This article examines a largely neglected aspect of research on Russian formalism, the notion of sujet (sjužet) invented by Viktor Šklovskij. The concept of sujet generally designates neither the result of transformations nor the level or plane where these transformations take place, but rather the process of artistic construction, a moment in “form.” Šklovskij conceives of the sujet as energeia. He shares the Aristotelian conception of the origin of art, which does not result from organic growth, from transmission from the past or from heritage, but from the act of doing, πόειν. The emphasis put on making and assembly corresponds perfectly to the central concept of Aristotle’s Poetics: ποίησις, the “joining together of happenings.” The concept of sujet corresponds to the ontological category of ἐνέργεια, that is, “actuality” (“being-at-work”) or ἐντελέχεια (“having-arrived-at-the-destination-and-abiding-therein”). The sujet is ἐνέργεια, the actual, the soul of the narrative work. This dual facet of Šklovskij’s concept of sujet, energetic power in the modern sense and energeia in the Aristotelian sense, determines the essence of a narrative.