichenbaum
Yuri Tynianov
Boris Tomashevsky
Osip Brik
Vladimir Propp

Among these, Viktor Shklovsky and Roman Jakobson are especially important for examination purposes.

Major Features of Formalism

1. Focus on the Text

Formalism concentrates on the literary work itself.

The text is treated as an independent object of study.

2. Literary Devices

Formalists examine the techniques that make a literary work artistic.

These may include:

Metaphor
Simile
Irony
Repetition
Rhythm
Rhyme
Imagery
Symbolism
Narrative structure
Point of view
Sound patterns

3. Literariness

One of the central concepts of Formalism is literariness.

Literariness refers to the qualities or techniques that distinguish literary language from ordinary everyday language.

The Formalists wanted to identify the features that make a text specifically literary.

4. Defamiliarization

Defamiliarization is one of the most famous concepts associated with Russian Formalism.

The Russian term is ostranenie, commonly translated as defamiliarization or making strange.

The concept is strongly associated with Viktor Shklovsky.

According to Shklovsky, ordinary experiences can become automatic because we encounter them repeatedly.

Art interrupts this automatic perception by presenting familiar things in unfamiliar or unusual ways.

Simple Example

Suppose a writer describes an ordinary tree in an extremely unusual manner, forcing the reader to look at the tree as though seeing it for the first time.

This is defamiliarization.

Purpose

Defamiliarization:

Slows down perception
Makes ordinary things seem new
Draws attention to artistic language
Prevents automatic reading
Refreshes the reader's experience

5. Art as Technique

Viktor Shklovsky's famous essay “Art as Technique” is a key text in Russian Formalism.

He argues that artistic techniques make perception more difficult and therefore more noticeable.

Art does not simply communicate information. It changes how we perceive things.

6. Form and Function

Formalists pay attention to how different elements of a literary work function together.

They study:

Plot
Narrative
Character
Style
Sound
Rhythm
Repetition
Imagery
Structure

The importance of an element depends partly on its function within the whole work.

Fabula and Syuzhet

This distinction is particularly important in Formalist narrative theory.

Fabula

Fabula refers broadly to the chronological sequence of events in a story—the underlying story material.

Syuzhet

Syuzhet refers to the way those events are actually arranged and presented in the literary work.

Example

Imagine a novel begins with a murder, then moves backward to explain what happened.

The chronological sequence of events is the fabula.

The order in which the novelist presents those events is the syuzhet.

Quick Revision

Fabula → What happened / chronological story

Syuzhet → How the story is presented

7. Plot and Story

Formalists distinguish between the underlying events of a narrative and the artistic arrangement of those events.

The writer can:

Rearrange events
Delay information
Use flashbacks
Use foreshadowing
Repeat events
Change perspectives

These techniques affect the reader's experience.

8. Motivation

Formalists were interested in why particular literary devices and narrative elements are included.

An element may have a particular function within the structure of a work.

This is sometimes discussed through the concept of motivation.

9. Dominant

The concept of the dominant is associated particularly with Roman Jakobson.

The dominant is the central or organizing feature that gives a literary work its particular character.

Different elements may exist in a work, but one element can become dominant and organize the others.

10. Poetry and Sound

Formalists paid considerable attention to the material qualities of language.

In poetry, critics may examine:

Rhythm
Rhyme
Alliteration
Assonance
Repetition
Sound patterns
Syntax
Word choice

Thus, meaning is not separated from the way language is artistically organized.

11. Poetic Language

Formalists distinguish between ordinary practical language and poetic language.

Poetic language attracts attention to itself.

It may use:

Unusual syntax
Repetition
Sound patterns
Metaphor
Rhythm
Ambiguity
Defamiliarization

The reader becomes conscious of the language itself.

12. Evolution of Literary Forms

Russian Formalists also studied how literary forms develop and change.

They were interested in:

Literary conventions
Genres
Narrative techniques
Historical changes in literary forms
The relationship between old and new techniques

Formalism therefore was not simply a mechanical study of isolated literary devices.

Viktor Shklovsky

Viktor Shklovsky (1893–1984) was one of the most important Russian Formalists.

Important Concepts

Defamiliarization
Art as technique
Literariness
Artistic perception

Important Work

Art as Technique (1917)

Shklovsky argued that art renews perception by making familiar things unfamiliar.

Exam Point

Viktor Shklovsky → Defamiliarization

Roman Jakobson

Roman Jakobson (1896–1982) was a major linguist and literary theorist associated with Russian Formalism and later developments in structuralism.

He contributed to the study of:

Poetic language
Linguistics
Literary functions
The dominant

Jakobson's work helped establish a close relationship between linguistics and literary analysis.

Exam Point

Roman Jakobson → Linguistics + Poetics + Dominant

Boris Eichenbaum

Boris Eichenbaum was an important Russian Formalist critic.

He contributed to the development and explanation of Formalist methodology.

He emphasized the importance of studying literary techniques systematically.

Yuri Tynianov

Yuri Tynianov studied literature as a system in which literary elements interact with one another.

He was particularly interested in:

Literary evolution
Literary systems
Literary history
Relationship between literary elements

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp is associated with Russian Formalism and the structural study of narrative.

His important work is:

Morphology of the Folktale (1928)

Propp analysed Russian folktales and identified recurring narrative functions and character roles.

His work later became highly influential in structuralist narrative studies.

Important Books and Essays

Author	Important Work	Key Association
Viktor Shklovsky	Art as Technique	Defamiliarization
Viktor Shklovsky	Theory of Prose	Narrative technique
Roman Jakobson	Essays on poetics	Poetic language
Vladimir Propp	Morphology of the Folktale	Narrative functions
Boris Eichenbaum	The Theory of the Formal Method	Formalist methodology
Yuri Tynianov	The Problem of Verse Language	Poetic language

Formalism and the Author

Formalism generally moves away from the author's biography as the primary method of interpretation.

The important question is not simply:

“What did the author experience?”

Instead, the Formalist asks:

“How does the text produce its literary effect?”

Formalism and Historical Context

Formalism does not make historical information the central basis of interpretation.

Its main concern is the internal organization and literary techniques of the text.

However, Russian Formalism eventually developed more complex ideas about literary evolution and the relationship between literary systems and historical change.

Formalism vs Traditional Criticism

Traditional Biographical Approach	Formalist Approach
Author's life	Literary text
Author's intention	Literary techniques
Historical background	Form and structure
Personal experience	Language
Biography	Devices
Social context	Literariness

Formalism vs New Criticism

Formalism and New Criticism are related because both emphasize the literary text, but they are not identical.

Formalism

Associated particularly with Russian Formalists.

Focuses on:

Literariness
Defamiliarization
Devices
Poetic language
Narrative technique
Literary evolution

New Criticism

Developed primarily in the Anglo-American context.

Focuses on:

Close reading
Organic unity
Paradox
Irony
Ambiguity
Tension

Easy Exam Tip

Russian Formalism → Shklovsky → Defamiliarization

New Criticism → Cleanth Brooks → Paradox / Close Reading

Limitations of Formalism

Formalism has been criticized for placing too much emphasis on the internal features of literary texts.

Critics argue that literature can also be understood through:

History
Society
Politics
Culture
Gender
Class
Race
Psychology
Authorial context

Another criticism is that concentrating heavily on form may underplay the social and ideological dimensions of literature.

Nevertheless, Formalism played a major role in making literary studies more systematic and contributed significantly to later approaches such as Structuralism.

Importance of Formalism

Formalism made several important contributions to literary studies:

It established systematic methods of textual analysis.
It emphasized the importance of literary form.
It introduced the concept of literariness.
It developed the influential concept of defamiliarization.
It encouraged close attention to language and technique.
It contributed to modern theories of narrative.
It influenced Structuralism and later literary theories.

Formalism – Important Terms

Literariness

The qualities that make a text literary.

Defamiliarization

Making familiar things appear strange or unfamiliar.

Ostranenie

The Russian term associated with defamiliarization.

Fabula

The chronological sequence of story events.

Syuzhet

The arrangement and presentation of those events in the text.

Poetic Language

Language that draws attention to its artistic form and technique.

Dominant

The organizing feature that gives a work its particular character.

Literary Device

A technique used to create a particular artistic effect.

Important One-Liners for UGC NET

Russian Formalism → Early twentieth-century Russian literary movement.
Viktor Shklovsky → Defamiliarization.
Ostranenie → Defamiliarization / making strange.
Roman Jakobson → Poetics and linguistics.
Vladimir Propp → Morphology of the Folktale.
Fabula → Chronological story.
Syuzhet → Arrangement of the story.
Literariness → What makes a work literary.
Art as Technique → Viktor Shklovsky.
Dominant → Roman Jakobson.
OPOYAZ → Society for the Study of Poetic Language.
Moscow Linguistic Circle → Important centre of Russian Formalism.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is most closely associated with the concept of defamiliarization?

A. Jacques Derrida
B. Viktor Shklovsky
C. Terry Eagleton
D. Roland Barthes

Answer: B. Viktor Shklovsky

2. What is the Russian term associated with defamiliarization?

A. Langue
B. Parole
C. Ostranenie
D. Différance

Answer: C. Ostranenie

3. Who wrote Art as Technique?

A. Roman Jakobson
B. Viktor Shklovsky
C. Vladimir Propp
D. Boris Eichenbaum

Answer: B. Viktor Shklovsky

4. Morphology of the Folktale was written by:

A. Vladimir Propp
B. Viktor Shklovsky
C. Roman Jakobson
D. Yuri Tynianov

Answer: A. Vladimir Propp

5. Fabula refers to:

A. The author's biography
B. The chronological sequence of events
C. The reader's response
D. The author's intention

Answer: B. The chronological sequence of events

6. Syuzhet refers to:

A. The author's life
B. The chronological story
C. The way events are arranged and presented
D. The historical context

Answer: C. The way events are arranged and presented

7. The concept of “literariness” is central to:

A. Formalism
B. Marxism
C. Psychoanalysis
D. Feminism

Answer: A. Formalism

8. OPOYAZ was associated with:

A. New Historicism
B. Russian Formalism
C. New Criticism
D. Structuralism

Answer: B. Russian Formalism

9. Who is associated with the concept of the “dominant”?

A. Roman Jakobson
B. Edward Said
C. Jacques Lacan
D. Stephen Greenblatt

Answer: A. Roman Jakobson

10. Russian Formalism strongly influenced:

A. Structuralism
B. Romanticism
C. Classicism
D. Victorian realism

Answer: A. Structuralism

Quick Revision Chart

Formalism → Text and form

Russian Formalism → Early twentieth-century Russia

Shklovsky → Defamiliarization

Ostranenie → Making strange

Jakobson → Poetics / Dominant

Propp → Morphology of the Folktale

Fabula → Story in chronological order

Syuzhet → Presentation of the story

Literariness → What makes a work literary

Poetic Language → Language foregrounding its artistic qualities

OPOYAZ → Society for the Study of Poetic Language

Moscow Linguistic Circle → Russian Formalist centre

Conclusion

Formalism transformed literary studies by shifting attention toward the language, form, structure, and techniques of literary works. Russian Formalists such as Viktor Shklovsky, Roman Jakobson, Boris Eichenbaum, Yuri Tynianov, and Vladimir Propp developed important concepts that continue to influence literary theory.

For examination purposes, remember this basic chain:

Russian Formalism → Shklovsky → Defamiliarization → Literariness → Poetic Language → Fabula/Syuzhet → Jakobson → Propp → Structuralism