From Structuralism to Interpretation: Revisiting the Prague School’s Theoretical Legacy

The Prague School, established in 1926, stands as a critical intellectual development in the study of language and literature, offering a systematic framework for analyzing the structural and functional aspects of communication. Guided by the intellectual rigour of figures such as Vilém Mathesius, Roman Jakobson, Jan Mukařovský, and René Wellek, the School introduced foundational methodologies that advanced structural linguistics through the study of phonemes, markedness theory, and the functional sentence perspective. In the realm of literary theory and poetics, the School emphasised principles such as foregrounding, automatisation, and the aesthetic function, which sought to elucidate the intricate relationship between artistic form and communicative purpose. Expanding into semiotics, Mukařovský’s concept of “the aesthetic sign” redefined the understanding of artistic texts as communicative acts shaped by cultural and functional dynamics. Contemporary scholarship, including Barthes’ theoretical extensions, reveals how the Prague School’s insights resonate within new criticism, structuralism, post-structuralism, narratology, and cognitive linguistics. While formalistic tendencies in its approach have been questioned, the Prague School’s insistence on systematic analysis and the interrelation of linguistic and literary components remains a vital instrument for modern literary criticism. Its influence persists as newer generations of scholars refine, critique, and reinterpret its theories, further enriching the study of language, literature, and culture.