Shklovsky, Viktor

Shklovsky, Viktor (Borisovich)

(born Jan. 24, 1893, St. Petersburg, Russia—died Dec. 8, 1984, Moscow) Russian critic and novelist. From 1914 he was a major voice in the critical movement called Russian Formalism, to which he contributed the concept of ostranenie, or “making it strange.” He argued that literature is a collection of devices that force readers to view the world afresh by presenting old ideas or mundane experiences in new, unusual ways. His earlier works include the acclaimed memoir A Sentimental Journey (1923) and The Technique of the Writer's Craft (1928). Official Soviet displeasure with Formalism later obliged him to write within the constraints of Socialist Realism, and he published historical novels, film criticism, and highly praised literary studies.