The aim of defamiliarization theory is to evoke the aesthetic emotion of. Mar 20, 2016 the definition of defamiliarization is. Defamiliarization is one of the achievements of the russian school of formalism that implies the alienation of the ordinary norm of the language. Such a study of literature as that for which the present book is designed includes two purposes, contributing to a common end. Understanding and critiquing the books that line the bookshelves of the worlds readers is no easy task. Defamiliarization or ostranenie is the artistic technique of presenting to audiences common things in an unfamiliar or strange way in order to enhance perception of the familiar.
Foregrounding, defamiliarization, and affect cogprints. Some of the greatest minds in academia and literary criticism, as well as writers themselves, have attempted to define what makes good literature, or just what makes literature. Jul 15, 2014 through practical and insightful examination of how poems, plays and prose works produce special meaning, he counteracts the flight from the text that has characterized thinking about language and literature in the last thirty years, when the response of the reader, rather than the characteristics and meaning potential of the text itself. Genres here include historical fiction, history, science fiction, mystery, romance and childrens literature, but theyre. Russian formalism emerged in the opening decades of the twentieth century as a reaction to the mystification of literature found in the influential paneuropean arts movement of symbolism. Defamiliarization in russian literature to illustrate what he means by defamiliarization, shklovsky uses examples from tolstoy, whom he cites as using the technique throughout his works. Application of the concept of defamiliarization in. Language in literature style and foregrounding taylor. Rereading as a mechanism of defamiliarization in proust. This is a picture of viktor shklovsky, one of the main voices behind a way of thinking about literature that today is known as russian formalism. Shklovsky points out that tolstoys kholstomer is an example of defamiliarization because the narrator is a horse, making the work seem strange and unfamiliar 16. One form of creativity uses defamiliarization, a mechanism that frees the brain. As writer anais nin discussed in her 1968 book the novel of the future.
Given this, we can argue that tools for helping creativity need not be secondclass participants but essential partners to making the new really and radically new. I had noticed that hed stopped buying his porno books and things, and i think. Defamiliarization causes the audience to confront the object on a different level, elevating and transforming it from something ordinary or practical into work that is considered art. Readers were shocked to discover that the protagonist and principal narrator of kholstomer was an old horse.
What are some examples of defamiliarization in the. The articles with which david lodge entertained and enlightened readers of the independent on sunday and the washington post are now revised, expanded and collected together in book form the art of fiction is considered under a wide range of headings, such as the intrusive author, suspense, the epistolary novel, timeshift, magical realism and symbolism, and each. C o f1 1 elsevier poetics 22 1994 389407 foregrounding, defamiliarization, and affect. Immersion has been conceived of as transparently directing attention toward what marielaure ryan referred to as the languageindependent reality presented by a fictional text, while uri margolin has conceived of defamiliarization as directing the readers attention to the artificial nature. Kuiken poetics 22 1994 389407 399 four groups of 15 readers each provided ratings for strikingness, affect, impor. Defamiliarization or ostranenie is the artistic technique of forcing the audience to see common things in an unfamiliar or strange way, in order to enhance perception of the familiar.
This would be a great first book for someone partaking a literature or writing course, and would benefit any reader. Looking for examples of ostranenie or defamiliarizaion. A central concept in 20th century art and theory, ranging over movements including dada, postmodernism, epic theatre, and science fiction, it is also used as a tactic by recent movements. The narrator of kholstomer, for example, is a horse, and it is the horses point of view rather than a persons that makes the content of the story seem unfamiliar shklovsky 16. Take the chance to get more familiar with defamiliarization in this lesson. Mar 17, 2016 home literary criticism defamiliarization. Understanding readers response to literary texts article pdf available in language and literature 162. Defamiliarization seems a way to get the brain abducing and hence exploring and discovering. He argued that defamiliarization is, more or less, the point of all art. But 20th century assault was more severe and critical.
The answer to this question illuminates a new facet of prousts aesthetic philosophy, namely, his vision of what literature offers that nonliterary texts cannot. Defamiliarization project gutenberg selfpublishing. Flash fiction, defamiliarization and cultural criticism. This famous site has over 27,000 free books online. In the early twentieth century, a new and independent knowledge was created which dealt with the alienation of norms and defamiliarization.
The word defamiliarization was coined by the early 20thcentury russian literary critic viktor shklovsky in his essay art as technique. Jonathan swift was a famous writer in18th century britain. Defamiliarization or ostranenie is the artistic technique of presenting to audiences common. This portable document file aims to provide a general manual of englis literature for students in colleges and universities and others beyond the high. Immersion and defamiliarization edinburgh research explorer. This is the continuation of a series of brief essays in which british writer david lodge examines aspects of the novelists art. Presto changeo, our perspective shifts and we see the object in a new way.
Miall a, don kuiken b department of english, university of alberta, edmonton, alberta, canada, t6g 2e5 b department of psychology, university of alberta, edmonton, alberta, canada, t6g 2e5 abstract the notion that stylistic features of literary texts deautomatize. The technique of defamiliarization is not tolstoys alone. He explained the concept in his 1917 essay art as technique also translated as art as device which comprised the first chapter of his seminal theory of prose, first published in 1925. Elsevier poetics 22 1994 389407 foregrounding, defamiliarization, and affect. Article pdf available january 2005 with 2,544 reads how we measure reads. Defamiliarization definition of defamiliarization at. Joseph conrad was polish, robert burns was scottish, james joyce was irish, dylan. The art of defamiliarization in gullivers travels masters. In burning down the house, baxter addresses the issues of stale character and meaning in fiction. Other articles where defamiliarization is discussed.
At the present day, the novel hasnt lost its significance and can also be regarded as one of the outstanding novels in world literature. According to russian formalism, poetry is the quintessential form of literary language, as it presents speech organized in its entire phonic structure, which deforms practical language to draw attention to itself. Though such assaults threatened literature for a span of time, they could not cease literature of being literature. Defamiliarization or ostranenie is the artistic technique of. Traditionally, immersion and defamiliarization have been seen as describing opposing phenomena.
Ninetynine per cent of traditional english literature concerns people who never have to worry about money at all. Through practical and insightful examination of how poems, plays and prose works produce special meaning, he counteracts the flight from the text that has characterized thinking about language and literature in the last thirty years, when the response of the reader, rather than the characteristics and meaning potential of the text itself. Defamiliarization the art and popular culture encyclopedia. In chaucers the book of the duchess, a narrators dream vision brings him face to face. The short oxford history of english literature andrew sanders clarendon press oxford 1994 oxford university press, walton sheet, oxford ox2 6dp oxford new york toronto delhi bombay calcutta madras karachi kuala lumpur singapore hong kong toky o nairobi dar es salaam cape town melbourne auckland madrid and associated companies in. The holy quran, as the everlasting miracle of the prophet of islam pbuh, has many literary beauties and is. It enables you to position your research in the broader academic community, synthesise existing ideas and arguments without adding your own, and identify any gaps in the literature. Pdf on jun 1, 2005, genevieve bell and others published making. Defamiliarization by nasrullah mambrol on march 17, 2016 4. Art as technique 1917 viktor shklovsky art is thinking in images. But i will not discuss rhythm in more detail since i intend to write a book about it. An introduction, eagleton saw a correlation between kantian aesthetic with defamiliarization that. The purpose of this portable document file is to outline the development of the literature with due regard to national life, and to give appreciative interpretation of the work of.
Some considered literature as a constitutionally reactionary entity which served the interests of the. The literary work as stranger the disrupting ethics of. A central concept in 20thcentury art and theory, ranging over movements including dada, postmodernism, epic theatre, and science fiction, it is also used as a tactic by recent movements such as. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. Gullivers travels is the masterpiece of jonathan swift. Charles baxters defamiliarization this one wild life. The concept has influenced 20thcentury art and theory, ranging over movements including dada, postmodernism, epic. Defamiliarization of that which is or has become familiar or taken for granted, hence automatically perceived, is the basic function of all devices. Victor shklovsky is perhaps best known for developing the concept of ostranenie or defamiliarization also translated as estrangement in literature. Miall, don kuiken b a department of english, university of alberta, edmonton, alberta, canada, t6g 2e5 department of psychology, unicersity of alberta, edmonton, alberta, canada, t6g 2e5. Only when this idea is employed does a piece of fiction become interesting. Pdf version by solitude preface the term english literature refers to literature written in the english language, including literature composed in english by writers not necessarily from england. Defamiliarization in the history of literary criticism.
Defamiliarization by nasrullah mambrol on march 17, 2016 4 the russian formalists concept of defamiliarization, proposed by viktor shklovsky in his art as technique, refers to the literary device whereby language is used in such a way that ordinary and familiar objects are made to look different. We always seem to be watching or reading about emotional crises among folk who live in a world of great fortune both in matters of luck and money. In the first place i, the student must gain some general knowledge of the conditions out of which english literature has come into being, as a whole and. Jun 11, 2014 this is a picture of viktor shklovsky, one of the main voices behind a way of thinking about literature that today is known as russian formalism. A survey of recent empirical studies of literary comprehension shows that little attention has been paid to the effects of literary style, often known as foregrounding.
The art of fiction is considered under a wide range of headings, such as the intrusive author, suspense, the epistolary novel, timeshift, magical realism and symbolism, and each topic is illustrated by a passage or two taken from classic or modern fiction. Consulting a book of literary history, for example short oxford history of english literature by andrew sanders, one may irrefutably. It is a process of transformation where language asserts its power to affect our perception. Defamiliarization in language and literature 9780815621843. Defamiliarization and the design of domestic technologies. As my title suggests, it is a notable variant of the effect that victor shklovsky called defamiliarization. Russian formalism and defamiliarization on world literature. Defamiliarization is not simply a question of perception.
From then on, the studies of the book have been booming. Ariful islam laskar abstract robert frost 18741963, a true representative of american literature, deals with the idyllic pastoral landscape of america and traces the transition of american life and society of his time in a. The narrator of kholstomer, for example, is a horse, and it is the horses point of view rather than a persons that makes the content of the. Immersion and defamiliarization poetics today duke. Defamiliarization and syntactic and rhetoric highlighting.
And with defamiliarization come both the slowing down and the increased difficulty impeding of the process of reading and comprehending and an awareness of the artistic procedures devices. At the present day, the novel hasnt lost its significance and can also be regarded as one of the outstanding novels in world literature treasurehouse. This technique involves exploring the differences between. One form of creativity uses defamiliarization, a mechanism that frees the brain from. The term defamiliarization originates in literary theory and the work of the.
Ariful islam laskar abstract robert frost 18741963, a true representative of american literature, deals with the idyllic pastoral landscape of america and traces the transition of american life and society of his time in a lucid way. Avoidance of overdetermined characters and events is achieved through what he calls defamiliarization. Test your knowledge of defamiliarization in literature with an interactive quiz and printable worksheet. Art makes language strange, as well as the world that the language presents. Defamiliarization is a literary technique in which the process of writing is itself focused on more than any particular plotline. The russian formalists concept of defamiliarization, proposed by viktor shklovsky in his art as technique, refers to the literary device whereby language is used in such a way that ordinary and familiar objects are made to look different. Form and content according to russian formalism, to understand literature one has to look at the form as well as the content. In his the attack on literature, rene wellek studies and answers different facets of hostilities towards literature.
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