Coverage: Formalism, New Criticism, Structuralism
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Period | 1900s-1990s (20th century) |
| Context | • World Wars, political upheavals • Rise of linguistics, psychology, anthropology • Professionalization of literary studies • Theory becomes dominant |
| Shift | FROM: Biographical, historical, impressionistic criticism TO: Systematic, scientific, theoretical approaches |
| Major Movements | Formalism, New Criticism, Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, Marxism, Feminism, Psychoanalysis, Postcolonialism, etc. |
| MCQ Alert | 20th century = "Age of Theory" - systematic, scientific approaches to literature |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Period | c. 1915-1930 (suppressed by Stalin) |
| Groups | • OPOYAZ (Society for the Study of Poetic Language) - Petersburg, 1916 • Moscow Linguistic Circle (1915) |
| Key Figures | Viktor Shklovsky, Roman Jakobson, Boris Eichenbaum, Yuri Tynyanov |
| End | Suppressed by Soviet authorities (late 1920s-1930s) Socialist Realism became official doctrine |
| Influence | Influenced Prague Structuralism, New Criticism, Structuralism |
| MCQ Key | Russian Formalism (1915-1930) - OPOYAZ + Moscow Linguistic Circle |
| Principle | Details |
|---|---|
| Focus on Form | Study LITERARINESS - what makes literature literary NOT: Content, author's life, historical context, moral message YES: Devices, techniques, structures that make text literary |
| Scientific Approach | Literature as object of scientific study Systematic analysis of literary devices Objective, not impressionistic |
| Rejection of Content | "Content is merely motivation for form" How something is said > What is said Form determines meaning, not vice versa |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Defamiliarization (Ostranenie) | "The technique of art is to make objects 'unfamiliar,' to make forms difficult, to increase the difficulty and length of perception" Russian: Ostranenie = "making strange" Purpose: Overcome automatized perception Daily life: Habitual, automatic perception (we don't really "see") Art: Breaks habits, forces fresh perception Example: Tolstoy describing flogging from horse's perspective (makes familiar violence strange) |
| Automatization | Habitual perception = unconscious, automatic "Habitualization devours works, clothes, furniture, one's wife, and the fear of war" We perceive by recognition, not truly seeing Life becomes routine, unconscious |
| Art Renews Perception | Art = device to restore fresh perception "Art exists that one may recover the sensation of life" Makes the stone stony (feel stoneness of stone) Prolongs perception = aesthetic experience |
| Technique | Various devices achieve defamiliarization: • Strange perspective (horse's viewpoint) • Unusual language (archaic, dialect) • Delayed recognition • Complex form Difficulty is INTENTIONAL - makes us pay attention |
| Famous Term | "Ostranenie" (Defamiliarization) = making familiar strange to renew perception |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Fabula (Story) | Chronological sequence of events What actually happened (in time order) Raw material A→B→C→D (temporal order) |
| Syuzhet (Plot) | How story is actually told/arranged Discourse, presentation Artistic arrangement C→A→D→B (narrative order) This is where art happens |
| Key Point | Formalists study SYUZHET (how story is told), not fabula (what happens) Same fabula can have infinite syuzhets Example: Oedipus Rex - fabula = birth to death; syuzhet = investigation that reveals past |
| Distinction | Fabula = chronological events; Syuzhet = narrative arrangement (FORMALIST FOCUS) |
| Contribution | Details |
|---|---|
| Poetic Function | Language has six functions; poetry emphasizes POETIC function Poetic function: Focus on MESSAGE itself (form, sound, pattern) "Sets toward message for its own sake" Not just communicating meaning - celebrating language itself |
| Six Functions of Language | 1. Referential: Context (convey information) 2. Emotive: Addresser (express feelings) 3. Conative: Addressee (affect receiver) 4. Phatic: Contact (maintain communication) 5. Metalingual: Code (discuss language itself) 6. POETIC: Message (focus on form) |
| Poetry Formula | "The poetic function projects the principle of equivalence from the axis of selection into the axis of combination" Means: Poetry creates patterns through parallelism, repetition, rhyme, meter Paradigmatic (selection) → Syntagmatic (combination) |
| Metaphor vs. Metonymy | Metaphor: Based on similarity (substitution) Example: "ship" for "plow" (both cut through) Metonymy: Based on contiguity (association) Example: "sail" for "ship" (part for whole) Poetry: Tends toward metaphor Prose: Tends toward metonymy |
| Key Concepts | Six functions of language (Poetic = focus on message); Metaphor vs. Metonymy |
| Achievement | Impact |
|---|---|
| Scientific Literary Study | Made literary criticism systematic, objective |
| Focus on Text | Shifted attention from author/context to text itself |
| Literary Devices | Catalogued and analyzed specific techniques |
| Influence | → Prague Structuralism → French Structuralism → New Criticism |
| Remember | FORMALISM = Defamiliarization + Fabula/Syuzhet + Literariness + Device-focused |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Period | 1930s-1960s (dominant in USA/UK) |
| Origins | • I.A. Richards (Cambridge, England) • American Southern Critics (Fugitives) • Term from John Crowe Ransom's The New Criticism (1941) |
| Key Figures | USA: John Crowe Ransom, Cleanth Brooks, Robert Penn Warren, Allen Tate, W.K. Wimsatt UK: I.A. Richards, William Empson, F.R. Leavis |
| Dominance | Became orthodox method in universities (1940s-60s) "Close reading" standard pedagogy |
| MCQ Alert | New Criticism (1930s-60s) - USA/UK; term from Ransom (1941) |
| Principle | Details |
|---|---|
| Close Reading | Careful, detailed analysis of text itself Word-by-word, line-by-line examination Focus on ambiguity, paradox, irony, tension Text contains all meaning within itself |
| Autonomy of Text | Poem = self-sufficient verbal object "Words on the page" - nothing else needed Reject extrinsic approaches (biography, history, psychology) |
| Organic Unity | Poem = organic whole (echoes Coleridge) All parts interconnected, mutually supporting Nothing extraneous; everything contributes to unified effect |
| Form = Content | Inseparable; how = what "Heresy of paraphrase" - can't separate meaning from form Poem's meaning is the poem itself |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Experiment | Gave students poems WITHOUT author names, dates, contexts Asked for interpretations Revealed widespread misreading, sentimentality Conclusion: Need rigorous analytical method |
| Close Reading | Pioneered method of careful textual analysis Focus on language, imagery, structure Reject vague impressionism Became foundation of New Critical pedagogy |
| Four Kinds of Meaning | 1. Sense: Literal statement 2. Feeling: Emotional attitude toward subject 3. Tone: Attitude toward audience 4. Intention: Writer's aim/effect Good criticism considers all four |
| Emotive vs. Referential | Referential language: Scientific, factual (can be true/false) Emotive language: Poetic, expressive (evokes feelings, attitudes) Poetry = primarily emotive Can't judge poetry by scientific truth standards |
| Famous Work | Practical Criticism (1929) - pioneered close reading method |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Ambiguity | "Any verbal nuance, however slight, which gives room for alternative reactions to the same piece of language" NOT fault: Ambiguity = richness, complexity Multiple meanings simultaneously = poetic density |
| Seven Types | Progressive scale from simple to complex: 1. Word/phrase effective in several ways 2. Two+ meanings resolved into one 3. Two ideas given in one word simultaneously 4. Alternative meanings combine to make clear statement 5. Author discovering idea while writing 6. Statement irrelevant/contradictory - reader invents 7. Fundamental division in author's mind |
| Significance | Showed complexity enriches poetry Influenced close reading practice Complexity = criterion of poetic value |
| Famous Work | Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930) - ambiguity as poetic richness |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Heresy of Paraphrase | "The Heresy of Paraphrase" (essay in book) Heresy: Believing you can paraphrase poem's meaning Poem's meaning ≠ prose statement Meaning inseparable from form To paraphrase = destroy the poem "The poem, if it be a true poem, is a simulacrum of reality... by being an experience rather than any mere statement about experience" |
| Paradox | Poetry = "language of paradox" Holds opposing ideas in tension Complexity, not simplicity, = poetic truth Example: Donne's poems reconcile contradictions |
| Irony | Poem's awareness of complexity, qualification Mature poetry = ironic (acknowledges contradictions) NOT sarcasm - awareness of multiple perspectives |
| Structure | Poem = structure of tensions, balances Achieved through paradox, irony, ambiguity Unity from resolved tensions |
| Famous Concept | "Heresy of Paraphrase" - can't separate meaning from form |
| Fallacy | Details |
|---|---|
| Intentional Fallacy (1946) | Error of judging poem by author's intention Argument: • Author's intention ≠ poem's meaning • Poem autonomous once written • Judge by what poem DOES, not what author MEANT • Intention often unknowable anyway "The design or intention of the author is neither available nor desirable as a standard for judging" Focus on TEXT, not author's mind |
| Affective Fallacy (1949) | Error of judging poem by emotional effect on reader Argument: • Confuses poem with its results • Reader's response varies (subjective) • Impressionistic, not objective • Poem = object with properties, not cause of feelings "Begins by trying to derive the standard of criticism from the psychological effects... and ends in impressionism and relativism" Focus on TEXT, not reader's feelings |
| Implication | ONLY THE TEXT MATTERS Not author, not reader - only words on page Objective analysis possible Foundation of New Critical method |
| Two Fallacies | INTENTIONAL (author's intention) + AFFECTIVE (reader's response) = both fallacies |
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Tension | Controlled opposition/conflict in poem creates unity |
| Paradox | Apparent contradiction that reveals deeper truth |
| Irony | Awareness of complexity; qualification of statement |
| Ambiguity | Multiple meanings enriching text |
| Organic Unity | All parts interdependent, forming whole |
| Concrete Universal | Particular that embodies universal (poem = concrete form expressing universal truth) |
| Achievement | Limitation | |
|---|---|---|
| Rigorous Method | Professionalized criticism; teachable technique | Too narrow; excluded history, context, politics |
| Close Reading | Standard pedagogical tool still used | Privileged certain texts (lyric poetry) |
| Text-Centered | Made criticism objective, verifiable | Denied reader's role, author's intention |
| Complexity | Valued ambiguity, irony, tension as poetic virtues | Favored difficulty; dismissed "simple" texts |
| Decline | 1960s-70s: Challenged by theory (structuralism, deconstruction, feminism, etc.) |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Period | 1950s-1970s (peak: 1960s France) |
| Origins | Ferdinand de Saussure - structural linguistics (1916) Applied to anthropology (Lévi-Strauss), then literature |
| Key Figures | Literature: Roland Barthes, Gérard Genette, Tzvetan Todorov, Jonathan Culler Anthropology: Claude Lévi-Strauss Philosophy: Louis Althusser |
| Location | Primarily France; spread internationally |
| MCQ Alert | Structuralism (1950s-70s) - based on Saussure's linguistics; France |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Sign = Signifier + Signified | Sign: Basic unit of language Signifier: Sound-image (word's physical form) Example: /tri:/ (sound "tree") Signified: Concept/meaning Example: [concept of tree] Relationship: ARBITRARY - no natural connection "Tree" in English, "arbre" in French = same signified, different signifier |
| Arbitrariness of Sign | NO natural/necessary link between signifier and signified Connection = conventional, social Proof: Different languages use different signifiers for same signified Implication: Language = system of differences, not natural labels |
| Langue vs. Parole | Langue: Language system (abstract structure, rules) • Social, shared by community • Object of linguistic study Parole: Individual speech acts (actual utterances) • Individual, variable • NOT focus of linguistics Saussure: Study langue, not parole |
| Synchronic vs. Diachronic | Synchronic: Study language at single moment (snapshot) • Language as system in present • Structural relationships Diachronic: Study language's historical evolution • Changes over time Saussure: Prioritize synchronic study |
| Differential System | "In language there are only differences without positive terms" Meaning = produced by DIFFERENCES between signs "cat" ≠ "bat" because /c/ ≠ /b/ Value determined by position in system, not essence Key insight: Identity = relational, not intrinsic |
| Key Terms | Signifier/Signified + Langue/Parole + Synchronic/Diachronic + Arbitrary sign + Differential system |
| Principle | Application to Literature |
|---|---|
| Literature = Language System | Individual texts = parole Literary conventions/codes = langue Study underlying structures, not individual texts |
| Grammar of Literature | Seek rules/structures that generate literary texts Like grammar generates sentences "Narratology" - grammar of narrative |
| Codes & Conventions | Meaning = product of codes (genre, narrative, cultural) Reader must know codes to understand text Literary competence = knowing conventions |
| Binary Oppositions | Meaning structured through oppositions: Nature/Culture, Raw/Cooked, Male/Female, etc. Texts organized around these binaries |
| Work/Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Early Structuralism | Mythologies (1957): Analyzed contemporary myths (wrestling, soap, striptease) as sign systems Elements of Semiology (1964): Applied Saussure to cultural phenomena S/Z (1970): Detailed structuralist analysis of Balzac story using five codes |
| Five Codes (S/Z) | 1. Hermeneutic: Questions/enigmas (raises mysteries) 2. Proairetic: Actions (plot sequences) 3. Semantic: Connotations (meanings, themes) 4. Symbolic: Oppositions, antitheses 5. Cultural: References to knowledge (science, history, etc.) All texts woven from these codes |
| Writerly vs. Readerly | Readerly (Lisible): Passive consumption; classic realist text • Reader consumes meaning • Closed, determinate Writerly (Scriptible): Active production; avant-garde text • Reader creates meaning • Open, plural Goal: Transform readers into writers |
| Death of the Author (1968) | Move toward post-structuralism "Birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author" Author ≠ origin of meaning Text = tissue of quotations from culture Reader, not author, produces meaning Shift from structuralism: Meaning NOT determined by structure alone |
| Famous Essay | "Death of the Author" (1968) - author not origin of meaning; reader produces meaning |
| Achievement | Limitation | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Rigor | Made criticism systematic, linguistic-based | Too rigid; reduced texts to formulas |
| Universal Structures | Found deep patterns across cultures, texts | Ahistorical; ignored change, history |
| Reader's Competence | Recognized role of conventions, codes | Deterministic; little room for creativity |
| Narratology | Systematic study of narrative structures | Privileged structure over meaning, value |
| Decline | Late 1960s-70s: Challenged by post-structuralism (Derrida, later Barthes) |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Russian Formalism period & location | 1915-1930; Russia (OPOYAZ + Moscow Linguistic Circle) |
| Defamiliarization (Ostranenie) | Shklovsky - making familiar strange to renew perception |
| Fabula vs. Syuzhet | Fabula = chronological events; Syuzhet = narrative arrangement |
| Jakobson's six functions | Referential, Emotive, Conative, Phatic, Metalingual, POETIC (focus on message) |
| New Criticism period & location | 1930s-1960s; USA/UK |
| New Criticism term from | John Crowe Ransom's The New Criticism (1941) |
| Practical Criticism | I.A. Richards (1929) - pioneered close reading |
| Seven Types of Ambiguity | William Empson (1930) - ambiguity as poetic richness |
| Heresy of Paraphrase | Cleanth Brooks - can't separate meaning from form |
| Intentional Fallacy | Wimsatt & Beardsley (1946) - judging by author's intention = error |
| Affective Fallacy | Wimsatt & Beardsley (1949) - judging by reader's response = error |
| Saussure's key work | Course in General Linguistics (1916, posthumous) |
| Signifier vs. Signified | Signifier = sound-image; Signified = concept (relationship arbitrary) |
| Langue vs. Parole | Langue = language system; Parole = individual speech acts |
| Synchronic vs. Diachronic | Synchronic = single moment; Diachronic = historical evolution |
| Structuralism period & location | 1950s-1970s (peak 1960s); France |
| Barthes's "Death of the Author" | 1968 - author not origin of meaning; reader produces meaning |
| Writerly vs. Readerly | Barthes - Writerly (active, open) vs. Readerly (passive, closed) |
| Five Codes (Barthes S/Z) | Hermeneutic, Proairetic, Semantic, Symbolic, Cultural |