According to Shklovsky, the technique of art is to make the familiar “unfamiliar.” But what does that mean? Shklovsky says that in a life that has become “habitualized.” We, as a societal whole, are constantly doing the same tasks over and over again—all the while having the same fears and worries etc. So, how does an artist make the everyday task new? Shklovsky would say that the artist would have to describe or portray the “familiar object” in an unheard way. He would go on to say that writers like Tolstoy have mastered this art in his extremely long novels.
Yet, the most important part to remember—and quite possibly the only way to achieve defamiliarization—is that the object itself is irrelevant. What is important is the way the writer evokes emotion or thought from the presence of that object in the work. As Shklovsky states, Tolstoy had mastered—with the help of his lengthy descriptions—new ways to describe even the mundane. Shklovsky uses Tolstoy’s description of the theater to demonstrate Tolstoy’s unique use of defamiliarization.
The middle of the stage consisted of flat boards; by the sides stood painted pictures representing trees, and at the back a linen cloth was stretched down to the floorboards. Maidens in red bodices and white skirts sat on the middle of the stage. One, very fat, in a white silk dress, sat apart on a narrow bench to which a green pasteboard box was glued from behind. They were all singing something. When they had finished, the maiden in white approached the prompter's box. A man in silk with tight-fitting pants on his fat legs approached her with a plume and began to sing and spread his arms in dismay. The man in the tight pants finished his song alone; then the girl sang. After that both remained silent as the music resounded; and the man, obviously waiting to begin singing his part with her again, began to run his fingers over the hand of the girl in the white dress. They finished their song together, and everyone in the theater began to clap and shout. But the men and women on stage, who represented lovers, started to bow, smiling and raising their hands.
Everyone has seen a theater, and it is very difficult to evoke any type of particular emotion when describing a theater. However, Tolstoy uses such vivid detail to paint his image that it is almost impossible to not see what he’s talking about. Instead of saying, the in the theater stood two people and they sang, he uses elaborate language. Ultimately, he defamiliarizes a very familiar scene—something Shklovsky desired to see more of in literature. It begs the question, however, what would Shklovsky think of Proust? In my opinion, I think he would appreciate Proust’s extreme detail and eventual defamiliarization of everything—even butter cookies.
Work Cited
Shklovsk, Viktor. "Art as Technique." web. 22 Feb. 2011
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