Critical Theory

Victor Shklovsky was a Russian Formalist writer who set up the ‘Society for the Study of Poetic Language in Russia’ (OPOYAZ) in 1916. He focused on the techniques of Russian Formalism and the development of Critical Theories. He was also a member of the Moscow Linguistic Circle which sought to develop formalist linguistics and literary techniques. His most notable theory is that of ‘Ostranenie’ or de-familiarization whereby the author was apart from the work and wrote exactly what was seen rather than being preoccupied with how it would be received. Wolfgang Iser on the other hand, was a strong hermeneutical theorist and lecturer who created the Reader Response Theory. Hermeneutical thinkers were fixated on interpretations of written pieces.   During Iser’s time in Germany he studied the importance the reader had on a text because after all a piece of literature is written to be read and enjoyed by others and the response a text conjures is far more superior than a need to provide readers with meaning or “to create a special understanding of the object.” (Shklovsky, ‘Art as Technique’)  
I feel the most valid critical theory is Reader Response Theory. Reader Response Theory recognises the strength of the reader’s experience of a literary piece of work. It highlights the importance of a reader’s ability to understand gaps in a piece of writing without be led to a conclusion. Iser called this ‘Indeterminacy’ which basically means that authors can leave the reader to make up their own assumptions about something that happens because it challenges the reader therefore making it a stronger piece of literature. He was greatly influenced by Polish Phenomenologist and literary analyst Roman Ingarden who had many ideas central to indeterminacy and the fact that responses can be programmed by the author. Indeterminacy can take many forms in literature but it happens largely whenever it is impossible for the reader to grasp exactly what an object may look like for example. He...