What is 'defamiliarization' (ostranenie) as formulated by Russian Formalist Viktor Shklovsky?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. Making the familiar seem strange to disrupt habitual perception and renew aesthetic awareness

  1. Step 1: Shklovsky argued that routine desensitizes humans to the world ('automatization'). Step 2. Art's function is to defamiliarize objects and language, forcing the reader to experience perception as a conscious, difficult act. Answer: Making the familiar seem strange to disrupt habitual perception and renew aesthetic awareness. Why not the others: Defamiliarization complicates rather than simplifies language to heighten sensory and intellectual engagement.

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