Erotic defamiliarization possesses a special portion in Shklovsky's defamiliarization theory and it is found in Henry James's works.This paper exemplifies Henry James's way of erotic defamiliarization in h...Erotic defamiliarization possesses a special portion in Shklovsky's defamiliarization theory and it is found in Henry James's works.This paper exemplifies Henry James's way of erotic defamiliarization in his works The American and "Daisy Miller".展开更多
As the representative figure of Metaphysical Poetry, John Donne's poetry is characterized by unconventional forms, pe culiar images, and abundant conceits. Though John Donne's poems were ignored in his time, y...As the representative figure of Metaphysical Poetry, John Donne's poetry is characterized by unconventional forms, pe culiar images, and abundant conceits. Though John Donne's poems were ignored in his time, yet they have catered for the taste of modern writers and readers. This paper aims to study John Donne's poetry in terms of Victor Shklovsky's theory of defamiliarization, hoping to enrich the discussions of John Donne.展开更多
Toni Morrision's Beloved earns a wide degree of recognition for its stylistic brilliance and psychological depth in American liter ature and it is discussed not only as a presentation of slavery,but also as mother...Toni Morrision's Beloved earns a wide degree of recognition for its stylistic brilliance and psychological depth in American liter ature and it is discussed not only as a presentation of slavery,but also as motherhood.This paper,in the light of Shklovsky's theory of defa miliarization,aims to exam the application of the techniques of defamiliarization in Beloved from the following two aspects:narrative point of view and language strategies.展开更多
In order to pursue literature nature,Russian formalists proposed the theory of defamiliarization,started literary studies from the way of language.Besides emphasizing the literature self-discipline,they entirely put t...In order to pursue literature nature,Russian formalists proposed the theory of defamiliarization,started literary studies from the way of language.Besides emphasizing the literature self-discipline,they entirely put the literary in the cage of language at same time,ignoring the humanistic nature of literature.This paper attempts to point out the limitations and shortcomings of the defamiliarization theory by analyzing it,explain that Heidegger’s reverting to simplicity is the fundament of defamiliarization.展开更多
Defamiliarization,the core theory of Russian formalism,emphasizes specific effects in a literary work by adopting fresh perspective to change readers' automatic and practical perception to an unfamiliar one.Edgar ...Defamiliarization,the core theory of Russian formalism,emphasizes specific effects in a literary work by adopting fresh perspective to change readers' automatic and practical perception to an unfamiliar one.Edgar allan poe is one of the writers who applied defamiliarization in his writing The Black Cat to help improve the literariness of a literature,break the set pattern and attract readers attention on modern people's twisted personality and dark inner world.展开更多
As the core conception in Russian Formalism,the defamiliarization is fully manifested in The Sound and the Fury.The employ-ments of two defamiliarization devices—the uniqueness of narrative perspective and the diffic...As the core conception in Russian Formalism,the defamiliarization is fully manifested in The Sound and the Fury.The employ-ments of two defamiliarization devices—the uniqueness of narrative perspective and the difficulty of the language are much prominent inthe narration of the idiot Benji,through which the work possesses a strong aesthetic effect.Through exploring the much objective descrip-tion of the stream of consciousness and the defamiliarization effect which are created by the idiot perspective,this thesis will highlightthe various conflicts of the Compson family and the time they lived in,thus revealing the theme of a great family's decline.The authorwill also analyze the sensory stimulation and emotional shock brought by the unique narrative perspective.展开更多
Nabokov believes that “art is a method by which the writer is able to cause a special aesthetic experience among thereader”;language, structure, style and other means of expression are always more important than the...Nabokov believes that “art is a method by which the writer is able to cause a special aesthetic experience among thereader”;language, structure, style and other means of expression are always more important than the plot of thework. We can find a vivid embodiment of this creation view in Pale Fire. Because of the method“defamiliarization”, the aesthetics of the whole novel is expressed in three key steps: the introduction of poeticambiguity on Shade’s poem;an explanation of poetic ambiguity by means of Kinbote’s commentary;regenarationof ambiguity through the suspension of Kinbote’s commentary from Shade’s poetic language. The artistic theme ofambiguity is a manifestation of the author’s hidden feelings for the homeland. Nabokov, as an expatriate Russianwriter, is experiencing not only a deep relationship with his homeland, but also a sense of bitterness from being inexile. His impression and memories of hometown beacame the inspiration for creation.展开更多
The "defamiliarization theory" has undergone a process of continuous improvement, with its focus shifting from the plain text to the world concerned. A similar process was experienced by scholars who apply the theor...The "defamiliarization theory" has undergone a process of continuous improvement, with its focus shifting from the plain text to the world concerned. A similar process was experienced by scholars who apply the theory. In this paper, the author explores Gary Snyder's "defamiliarization" technique of translating classic Chinese poems Departing from the traditional critique of the form and structure of the text, the author applies the "defamiliarization theory" itself towards the understanding of Snyder's art and thinking and a discussion of his literature, ideology, and creativity, thereby restoring a true image of Gary Snyder as a poet and a translator展开更多
As one of the best short story writers in Britain who ardently loved both music and poetry,Katherine Mansfield managed to add poetic and music beauty to story writing."Miss Brill"is perfected by her unique w...As one of the best short story writers in Britain who ardently loved both music and poetry,Katherine Mansfield managed to add poetic and music beauty to story writing."Miss Brill"is perfected by her unique writing style.Her poetic and musical language is applied in the story to strengthen the difficulty of understanding,prolong reader’s perception and achieve aesthetic effect.展开更多
Based on the theory of defamiliarization, it is proposed that Wuthering Heights adopts multiple perspectives in narrative structure, and Heathcliff's image coincides with that of Medea, a tragic character, in plot...Based on the theory of defamiliarization, it is proposed that Wuthering Heights adopts multiple perspectives in narrative structure, and Heathcliff's image coincides with that of Medea, a tragic character, in plot setting. From its unique artistic aesthetic effect by its multiple narrative perspectives and its dramatic features, the whole novel presents a kind of hazy, fresh aesthetic feel-ings, by reviewing, joint of the author and the love story is all the more mysterious and charming.展开更多
The Russian Formalists believed that literature distinguishes itself from non-literary language because it employs a whole range of devices that have a defamiliarizing effect. The ability to defamiliarize our percepti...The Russian Formalists believed that literature distinguishes itself from non-literary language because it employs a whole range of devices that have a defamiliarizing effect. The ability to defamiliarize our perception is not a quality that certain techniques inherently possess, it is all a matter of how a certain technique functions within a given literary work.展开更多
One of the most influential concepts of the literary theory in the past century, defamiliarization tends to distance the audience from the ordinary, in order to augment difficulties in comprehending and thus impede th...One of the most influential concepts of the literary theory in the past century, defamiliarization tends to distance the audience from the ordinary, in order to augment difficulties in comprehending and thus impede the automization of perception. It is originally put forward by Russian Formalists, yet ranges over literary movements including Futurism and Marxism, a historical and dynamic phenomenon from the theoretical level to the practice plane, from the pure aesthetic perspective to the motivated and political viewpoint. This paper attempts to make a comparatively detailed analysis of such a vigorous process.展开更多
Orwell's text The Road to Wigan Pier, henceforth referred to as RWP, is problematic due to the ambiguity of its status as a literary genre. The text is subversive on many levels, namely on the level of form. In order...Orwell's text The Road to Wigan Pier, henceforth referred to as RWP, is problematic due to the ambiguity of its status as a literary genre. The text is subversive on many levels, namely on the level of form. In order to show some aspects of the author's challenge of the conventional norms and methods of literary writing, a comparison between the writer's original diary of the journey to the industrial North of England, the main site of the coal mines, and the present book could be of great import. This reveals the author's genuine intellectual ability to manipulate and rearrange the events and scenes of the story on the discourse level. The author's manipulation and rearrangement of the story (the journey), events and scenes, clearly reveals his potential literary creativity and imagination. Orwell has deployed many strategies to fulfil this purpose. Each strategy is actually a contribution to the author's overall argument and at the same time it constitutes a further aspect of subversion. The first aspect of subversion lies on the level of form itself. The form of the book is effectively very challenging. Contrary to the conventional view of the fictional novel, the study of Orwell's text based on Grrard Genette's model reveals his challenge of the basic novelistic parameters. The novelistic ingredients such as setting, characterisation, and plot development have been treated in a subverting way. Though not totally discarded, they have been manipulated for the purpose of the author's general argument, which is Socialism. For instance, characters in the novel are treated as types, that is, representatives of their class. Besides, the order of scenes and events has been rearranged for the purpose of foregrounding representative scenes like the description of the Brookers' lodging-house. The author's treatment of the material of the text is primarily based on his personal experience as an outside observer during his journey to the North. Therefore, the exploration of the novel from a structuralist perspective based on Genette's model does not merely aim at the pure application of some literary and critical approaches to Orwell's text. This may be misleading since the investigation may fall in superficiality and simplicity. But the strategy deployed is actually a further contribution to the author's general argument and a manifestation of the novel's status as a creative and subversive text.展开更多
The article is structured around a premise of intertextuality, which is suggested not only by McCarthy's own more or less overt allusions to Faulkner's writing but also by the very name of his protagonist Suttree, w...The article is structured around a premise of intertextuality, which is suggested not only by McCarthy's own more or less overt allusions to Faulkner's writing but also by the very name of his protagonist Suttree, which is evocative of the name of perhaps the best known Faulkner villain Thomas Sutpen. This supposition in turn leads to an argument that in his 1979 novel McCarthy does indeed reverse the life story of Thomas Sutpen by making Suttree descend down the very path that Sutpen ascended a century and a half before him, i.e., from the ranks of Southern aristocracy to the scum of the earth, and in defiance of the same ideology that Sutpen went to great lengths to embrace. Thus, an intertextual and comparative approach to McCarthy's novel not only in the context of Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! but also his Light in August (cf. Joe Christmas) and The Sound and the Fury (cf. Quentin) as well as Ellen Glasgow's short story "Jordan's End" demonstrates that what Cormac McCarthy actually does in Suttree is to demythologize the South, complete with its aristocratic pretensions ("doing pretty"), dubious morality (incest) and fear of miscegenation (obsession with time and the double). Moreover, in doing so, he defamiliarizes it by reducing it to its Other (poor whites and African Americans), whose authenticity, liveliness and charitability defy the affectation, lifelessness and decadence of the aristocratic South.展开更多
John Donne’s poetry is noted for its use of conceit. The reason why his poems have special charm is not only that heis able to master this rhetorical device skillfully, but also that he has made conceit into a mode o...John Donne’s poetry is noted for its use of conceit. The reason why his poems have special charm is not only that heis able to master this rhetorical device skillfully, but also that he has made conceit into a mode of thinking.Therefore, conceit carries his philosophical speculation, love oath and religious piety, and this unique expressionproduces novel effect of defamiliarization and strengthens the emotional tension of his poetry.展开更多
William Faulkner's novel A Rose for Emily tells the tragedy of an old virgin in the old South.The reader's confusion is often dismissed by the fact that it reverses the chaotic timing and transliteration of pe...William Faulkner's novel A Rose for Emily tells the tragedy of an old virgin in the old South.The reader's confusion is often dismissed by the fact that it reverses the chaotic timing and transliteration of personal pronouns.Once readers understand that story,they feel an unprecedented shock.Therefore,this work well achieved the"unfamiliar"artistic effect."Defamiliarization"was put forward by the Russian formalist Viktor Shklovsky.He advocated the purpose of art is to extend the reader's perception process.This article analyzes the"defamiliarization"effect of this narrative from the perspective of Russian formalism with a view to providing more insights into understanding this work.展开更多
Shakespeare is a great poet in the history of English literature,and Sonnet 18 is just a most famous poem that wins universal praise.This paper is to study his magic art of language in this sonnet from a perspective o...Shakespeare is a great poet in the history of English literature,and Sonnet 18 is just a most famous poem that wins universal praise.This paper is to study his magic art of language in this sonnet from a perspective of Formalism: how the literariness of Sonnet 18 is realized,i.e.the defamiliarization,at the phonological,lexical and grammatical level of the form of language respectively.展开更多
Angela Carter is a famous female writer in the 20 th century who is known for her feminism, Gothic feature and magical realism. She is good at rewriting classical tales and adding new ideas and concepts to them. The C...Angela Carter is a famous female writer in the 20 th century who is known for her feminism, Gothic feature and magical realism. She is good at rewriting classical tales and adding new ideas and concepts to them. The Company of Wolves is one of her rewriting pieces. In this story, Carter takes The Little Red Riding Hood as her writing base. At the same time, she challenges the idea of the inferiority and natural dependence of female in the original fairy tale.Carter defamiliarizes her story from the traditional one as well as imitates it. In this way, she produces psychical distance and gives readers a sense of freshness. This paper tries to analyse Carter's work from Bullough's"Theory of Psychical Distance". By analyzing the exceptional characters and their abnormal desires, it aims to reveal Carter's special way to produce psychical distance.展开更多
While Pinter's earliest plays have been recognized in the modernist history of theatre as comedies of menace and his later plays as political comedies,this article argues that his earliest plays are equally very l...While Pinter's earliest plays have been recognized in the modernist history of theatre as comedies of menace and his later plays as political comedies,this article argues that his earliest plays are equally very liable to be interpreted as political comedies.Regardless of their absurdist dramatization of people's helpless exposure to external,unidentifiable threats,a common post-WWII characteristic feature of human experience,I claim that The Room and The Dumb Waiter(both written 1957,staged 1960),two model examples of Pinter's earliest oeuvres,do not simply follow the aesthetic of absurdist theatre to express human futility.The audience's experience of viewing the theatrical performances of both plays in terms of discursive cyclicality or character normality is subverted into one of changeability,strangeness,and contradiction.To foreground the political implications of such revolutionary theatrical experience,Pinter's plays are examined in the light of his unique use of defamiliarization,relying not on Brecht's traditional techniques of singing,dancing,image-projecting,or captioning,but on a simple,dual technique of image destruction and creation.It consists of divesting characters of their normality and portraying them instead as individuals who identify only with unusual images of place,time,body,and consciousness.Using this special technique of defamiliarization,both plays are examined to reveal Pinter's central political theme of undermining reality for purposes of mental and physical subjections.展开更多
文摘Erotic defamiliarization possesses a special portion in Shklovsky's defamiliarization theory and it is found in Henry James's works.This paper exemplifies Henry James's way of erotic defamiliarization in his works The American and "Daisy Miller".
文摘As the representative figure of Metaphysical Poetry, John Donne's poetry is characterized by unconventional forms, pe culiar images, and abundant conceits. Though John Donne's poems were ignored in his time, yet they have catered for the taste of modern writers and readers. This paper aims to study John Donne's poetry in terms of Victor Shklovsky's theory of defamiliarization, hoping to enrich the discussions of John Donne.
文摘Toni Morrision's Beloved earns a wide degree of recognition for its stylistic brilliance and psychological depth in American liter ature and it is discussed not only as a presentation of slavery,but also as motherhood.This paper,in the light of Shklovsky's theory of defa miliarization,aims to exam the application of the techniques of defamiliarization in Beloved from the following two aspects:narrative point of view and language strategies.
文摘In order to pursue literature nature,Russian formalists proposed the theory of defamiliarization,started literary studies from the way of language.Besides emphasizing the literature self-discipline,they entirely put the literary in the cage of language at same time,ignoring the humanistic nature of literature.This paper attempts to point out the limitations and shortcomings of the defamiliarization theory by analyzing it,explain that Heidegger’s reverting to simplicity is the fundament of defamiliarization.
文摘Defamiliarization,the core theory of Russian formalism,emphasizes specific effects in a literary work by adopting fresh perspective to change readers' automatic and practical perception to an unfamiliar one.Edgar allan poe is one of the writers who applied defamiliarization in his writing The Black Cat to help improve the literariness of a literature,break the set pattern and attract readers attention on modern people's twisted personality and dark inner world.
文摘As the core conception in Russian Formalism,the defamiliarization is fully manifested in The Sound and the Fury.The employ-ments of two defamiliarization devices—the uniqueness of narrative perspective and the difficulty of the language are much prominent inthe narration of the idiot Benji,through which the work possesses a strong aesthetic effect.Through exploring the much objective descrip-tion of the stream of consciousness and the defamiliarization effect which are created by the idiot perspective,this thesis will highlightthe various conflicts of the Compson family and the time they lived in,thus revealing the theme of a great family's decline.The authorwill also analyze the sensory stimulation and emotional shock brought by the unique narrative perspective.
文摘Nabokov believes that “art is a method by which the writer is able to cause a special aesthetic experience among thereader”;language, structure, style and other means of expression are always more important than the plot of thework. We can find a vivid embodiment of this creation view in Pale Fire. Because of the method“defamiliarization”, the aesthetics of the whole novel is expressed in three key steps: the introduction of poeticambiguity on Shade’s poem;an explanation of poetic ambiguity by means of Kinbote’s commentary;regenarationof ambiguity through the suspension of Kinbote’s commentary from Shade’s poetic language. The artistic theme ofambiguity is a manifestation of the author’s hidden feelings for the homeland. Nabokov, as an expatriate Russianwriter, is experiencing not only a deep relationship with his homeland, but also a sense of bitterness from being inexile. His impression and memories of hometown beacame the inspiration for creation.
文摘The "defamiliarization theory" has undergone a process of continuous improvement, with its focus shifting from the plain text to the world concerned. A similar process was experienced by scholars who apply the theory. In this paper, the author explores Gary Snyder's "defamiliarization" technique of translating classic Chinese poems Departing from the traditional critique of the form and structure of the text, the author applies the "defamiliarization theory" itself towards the understanding of Snyder's art and thinking and a discussion of his literature, ideology, and creativity, thereby restoring a true image of Gary Snyder as a poet and a translator
文摘As one of the best short story writers in Britain who ardently loved both music and poetry,Katherine Mansfield managed to add poetic and music beauty to story writing."Miss Brill"is perfected by her unique writing style.Her poetic and musical language is applied in the story to strengthen the difficulty of understanding,prolong reader’s perception and achieve aesthetic effect.
文摘Based on the theory of defamiliarization, it is proposed that Wuthering Heights adopts multiple perspectives in narrative structure, and Heathcliff's image coincides with that of Medea, a tragic character, in plot setting. From its unique artistic aesthetic effect by its multiple narrative perspectives and its dramatic features, the whole novel presents a kind of hazy, fresh aesthetic feel-ings, by reviewing, joint of the author and the love story is all the more mysterious and charming.
文摘The Russian Formalists believed that literature distinguishes itself from non-literary language because it employs a whole range of devices that have a defamiliarizing effect. The ability to defamiliarize our perception is not a quality that certain techniques inherently possess, it is all a matter of how a certain technique functions within a given literary work.
文摘One of the most influential concepts of the literary theory in the past century, defamiliarization tends to distance the audience from the ordinary, in order to augment difficulties in comprehending and thus impede the automization of perception. It is originally put forward by Russian Formalists, yet ranges over literary movements including Futurism and Marxism, a historical and dynamic phenomenon from the theoretical level to the practice plane, from the pure aesthetic perspective to the motivated and political viewpoint. This paper attempts to make a comparatively detailed analysis of such a vigorous process.
文摘Orwell's text The Road to Wigan Pier, henceforth referred to as RWP, is problematic due to the ambiguity of its status as a literary genre. The text is subversive on many levels, namely on the level of form. In order to show some aspects of the author's challenge of the conventional norms and methods of literary writing, a comparison between the writer's original diary of the journey to the industrial North of England, the main site of the coal mines, and the present book could be of great import. This reveals the author's genuine intellectual ability to manipulate and rearrange the events and scenes of the story on the discourse level. The author's manipulation and rearrangement of the story (the journey), events and scenes, clearly reveals his potential literary creativity and imagination. Orwell has deployed many strategies to fulfil this purpose. Each strategy is actually a contribution to the author's overall argument and at the same time it constitutes a further aspect of subversion. The first aspect of subversion lies on the level of form itself. The form of the book is effectively very challenging. Contrary to the conventional view of the fictional novel, the study of Orwell's text based on Grrard Genette's model reveals his challenge of the basic novelistic parameters. The novelistic ingredients such as setting, characterisation, and plot development have been treated in a subverting way. Though not totally discarded, they have been manipulated for the purpose of the author's general argument, which is Socialism. For instance, characters in the novel are treated as types, that is, representatives of their class. Besides, the order of scenes and events has been rearranged for the purpose of foregrounding representative scenes like the description of the Brookers' lodging-house. The author's treatment of the material of the text is primarily based on his personal experience as an outside observer during his journey to the North. Therefore, the exploration of the novel from a structuralist perspective based on Genette's model does not merely aim at the pure application of some literary and critical approaches to Orwell's text. This may be misleading since the investigation may fall in superficiality and simplicity. But the strategy deployed is actually a further contribution to the author's general argument and a manifestation of the novel's status as a creative and subversive text.
文摘The article is structured around a premise of intertextuality, which is suggested not only by McCarthy's own more or less overt allusions to Faulkner's writing but also by the very name of his protagonist Suttree, which is evocative of the name of perhaps the best known Faulkner villain Thomas Sutpen. This supposition in turn leads to an argument that in his 1979 novel McCarthy does indeed reverse the life story of Thomas Sutpen by making Suttree descend down the very path that Sutpen ascended a century and a half before him, i.e., from the ranks of Southern aristocracy to the scum of the earth, and in defiance of the same ideology that Sutpen went to great lengths to embrace. Thus, an intertextual and comparative approach to McCarthy's novel not only in the context of Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! but also his Light in August (cf. Joe Christmas) and The Sound and the Fury (cf. Quentin) as well as Ellen Glasgow's short story "Jordan's End" demonstrates that what Cormac McCarthy actually does in Suttree is to demythologize the South, complete with its aristocratic pretensions ("doing pretty"), dubious morality (incest) and fear of miscegenation (obsession with time and the double). Moreover, in doing so, he defamiliarizes it by reducing it to its Other (poor whites and African Americans), whose authenticity, liveliness and charitability defy the affectation, lifelessness and decadence of the aristocratic South.
文摘John Donne’s poetry is noted for its use of conceit. The reason why his poems have special charm is not only that heis able to master this rhetorical device skillfully, but also that he has made conceit into a mode of thinking.Therefore, conceit carries his philosophical speculation, love oath and religious piety, and this unique expressionproduces novel effect of defamiliarization and strengthens the emotional tension of his poetry.
文摘William Faulkner's novel A Rose for Emily tells the tragedy of an old virgin in the old South.The reader's confusion is often dismissed by the fact that it reverses the chaotic timing and transliteration of personal pronouns.Once readers understand that story,they feel an unprecedented shock.Therefore,this work well achieved the"unfamiliar"artistic effect."Defamiliarization"was put forward by the Russian formalist Viktor Shklovsky.He advocated the purpose of art is to extend the reader's perception process.This article analyzes the"defamiliarization"effect of this narrative from the perspective of Russian formalism with a view to providing more insights into understanding this work.
文摘Shakespeare is a great poet in the history of English literature,and Sonnet 18 is just a most famous poem that wins universal praise.This paper is to study his magic art of language in this sonnet from a perspective of Formalism: how the literariness of Sonnet 18 is realized,i.e.the defamiliarization,at the phonological,lexical and grammatical level of the form of language respectively.
文摘Angela Carter is a famous female writer in the 20 th century who is known for her feminism, Gothic feature and magical realism. She is good at rewriting classical tales and adding new ideas and concepts to them. The Company of Wolves is one of her rewriting pieces. In this story, Carter takes The Little Red Riding Hood as her writing base. At the same time, she challenges the idea of the inferiority and natural dependence of female in the original fairy tale.Carter defamiliarizes her story from the traditional one as well as imitates it. In this way, she produces psychical distance and gives readers a sense of freshness. This paper tries to analyse Carter's work from Bullough's"Theory of Psychical Distance". By analyzing the exceptional characters and their abnormal desires, it aims to reveal Carter's special way to produce psychical distance.
基金Open access funding provided by The Science,Technology&Innovation Funding Authority(STDF)in cooperation with The Egyptian Knowledge Bank(EKB)Open access funding provided by Al Azhar University under a Transformative Agreement plus fully OA agreement.
文摘While Pinter's earliest plays have been recognized in the modernist history of theatre as comedies of menace and his later plays as political comedies,this article argues that his earliest plays are equally very liable to be interpreted as political comedies.Regardless of their absurdist dramatization of people's helpless exposure to external,unidentifiable threats,a common post-WWII characteristic feature of human experience,I claim that The Room and The Dumb Waiter(both written 1957,staged 1960),two model examples of Pinter's earliest oeuvres,do not simply follow the aesthetic of absurdist theatre to express human futility.The audience's experience of viewing the theatrical performances of both plays in terms of discursive cyclicality or character normality is subverted into one of changeability,strangeness,and contradiction.To foreground the political implications of such revolutionary theatrical experience,Pinter's plays are examined in the light of his unique use of defamiliarization,relying not on Brecht's traditional techniques of singing,dancing,image-projecting,or captioning,but on a simple,dual technique of image destruction and creation.It consists of divesting characters of their normality and portraying them instead as individuals who identify only with unusual images of place,time,body,and consciousness.Using this special technique of defamiliarization,both plays are examined to reveal Pinter's central political theme of undermining reality for purposes of mental and physical subjections.