Learn How to Pronounce Shklovsky
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The Expert's Take
Meaning and Context
Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky (1893–1984) was a foundational Russian literary theorist, critic, and novelist whose work became a cornerstone of 20th-century literary criticism. As a leading voice of the Russian Formalism movement, Shklovsky's most enduring contribution is the concept of "defamiliarization" or ostranenie, which posits that the essential function of art is to disrupt habitual perception by making the familiar seem strange, thereby renewing the audience's sensory experience of the world. His influential collections of essays, such as Theory of Prose (published in 1925) and On the Theory of Prose, rigorously analyzed narrative techniques, plot construction (syuzhet versus fabula), and literary devices, shifting critical focus from an author's biography or a work's content to its form and method. Shklovsky's ideas, developed alongside other key formalists like Roman Jakobson and Boris Eikhenbaum, not only revolutionized the study of narrative but also profoundly influenced later structuralist and postmodernist thought, securing his legacy as a pivotal figure in literary theory and critical analysis.
Common Mistakes and Alternative Spellings
The primary spelling of the theorist's surname is Shklovsky, which is the standard Romanization from the Russian Шкловский. A common alternative transliteration is Šklovskij, following scholarly conventions. Frequent misspellings and typos arise from the challenging initial consonant cluster; common errors include "Shlovsky" (omitting the 'k'), "Shklovski" (using an 'i' instead of a 'y'), and "Sklovsky" (dropping the initial 'h'). The first name is sometimes misspelled as "Victor" instead of the more accurate "Viktor." When referencing his key concept, "defamiliarization," writers may erroneously use "de-familiarization" with a hyphen or confuse it with similar terms like "estrangement," though ostranenie is the precise Russian term he coined.
Example Sentences
In his seminal essay "Art as Technique," Viktor Shklovsky argues that the purpose of defamiliarization is to combat the automatization of perception, forcing readers to see the world anew.
Scholars of Russian Formalism often trace the analytical framework for modern narratology back to Shklovsky's distinction between plot (syuzhet) and story (fabula).
When analyzing a novel's structure, one might apply Shklovsky's concept of "baring the device" to understand how the author draws attention to the constructed nature of the narrative.
His lively, aphoristic style in Theory of Prose makes complex theoretical ideas accessible and engaging.
The influence of Shklovsky's thought extends far beyond literary studies, informing contemporary analyses of film, visual art, and even video game design.
Sources and References
I learned the pronunciation of this theorist's name by listening to academic lectures on Russian Formalism. I checked his Wikipedia biography and used YouGlish to hear scholars discuss his work. The Russian pronunciation was my primary guide, adjusted for common English academic usage.
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