Theory of Prose
E746998
Theory of Prose is a foundational work of Russian formalist literary theory in which Viktor Shklovsky analyzes narrative techniques and the mechanics of literary form.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Theory of Prose canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T8626793 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Theory of Prose Context triple: [Viktor Shklovsky, notableWork, Theory of Prose]
-
A.
The Theory of the Novel
The Theory of the Novel is a seminal early 20th-century work of literary theory that analyzes the historical development and philosophical significance of the novel as a modern epic form.
-
B.
The Nature and Aim of Fiction
The Nature and Aim of Fiction is an influential essay by Flannery O’Connor that explores what fiction is, how it works, and what purposes it serves in the writer’s and reader’s experience.
-
C.
The Philosophy of Composition
The Philosophy of Composition is an 1846 essay by Edgar Allan Poe in which he methodically explains his step-by-step process for crafting the poem "The Raven" and articulates his views on poetic creation.
-
D.
The World, the Text, and the Critic
The World, the Text, and the Critic is a collection of essays by Edward Said that explores the relationship between literary texts, their historical and political contexts, and the role of the critic in society.
-
E.
The Mutability of Literature
"The Mutability of Literature" is a reflective essay by Washington Irving, presented as part of his Sketch Book, that meditates wryly on the transience of books and literary fame.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Theory of Prose Target entity description: Theory of Prose is a foundational work of Russian formalist literary theory in which Viktor Shklovsky analyzes narrative techniques and the mechanics of literary form.
-
A.
The Theory of the Novel
The Theory of the Novel is a seminal early 20th-century work of literary theory that analyzes the historical development and philosophical significance of the novel as a modern epic form.
-
B.
The Nature and Aim of Fiction
The Nature and Aim of Fiction is an influential essay by Flannery O’Connor that explores what fiction is, how it works, and what purposes it serves in the writer’s and reader’s experience.
-
C.
The Philosophy of Composition
The Philosophy of Composition is an 1846 essay by Edgar Allan Poe in which he methodically explains his step-by-step process for crafting the poem "The Raven" and articulates his views on poetic creation.
-
D.
The World, the Text, and the Critic
The World, the Text, and the Critic is a collection of essays by Edward Said that explores the relationship between literary texts, their historical and political contexts, and the role of the critic in society.
-
E.
The Mutability of Literature
"The Mutability of Literature" is a reflective essay by Washington Irving, presented as part of his Sketch Book, that meditates wryly on the transience of books and literary fame.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
book
ⓘ
literary theory work ⓘ |
| academicDiscipline |
Russian studies
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
literary studies ⓘ |
| aim | to describe how prose achieves its artistic effect ⓘ |
| analyzes |
narrative devices in classic literature
ⓘ
prose fiction by Russian authors ⓘ |
| approach | formal analysis rather than biographical or historical ⓘ |
| author | Viktor Shklovsky NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | Soviet Union ⓘ |
| criticalReception | considered a foundational text of Russian formalism ⓘ |
| focusesOn |
literariness as a function of devices
ⓘ
mechanics of literary form ⓘ techniques of narrative construction ⓘ |
| form | collection of essays ⓘ |
| genre |
literary criticism
ⓘ
literary theory ⓘ |
| hasPart |
essays on narrative devices
ⓘ
essays on plot ⓘ “Art as Device” NERFINISHED ⓘ “The Structure of Fiction” NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| influenced |
20th-century literary theory
ⓘ
formal analysis of narrative ⓘ structuralist narratology ⓘ |
| keyConcept |
device
ⓘ
ostranenie ⓘ plot vs story distinction ⓘ |
| method | close reading of narrative structures ⓘ |
| movement | Russian formalism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableEnglishTranslator | Benjamin Sher NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originalLanguage | Russian ⓘ |
| periodDiscussed | early 20th-century prose ⓘ |
| publicationDate |
1925
ⓘ
1929 ⓘ |
| publisherOfEnglishEdition | Dalkey Archive Press NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subject |
defamiliarization
ⓘ
literary form ⓘ narrative technique ⓘ narratology ⓘ plot construction ⓘ prose fiction ⓘ story and discourse ⓘ |
| theoreticalFramework | Russian formalist poetics ⓘ |
| translatedInto |
English
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
multiple languages ⓘ |
| usedIn | university literature curricula ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Theory of Prose Description of subject: Theory of Prose is a foundational work of Russian formalist literary theory in which Viktor Shklovsky analyzes narrative techniques and the mechanics of literary form.
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.