Jan Mukarovský
Encyclopedia
Jan Mukařovský was a Czech
literary
and aesthetic
theorist.
He was professor at the Charles University of Prague. He is well known for his association with early structuralism
as well as with the Prague Linguistic Circle
, and for his development of the ideas of Russian formalism
. Mukařovský had a profound influence on structuralist theory of literature, comparable to that of Roman Jakobson
.
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
literary
Literary theory
Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature. However, literary scholarship since the 19th century often includes—in addition to, or even instead of literary theory in the strict sense—considerations of...
and aesthetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
theorist.
He was professor at the Charles University of Prague. He is well known for his association with early structuralism
Structuralism
Structuralism originated in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague and Moscow schools of linguistics. Just as structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance in linguistics, structuralism...
as well as with the Prague Linguistic Circle
Prague linguistic circle
The Prague school or the Prague linguistic circle was an influential group of literary critics and linguists in Prague. Its proponents developed methods of structuralist literary analysis during the years 1928–1939. It has had significant continuing influence on linguistics and semiotics...
, and for his development of the ideas of Russian formalism
Russian formalism
Russian formalism was an influential school of literary criticism in Russia from the 1910s to the 1930s. It includes the work of a number of highly influential Russian and Soviet scholars such as Viktor Shklovsky, Yuri Tynianov, Vladimir Propp, Boris Eichenbaum, Roman Jakobson, Grigory Vinokur who...
. Mukařovský had a profound influence on structuralist theory of literature, comparable to that of Roman Jakobson
Roman Jakobson
Roman Osipovich Jakobson was a Russian linguist and literary theorist.As a pioneer of the structural analysis of language, which became the dominant trend of twentieth-century linguistics, Jakobson was among the most influential linguists of the century...
.
Works
- Dějiny české literatury (1959 – 1961), history of Czech literatureCzech literatureCzech literature is the literature written by Czechs or other inhabitants of the Czech state, mostly in the Czech language, although other languages like Old Church Slavonic, Latin or German have been also used, especially in the past. Modern authors from the Czech territory who wrote in other...
, chief editor, three volumes - Studien zur strukturalistischen Ästhetik und Poetik (1974)
- On Poetic Language (1976), translated by John Burbank and Peter Steiner
- The Word and Verbal Art: Selected Essays (1977), translated and edited by John Burbank and Peter Steiner
- Kapitel aus der Ästhetik (1978)
- Structure Sign and Function: Selected Essays (1978), translated and edited by John Burbank and Peter Steiner
- Aesthetic Function, Norm and Value as Social Facts (1979), Mark E. Suino translator