Formalism Texts - "The Theory of the 'Formal Method'" by Boris Eikhenbaum (1926)

Formalism summarized and explained in one essay. Yes. Warning: it's still pretty dense.

What trends in literary criticism were the Formalists reacting against when they began theorizing about poetry? What did they think was wrong with the state of literary criticism? And once their different and superior method of criticism was developed, according to Eikhenbaum, what are some of the key concepts that emerged from Formalism?