EntrancePost poetry of the early 20th century briefly. Russian literature of the 20th century ("Silver Age"
At the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries. The development of Russian culture - literature, music, painting and architecture - distinguished by its extreme saturation of artistic, aesthetic, religious and philosophical searches and achievements, did not proceed in a straight line, but like a diverging “fan”, with many lines and trends, with the formation of quickly replacing each other's schools and directions. In the fine arts, the Silver Age is represented by the painting and graphics of M. Vrubel, A. Benois, L. Bakst, K. Somov, M. Dobuzhinsky, B. Borisov-Musatov, the active work of the “World of Arts”, theatrical art - the stage innovations of M. Fokin , Sun. Meyerhold, N. Evreinov, in music - the names of A. Scriabin, N. Prokofiev, N. Stravinsky, S. Rachmaninov. The innovations of Russian modernism and avant-garde appeared in architecture. In Russian literature, against the background of realism, symbolism and acmeism emerge, the left avant-garde is vigorously asserting itself, all of them modernize the traditions of Russian classics or completely deny them.
“Electrified” by various moods and intuitions, multidirectional searches and aspirations, the atmosphere of the turn of the century paradoxically combined an unusually bright creative upsurge with a feeling of crisis and spiritual decadence. The Silver Age gave examples of a special sense of the world, sometimes super-acute and stylistically exalted. Russian culture of this period is characterized by active interaction with Western European art and philosophy. The possibilities of artistic and intuitive knowledge of the world were re-opened, rethought symbols and “eternal images” of world culture, ancient myths were involved in creativity, samples of both primitive art and liturgical chant were used.
One of the authors of the term “Silver Age,” N. Berdyaev, wrote: “This was the era of the awakening in Russia of independent philosophical thought, the flourishing of poetry and the intensification of aesthetic sensitivity, religious anxiety and quest, interest in mysticism and the occult. New souls appeared, new sources were discovered creative life, saw new dawns, combined the feelings of sunset and death with the feeling of sunrise and hope for the transformation of life.” Heyday and crisis, individualism and the feeling of an indissoluble connection with the cosmos and God, the intrinsic value of creativity and the desire to break the boundary between art and life itself, rebellion against established aesthetic norms and the desire for a synthesis of all forms of art, the search for the fullness of being and bold experiments with it - these are those heterogeneous impulses that gave birth to various aesthetic schools and directions, programs and manifestos.
The definition of “Silver Age” entered the cultural consciousness of many authors of this era. A. Akhmatova in “Poem without a Hero” focused on the phrase “silver age”: “And the silver month floated brightly / Above the silver age.” V. Rozanov wrote in “Mimoletny”: “Pushkin, Lermontov, Koltsov (and very few others) will move into the next “Silver Age” of Russian literature.” The worldview of the Silver Age as the end of the 19th century. and the beginning of a new era was expressed by A. Blok in 1910: “Behind our shoulders are the great shadows of Tolstoy and Nietzsche, Wagner and Dostoevsky. Everything changes; we stand in the face of the new and universal.<…>We have experienced what others manage to survive in a hundred years; It was not for nothing that we saw how, in the thunder and lightning of the elements of the earth and underground, the new age threw its seeds into the ground; in this stormy light we dreamed and made us wise with later wisdom - all centuries. Those of us who were not washed away or crippled by the terrible wave of the past decade, with full right and with clear hope, await new light from the new century.” The choice of the epithet “silver” was not accidental: a line was drawn between Pushkin’s golden age, art of the highest standard, the age of Russian classics and “new art”, which modernized classical traditions, sought new means of expression and artistic forms.
Through a creative dispute with realism and naturalism, symbolism declared itself; in polemics with symbolism, Acmeism emerged and aesthetically self-defined itself; Russian futurism asserted itself through the denial of symbolism and acmeism, sharply overthrowing all traditions and aesthetic norms of verbal creativity. The emerging new trends and directions had their heyday and decline, giving impetus to innovations and creative achievements of their rivals and successors. Modernism could not help but come to the avant-garde, leftist art, the extreme conclusion of which was the affirmation of the absurdity of existence, which is characteristic of the OBERIU poets. Attention to formal searches, art as a technique and design was initiated by scientific achievements Russian formal school and its emergence in the 20s. constructivism. The Russian avant-garde - literary and artistic - is a unique phenomenon, inscribed in the general trends of world art of the 20th century. The search for new forms and means of artistic expression yielded vivid results in the 10-20s. The Silver Age is represented by major poets who were not part of any groups or movements - M. Voloshin and M. Tsvetaeva.
Not all literary and artistic realities of the early 20th century. correspond to the concept of the Silver Age. We must not forget that L. Tolstoy, the great representative of critical realism, still lived (he died in 1910). His departure from Yasnaya Polyana and death at the hitherto unknown Ostapovo station shocked all of Russia. Another artist was A. Chekhov, an artist with a piercingly clear mind, compassionate for man in his absolutely sad and philistine stuffy environment. Chekhov introduced kind laughter and a pure smile over the inescapable tragedy of human existence into Russian literature. In the same era, A. Gorky, A. Tolstoy, L. Andreev, V. Veresaev, I. Bunin, B. Zaitsev, I. Shmelev, M. Allanov, M. Osorgin began their journey.
This period is also called the Russian cultural renaissance. It was at the turn of the century that original, independent religious, moral and philosophical thought awakened in Russia, which did not strive to build complete philosophical “systems”, but penetrated into the depths of contradictions modern life, revealed the metaphysical foundations of existence, the essential connections of man with the universal, eternally created cosmic life. The legacy of the Russian cultural renaissance, represented by N. Berdyaev, P. Florensky, V. Rozanov, O. S. Bulgakov, N. Fedorov, G. Fedotov, L. Shestov, is original and significant. Russian emigrant philosophers became the discoverers and founders of the philosophy of personalism, the philosophy of freedom and the philosophy of creativity. “Metaphysics of All-Unity” Vl. Solovyov, the struggle of spirit and flesh and the “kingdom of the Third Testament” by D. Merezhkovsky, personalism and the creative struggle against the objectification of the spirit by N. Berdyaev, the creative freedom of the “inner” word of V. Rozanov, the “life of ideas” and the inextinguishability of “The Unevening Light” by S. Bulgakov , “Conditions of absolute good” by V. Vysheslavtsev, the ideas of L. Shestov, N. Shpet, S. Frank, B. Lossky, their deep understanding in the spiritual, religious and philosophical aspects of the heritage of Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol - a contribution outlined in the most general form , which Russian religious and moral thinkers contributed to Russian and world philosophical, ethical and philological thought of the 20th century.
The Silver Age refers primarily to Russian poetry of the early 20th century. Russian cultural renaissance - towards moral and religious philosophy and ethics. Poets and philosophers, artists and composers had a premonition of the death of the old world. Some tried to quickly call on the “coming Huns,” others saw the meaning of life in preserving shrines and traditions, or, as Vyach said. Ivanov, is to “take the lamp away from them into the catacombs, into the caves,” or, according to A. Blok, “to curse chaos.” Symbolism, having modernized the traditions of Russian classical literature, became a brilliant conclusion to the era. Russian religious and moral philosophy turned to the Orthodox tradition, the patristic sources of spirituality, before leaving for a long time in the “Soviet night” to Solovki, to the catacombs of the camps or to a foreign land.
Literally after several decades of artistic discoveries and achievements, the “starburst” of the Silver Age, the October Revolution, the Civil War, the genocide of the 1930s. radically changed the life of Russia, which even began to be called in a new way - the USSR (for M. Tsvetaeva it was a “whistling sound”). There has been a radical change in the historical and cultural paradigm. In 1921, A. Blok died, and N. Gumilyov was shot at the same time. This year was perceived by many as the end of the Silver Age. However, this bright era lasted as long as its bearers were alive. cultural consciousness. A striking example is the work of A. Akhmatova and O. Mandelstam, B. Pasternak and N. Zabolotsky.
Divided into two streams, Russian literature, despite all objective conditions, sought to preserve both the classical traditions and the traditions of the Silver Age, the richness of the Russian language, and to increase the cultural heritage.
This is evidenced by the work of I. Severyanin, M. Tsvetaeva, E. Kuzmina-Karavaeva, G. Adamovich, G. Ivanov, B. Poplavsky, I. Bunin, V. Nabokov and many other Russian emigrant writers who were forced to leave their homeland.
Most of the symbolist poets emigrated - D. Merezhkovsky, Z. Gippius, K. Balmont, Vyach. Ivanov. Symbolist V. Bryusov found an opportunity to collaborate with new government. Among the Acmeists, N. Gumilyov was shot, O. Mandelstam died in the camps, the son of A. Akhmatova and N. Gumilyov, in the future the most prominent Russian scientist, “the last Eurasianist,” L. Gumilyov was a hostage of Akhmatova’s muse, while in the camps and penal battalions. Oberiut N. Zabolotsky went through the torment of the camps and the experience of exile. The absurdist D. Kharms went through difficult trials. Almost all the most prominent philosophers were sent abroad on the so-called “philosophical ship”, except Fr. P. Florensky, who died on Solovki, and A. Losev, who was serving exile. The Russian avant-garde, being a radical left-wing phenomenon, came closest to an alliance with real political power in the country. However, V. Mayakovsky’s alliance with the authorities ended in creative and personal tragedy for him. Russian literature, together with the people, ascended to the tragic calvary of the 20th century in order to atone at the cost of incredible suffering for pride and fight against God, self-will and rebellion.
Culture of the 20th century creatively absorbed the ideas, innovations and discoveries of Russian poets and philosophers, artists and directors, musicians and actors of the Silver Age, preserving as an ideal their uplifting spirit and creative dedication, a wide ideological and philosophical range and the grandeur of artistic tasks.
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The emergence of new directions, trends, styles in art and literature is always associated with an understanding of the place and role of man in the world, in the Universe, with a change in man’s self-awareness. One of these fractures occurred in late XIX- beginning of the twentieth century. Artists of that time advocated a new vision of reality and searched for original artistic means. The outstanding Russian philosopher N.A. Berdyaev called this short but surprisingly bright period the Silver Age. This definition primarily applies to Russian poetry of the early twentieth century. The Golden Age is the age of Pushkin and Russian classics. It became the basis for revealing the talents of the poets of the Silver Age. In Anna Akhmatova’s “Poem without a Hero” we find the lines:
And the silver month floated brightly above the silver age.
Chronologically, the Silver Age lasted one and a half to two decades, but in terms of intensity it can safely be called a century. It turned out to be possible thanks to the creative interaction of people of rare talents. The artistic picture of the Silver Age is multi-layered and contradictory. Various artistic movements, creative schools, and individual non-traditional styles arose and intertwined. The art of the Silver Age paradoxically united the old and the new, the passing and the emerging, turning into a harmony of opposites, forming a culture of a special kind. At that turbulent time, there was a unique overlap between the realistic traditions of the outgoing golden age and new ones. artistic directions. A. Blok wrote: “The sun of naive realism has set.” It was a time of religious quest, fantasy and mysticism. The synthesis of arts was recognized as the highest aesthetic ideal. Symbolist and futurist poetry, music pretending to be philosophy, decorative painting, a new synthetic ballet, decadent theater, and the “modern” architectural style arose. The poets M. Kuzmin and B. Pasternak composed music. Composers Scriabin, Rebikov, Stanchinsky practiced some in philosophy, some in poetry and even prose. The development of art occurred at an accelerated pace, with great intensity, giving birth to hundreds of new ideas.
By the end of the 19th century, symbolist poets, who later began to be called “senior” symbolists, loudly declared themselves - Z. Gippius, D. Merezhkovsky, K. Balmont, F. Sologub, N. Minsky. Later, a group of “young symbolist” poets arose - A. Bely, A. Blok, Vyach. Ivanov. A group of Acmeist poets was formed - N. Gumilyov, O. Mandelstam, S. Gorodetsky, A. Akhmatova and others. Poetic futurism appears (A. Kruchenykh, V. Khlebnikov, V. Mayakovsky). But despite all the diversity and variety of manifestations in the work of artists of that time, similar trends are observed. The changes were based on common origins. The remnants of the feudal system were disintegrating, and there was a “ferment of minds” in the pre-revolutionary era. This created a completely new environment for the development of culture.
In poetry, music, and painting of the Silver Age, one of the main themes was the theme of freedom of the human spirit in the face of Eternity. Artists sought to unravel the eternal mystery of the universe. Some approached this from a religious position, others admired the beauty of the world created by God. Many artists perceived death as another existence, as a happy deliverance from the torment of the suffering human soul. The cult of love, intoxication with the sensual beauty of the world, the elements of nature, and the joy of life were unusually strong. The concept of “love” was deeply labored. Poets wrote about love for God and for Russia. In the poetry of A. Blok, Vl. Solovyov, V. Bryusov, Scythian chariots rush, pagan Rus' is reflected in the canvases of N. Roerich, Petrushka dances in the ballets of I. Stravinsky, a Russian fairy tale is recreated (“Alyonushka” by V. Vasnetsov, “The Leshy” by M. Vrubel).
Valery Bryusov at the beginning of the twentieth century became a generally recognized theorist and leader of Russian symbolism. He was a poet, prose writer, literary critic, scientist, encyclopedic educated person. The beginning of Bryusov’s creative activity was the publication of three collections “Russian Symbolists”. He admired the poetry of the French symbolists, which was reflected in the collections “Masterpieces”, “This Is Me”, “The Third Watch”, “To the City and the World”.
Bryusov showed great interest in other cultures, ancient history, by antiquity, created universal images. In his poems the Assyrian king Assargadon appears as if alive, the Roman legions pass by and great commander Alexander the Great, showing medieval Venice, Dante and more. Bryusov headed the large Symbolist magazine “Scales”. Although Bryusov was considered a recognized master of symbolism, the principles of writing of this direction had a greater impact on early poems, such as “Creativity” and “To the Young Poet”.
Idealistic thinking soon gave way to earthly, objectively significant topics. Bryusov was the first to see and predict the onset of the cruel industrial age. He praised human thought, new discoveries, was interested in aviation, and predicted space flights. For his amazing performance, Tsvetaeva called Bryusov a “hero of labor.” In the poem “Work” he formulated his life goals:
I want to experience the secrets of Life wise and simple. All paths are extraordinary, The path of labor is like a different path.
Bryusov remained in Russia until the end of his life; in 1920 he founded the Institute of Literature and Art. Bryusov translated the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Armenian poets.
Konstantin Balmont was widely known as a poet, enjoyed enormous popularity in the last ten years of the 19th century, and was an idol of youth. Balmont's work lasted more than 50 years and fully reflected the state of transition at the turn of the century, the fermentation of the minds of that time, the desire to withdraw into a special, fictional world. At the beginning of his career, Balmont wrote many political poems, in which he created a cruel image of Tsar Nicholas II. They were secretly passed from hand to hand, like leaflets.
Already in the first collection, “Under the Northern Sky,” the poet’s poems acquire grace of form and musicality.
The theme of the sun runs through the poet’s entire work. For him, the image of the life-giving sun is a symbol of life, living nature, with which he always felt an organic connection: Material from the site
I came into this world to see the Sun and the blue horizon. I came into this world to see the Sun. And the heights of the mountains. I came to this world to see the Sea and the lush color of the valleys. I made peace. In one glance, I am the ruler...
In the poem “Bezverbnost” Balmont brilliantly notices the special state of Russian nature:
There is a tired tenderness in Russian nature, The silent pain of hidden sadness, The hopelessness of grief, voicelessness, vastness, Cold heights, receding distances.
The very title of the poem speaks of the absence of action, of the immersion of the human soul in a state of wise contemplation. The poet conveys various shades of sadness, which, growing, pours out in tears:
And the heart has forgiven, but the heart has frozen, And it cries, and cries, and cries involuntarily.
The poets of the Silver Age were able to use bright strokes to add capacity and depth to the content of poems that reflected the flow of feelings and emotions, the complex life of the soul.
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Russian literature of the 20th century ("Silver Age". Prose. Poetry).
Russian literature XX century- heir to the tradition of the golden age of Russian classical literature. Its artistic level is quite comparable to our classics.
Throughout the century, there has been a keen interest in society and literature in the artistic heritage and spiritual potential of Pushkin and Gogol, Goncharov and Ostrovsky, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, whose work is perceived and evaluated depending on the philosophical and ideological trends of the time, on creative searches in literature itself. . Interaction with tradition is complex: it is not only development, but also repulsion, overcoming, and rethinking of traditions. In the 20th century, new artistic systems were born in Russian literature - modernism, avant-gardeism, socialist realism. Realism and romanticism continue to live. Each of these systems has its own understanding of the tasks of art, its own attitude to tradition, the language of fiction, genre forms, and style. Your understanding of the individual, his place and role in history and national life.
The literary process in Russia in the 20th century was largely determined by the influence of various philosophical systems and politics on the artist and culture as a whole. On the one hand, there is undoubtedly an influence on literature of the ideas of Russian religious philosophy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (the works of N. Fedorov, V. Solovyov, N. Berdyaev, V. Rozanov, etc.), on the other hand, of Marxist philosophy and Bolshevik practice. Marxist ideology, starting from the 1920s, has established a strict dictatorship in literature, expelling from it everything that does not coincide with its party guidelines and the strictly regulated ideological and aesthetic framework of socialist realism, which was directly approved as the main method of Russian literature of the 20th century at the First Congress of Soviet Writers in 1934 year.
Starting from the 1920s, our literature ceases to exist as a single national literature. It is forced to divide into three streams: Soviet; literature of Russian abroad (emigrant); and the so-called “detained” within the country, that is, not having access to the reader for censorship reasons. These streams were isolated from each other until the 1980s, and the reader did not have the opportunity to present a holistic picture of the development of national literature. This tragic circumstance is one of the features of the literary process. It also largely determined the tragedy of fate, the originality of the work of such writers as Bunin, Nabokov, Platonov, Bulgakov and others. Currently, the active publication of works by emigrant writers of all three waves, works that have lain in writers’ archives for many years, allows us to see the wealth and diversity of national literature. It became possible to study it truly scientifically in its entirety, comprehending the internal laws of its development as a special, strictly artistic area of the general historical process.
In the study of Russian literature and its periodization, the principles of exclusive and direct dependence of literary development on socio-political reasons are overcome. Of course, literature responded to the most important political events of the time, but mainly in terms of themes and issues. According to its artistic principles, it preserved itself as an intrinsically valuable sphere of the spiritual life of society. Traditionally, the following are distinguished: periods:
1) the end of the 19th century - the first decades of the 20th century;
2) 1920-1930s;
3) 1940s - mid-1950s;
4) mid-1950s-1990s.
The end of the 19th century was a turning point in the development of social and artistic life in Russia. This time is characterized by a sharp exacerbation social conflicts, the growth of mass protests, the politicization of life and the extraordinary growth of personal consciousness. The human personality is perceived as a unity of many principles - social and natural, moral and biological. And in literature, characters are not determined exclusively and primarily by environment and social experience. Different, sometimes polar, ways of reflecting reality appear.
Subsequently, the poet N. Otsup called this period the “Silver Age” of Russian literature. The modern researcher M. Pyanykh defines this stage of Russian culture as follows: “The Silver Age” - in comparison with the “golden”, Pushkin’s - is usually called in the history of Russian poetry, literature and art the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. If we keep in mind that the “Silver Age” had a prologue (80s of the 19th century) and an epilogue (the years of the February and October revolutions and civil war), then its beginning can be considered Dostoevsky’s famous speech about Pushkin (1880), and the end is Blok’s speech “On the appointment of a poet” (1921), also dedicated to the “son of harmony” - Pushkin. The names of Pushkin and Dostoevsky are associated with two main, actively interacting trends in Russian literature of both the “Silver Age” and the entire 20th century - harmonic and tragic.”
The theme of the fate of Russia, its spiritual and moral essence and historical prospects becomes central in the works of writers of different ideological and aesthetic movements. Interest in the problem of national character, the specifics of national life, and human nature is intensifying. In the works of writers of different artistic methods, they are solved in different ways: in social, specific historical terms by realists, followers and continuers of the traditions of critical realism of the 19th century. The realistic direction was represented by A. Serafimovich, V. Veresaev, A. Kuprin, N. Garin-Mikhailovsky, I. Shmelev, I. Bunin and others. In the metaphysical plane, using elements of convention, fantasy, moving away from the principles of life-likeness - by modernist writers . Symbolists F. Sologub, A. Bely, expressionist L. Andreev and others. A new hero is also born, a “continuously growing” person, overcoming the shackles of his oppressive and overwhelming environment. This is the hero of M. Gorky, the hero of socialist realism.
Literature of the early 20th century - literature on philosophical issues primarily. Any social aspects of life acquire a global spiritual and philosophical meaning in it.
The defining features of the literature of this period:
interest in eternal questions: the meaning of life for an individual and humanity; the mystery of the national character and history of Russia; worldly and spiritual; human and nature;
intensive search for new artistic means of expression;
the emergence of non-realistic methods - modernism (symbolism, acmeism), avant-garde (futurism);
tendencies towards the interpenetration of literary genres into each other, rethinking traditional genre forms and filling them with new content.
The struggle between the two main artistic systems - realism and modernism - determined the development and originality of the prose of these years. Despite discussions about the crisis and the “end” of realism, new possibilities for realistic art opened up in the work of the late L.N. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhova, V.G. Korolenko, I.A. Bunina.
Young realist writers (A. Kuprin, V. Veresaev, N. Teleshov, N. Garin-Mikhailovsky, L. Andreev) united in the Moscow circle “Sreda”. In the publishing house of the Znanie partnership, headed by M. Gorky, they published their works, in which the traditions of democratic literature of the 60-70s developed and were uniquely transformed, with its special attention to the personality of a person from the people, his spiritual quest. The Chekhov tradition continued.
The problems of the historical development of society and the active creative activity of the individual were raised by M. Gorky; socialist tendencies are obvious in his work (the novel “Mother”).
The need and regularity of the synthesis of the principles of realism and modernism were substantiated and implemented in their creative practice by young realist writers: E. Zamyatin, A. Remizov and others.
The prose of the Symbolists occupies a special place in the literary process. A philosophical understanding of history is characteristic of D. Merezhkovsky’s trilogy “Christ and Antichrist”. We will see the history and stylization of history in the prose of V. Bryusov (novel “Fire Angel”). In the novel “without hope” “The Little Demon” by F. Sologub, the poetics of the modernist novel is formed, with its new understanding of classical traditions. A. Bely in “Silver Dove” and “Petersburg” makes extensive use of stylization, rhythmic possibilities of language, literary and historical reminiscences to create a new type of novel.
Particularly intensive searches for new content and new forms occurred in poetry. The philosophical and ideological and aesthetic trends of the era were embodied in three main trends.
In the mid-90s, Russian symbolism was theoretically substantiated in articles by D. Merezhkovsky and V. Bryusov. The symbolists were greatly influenced by the idealist philosophers A. Schopenhauer, F. Nietzsche, as well as the work of the French symbolist poets P. Verlaine and A. Rimbaud. Symbolists proclaimed mystical content and symbol as the basis of their creativity as the main means of its embodiment. Beauty is the only value and the main criterion for evaluation in the poetry of the older symbolists. The work of K. Balmont, N. Minsky, Z. Gippius, F. Sologub is distinguished by extraordinary musicality, it is focused on conveying the fleeting insights of the poet.
In the early 1900s, symbolism was in crisis. A new movement stands out from symbolism, the so-called “young symbolism”, represented by Vyach. Ivanov, A. Bely, A. Blok, S. Solovyov, Y. Baltrushaitis. The Young Symbolists were greatly influenced by the Russian religious philosopher V. Solovyov. They developed the theory of “effective art.” They were characterized by an interpretation of the events of modernity and Russian history as a clash of metaphysical forces. At the same time, the creativity of the Young Symbolists is characterized by an appeal to social issues.
The crisis of symbolism led to the emergence of a new movement opposing it - Acmeism. Acmeism was formed in the “Workshop of Poets” circle. It included N. Gumilyov, S. Gorodetsky, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam, G. Ivanov and others. They tried to reform the aesthetic system of the Symbolists, asserting the intrinsic value of reality, and focused on a “material” perception of the world, “material” clarity image. The poetry of the Acmeists is characterized by “wonderful clarity” of language, realism and accuracy of detail, and the picturesque brightness of figurative and expressive means.
In the 1910s, an avant-garde movement in poetry emerged - futurism. Futurism is heterogeneous: several groups are distinguished within it. The Cubo-Futurists (D. and N. Burliuk, V. Khlebnikov, V. Mayakovsky, V. Kamensky) left the greatest mark on our culture. Futurists denied the social content of art and cultural traditions. They are characterized by anarchic rebellion. In their collective program collections (“A Slap in the Face of Public Taste”, “Dead Moon”, etc.) they challenged “the so-called public taste and common sense" Futurists destroyed the existing system of literary genres and styles, developed tonic verse close to folklore on the basis of spoken language, and conducted experiments with words.
Literary futurism was closely connected with avant-garde movements in painting. Almost all futurist poets were professional artists.
New peasant poetry, based on folk culture, occupied its special place in the literary process of the beginning of the century (N. Klyuev, S. Yesenin, S. Klychkov, P. Oreshin, etc.)
The 19th century, which became a period of extraordinary growth of national culture and grandiose achievements in all spheres of art, was replaced by a complex 20th century, full of dramatic events and turning points. The golden age of social and artistic life gave way to the so-called silver age, which gave rise to the rapid development of Russian literature, poetry and prose in new bright trends, and subsequently became the starting point of its fall.
In this article we will focus on the poetry of the Silver Age, consider it and talk about the main directions, such as symbolism, acmeism and futurism, each of which was distinguished by its special verse music and vivid expression of experiences and feelings lyrical hero.
Poetry of the Silver Age. A turning point in Russian culture and art
It is believed that the beginning of the Silver Age of Russian literature falls on the 80-90s. XIX century At this time, the works of many wonderful poets appeared: V. Bryusov, K. Ryleev, K. Balmont, I. Annensky - and writers: L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. The country is going through difficult times. During the reign of Alexander I, first there was a strong patriotic upsurge during the War of 1812, and then, due to a sharp change in the previously liberal policy of the tsar, society experienced a painful loss of illusions and severe moral losses.
The poetry of the Silver Age reached its peak by 1915. Public life and the political situation is characterized by a deep crisis, a turbulent, seething atmosphere. Mass protests are growing, life is becoming politicized, and at the same time personal self-awareness is strengthening. Society is making intense attempts to find a new ideal of power and social order. And poets and writers keep up with the times, mastering new artistic forms and offering bold ideas. The human personality begins to be perceived as a unity of many principles: natural and social, biological and moral. During the years of February, October revolutions and the Civil War, Silver Age poetry is in crisis.
A. Blok’s speech “On the appointment of a poet” (February 11, 1921), delivered by him at a meeting on the occasion of the 84th anniversary of the death of A. Pushkin, becomes the final chord of the Silver Age.
Characteristics of literature of the 19th - early 20th centuries.
Let's look at the features of the poetry of the Silver Age. Firstly, one of the main features of the literature of that time was a huge interest in eternal themes: the search for the meaning of the life of an individual and all of humanity as a whole, the mysteries of national character, the history of the country, the mutual influence of the worldly and spiritual, human interaction and nature. Literature at the end of the 19th century. becomes more and more philosophical: the authors reveal themes of war, revolution, personal tragedy of a person who, due to circumstances, lost peace and inner harmony. In the works of writers and poets, a new, brave, extraordinary, decisive and often unpredictable hero is born, stubbornly overcoming all adversities and hardships. In most works, close attention is paid to how the subject perceives tragic social events through the prism of his consciousness. Secondly, a feature of poetry and prose has become an intensive search for original artistic forms, as well as means of expressing feelings and emotions. Poetic form and rhyme played a particularly important role. Many authors abandoned the classical presentation of the text and invented new techniques, for example, V. Mayakovsky created his famous “ladder”. Often, to achieve a special effect, authors used speech and language anomalies, fragmentation, alogisms, and even allowed
Thirdly, the poets of the Silver Age of Russian poetry freely experimented with the artistic possibilities of the word. In an effort to express complex, often contradictory, “volatile” emotional impulses, writers began to treat words in a new way, trying to convey the subtlest shades of meaning in their poems. Standard, template definitions of clear objective objects: love, evil, family values, morality - will be replaced by abstract ones psychological descriptions. Precise concepts gave way to hints and understatements. Such instability and fluidity of verbal meaning was achieved through the most vivid metaphors, which often began to be built not on the obvious similarity of objects or phenomena, but on non-obvious signs.
Fourthly, the poetry of the Silver Age is characterized by new ways of conveying the thoughts and feelings of the lyrical hero. Poems by many authors began to be created using images, motifs from various cultures, as well as hidden and explicit quotes. For example, many word artists included scenes from Greek, Roman and a little later in their creations Slavic myths and legends. In the works of M. Tsvetaeva and V. Bryusov, mythology is used to build universal psychological models, allowing us to comprehend the human personality, in particular its spiritual component. Each poet of the Silver Age is brightly individual. You can easily understand which of them belongs to which verses. But they all tried to make their works more tangible, alive, full of colors, so that any reader could feel every word and line.
The main directions of poetry of the Silver Age. Symbolism
Writers and poets who opposed themselves to realism announced the creation of a new contemporary art- modernism. There are three main poetry of the Silver Age: symbolism, acmeism, futurism. Each of them had its own striking features. Symbolism originally arose in France as a protest against the everyday reflection of reality and dissatisfaction with bourgeois life. The founders of this trend, including J. Morsas, believed that only with the help of a special hint - a symbol - can one comprehend the secrets of the universe. In Russia, symbolism appeared in the early 1890s. The founder of this movement was D. S. Merezhkovsky, who proclaimed in his book three main postulates of the new art: symbolization, mystical content and “expansion of artistic impressionability.”
Senior and Junior Symbolists
The first symbolists, later called the elders, were V. Ya. Bryusov, K. D. Balmont, F. K. Sologub, Z. N. Gippius, N. M. Minsky and other poets. Their work was often characterized by a sharp denial of the surrounding reality. They portrayed real life as boring, ugly and meaningless, trying to convey the subtlest shades of my feelings.
Period from 1901 to 1904 marks the advent of a new milestone in Russian poetry. The poems of the Symbolists are imbued with a revolutionary spirit and a premonition of future changes. Younger symbolists: A. Blok, V. Ivanov, A. Bely - do not deny the world, but utopianly await its transformation, chanting divine beauty, love and femininity, which will certainly change reality. It was with the appearance of younger symbolists in the literary arena that the concept of symbol entered literature. Poets understand it as a multidimensional word that reflects the world of “heaven,” the spiritual essence and at the same time the “earthly kingdom.”
Symbolism during the Revolution
Poetry of the Russian Silver Age in 1905-1907. is undergoing changes. Most symbolists, focusing on the socio-political events taking place in the country, reconsider their views on the world and beauty. The latter is now understood as the chaos of struggle. Poets create images of a new world that replaces the dying one. V. Ya. Bryusov creates the poem “The Coming Huns”, A. Blok - “The Barge of Life”, “Rising from the Darkness of the Cellars...”, etc.
The symbolism also changes. Now she turns not to the ancient heritage, but to Russian folklore, as well as Slavic mythology. After the revolution, the Symbolists split into those who wanted to protect art from the revolutionary elements and, on the contrary, those who were actively interested in the social struggle. After 1907, the Symbolist debate exhausted itself and was replaced by imitation of the art of the past. And since 1910, Russian symbolism has been going through a crisis, clearly displaying its internal inconsistency.
Acmeism in Russian poetry
In 1911 N. S. Gumilev organizes literary group- "Workshop of Poets." It included the poets O. Mandelstam, G. Ivanov and G. Adamovich. This new direction did not reject the surrounding reality, but accepted reality as it is, affirming its value. The “Workshop of Poets” began to publish its own magazine “Hyperborea”, as well as publish works in “Apollo”. Acmeism, which originated as a literary school to find a way out of the crisis of symbolism, united poets who were very different in their ideological and artistic attitudes.
Features of Russian futurism
The Silver Age in Russian poetry gave birth to another interesting movement called “futurism” (from the Latin futurum, that is, “future”). The search for new artistic forms in the works of the brothers N. and D. Burlyuk, N. S. Goncharova, N. Kulbin, M. V. Matyushin became a prerequisite for the emergence of this trend in Russia.
In 1910, the futuristic collection “The Fishing Tank of Judges” was published, which collected the works of such outstanding poets as V.V. Kamensky, V.V. Khlebnikov, the Burliuk brothers, E. Guro. These authors formed the core of the so-called Cubo-Futurists. Later V. Mayakovsky joined them. In December 1912, the almanac “A Slap in the Face of Public Taste” was published. The cubo-futurists' poems "Lesiny Bukh", "Dead Moon", "Roaring Parnassus", "Gag" became the subject of numerous disputes. At first they were perceived as a way to tease the reader's habits, but a closer reading revealed a keen desire to show a new vision of the world and a special social involvement. Anti-aestheticism turned into a rejection of soulless, fake beauty, the rudeness of expressions was transformed into the voice of the crowd.
Egofuturists
In addition to cubo-futurism, several other movements arose, including ego-futurism, led by I. Severyanin. He was joined by such poets as V. I. Gnezdov, I. V. Ignatiev, K. Olimpov and others. They created the publishing house “Petersburg Herald”, published magazines and almanacs with original titles: “Sky Diggers”, “Eagles over the Abyss” , “Zakhara Kry”, etc. Their poems were extravagant and were often composed of words they themselves created. In addition to the ego-futurists, there were two more groups: “Centrifuge” (B. L. Pasternak, N. N. Aseev, S. P. Bobrov) and “Mezzanine of Poetry” (R. Ivnev, S. M. Tretyakov, V. G. Sherenevich).
Instead of a conclusion
The Silver Age of Russian poetry was short-lived, but it united a galaxy of the brightest, talented poets. Many of them had tragic biographies, because by the will of fate they had to live and work in such a fatal time for the country, a turning point of revolutions and chaos in the post-revolutionary years, civil war, collapse of hopes and revival. Many poets died after tragic events (V. Khlebnikov, A. Blok), many emigrated (K. Balmont, Z. Gippius, I. Severyanin, M. Tsvetaeva), some committed suicide, were shot or perished in Stalin’s camps. But they all managed to make a huge contribution to Russian culture and enrich it with their expressive, colorful, original works.
Home > LiteratureFederal agency of Education
State educational institution
higher vocational education
"Vladimirsky State University»
Department national history
Karas S.I.
Art. gr. Rzh-109
"Silver Age" of Russian poetry (endXIX- StartXXcentury)
Supervisor:
Associate Professor Burlakov A.I.
Vladimir 2009
- Introduction: Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries 3 “Silver Age” of Russian poetry (late 19th – early 20th centuries) 5
- Symbolism. Definition, history, symbolist poets 5 Acmeism. Definition, history, main features of the movement 7 Futurism and its directions 13
- Cubofuturism 15 Egofuturism 18 Imagism 23
- Other poetic movements. Satiristic and peasant poetry, constructivism, poets who were not part of generally recognized schools 26
- Constructivism 26 Satire 27 Peasant poets 28 Poets outside the currents 29
- Connection of the Vladimir region with the poets of the “Silver Age” 29
- Conclusion: “Silver Age” as a child of the century, blurring of the boundaries of this phenomenon 30
I. Introduction: Russia at the BrinkXIXAndXXcenturies
In 1894, Emperor Nicholas II ascended the throne, declaring his intention to follow the conservative course of his father ( Alexandra III) and called on the public to abandon “meaningless dreams” about expanding the rights of local governments and introducing any forms of popular representation. Bright historical event This period was the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), which began in January 1904 with a sudden attack by the Japanese fleet on the ships of the Pacific squadron stationed in the Port Arthur roadstead. Decisive fighting unfolded on the territory of Manchuria, where the Japanese army successively inflicted defeats on the Russian army in August 1904 in the battle of Liaoyang, and in September on the Shahe River. On December 20, 1904 (January 2, 1905), Port Arthur, besieged by Japanese troops, fell. In February 1905 Russian army suffered a heavy defeat at Mukden; in May, the Japanese fleet almost completely destroyed the 2nd Pacific Squadron in the naval battle of Tsushima. In August 1905, the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed, under the terms of which Russia transferred the southern part of Sakhalin Island to Japan, withdrew troops from Manchuria, ceded to Japan the rights to lease the Liaodong Peninsula, and recognized Korea as Japan's sphere of influence. Beginning of the 20th century was marked by the rise of a mass workers' and peasants' movement. A strike at the Obukhov plant in St. Petersburg in May 1901 resulted in clashes with the police. In 1902, a mass May Day demonstration took place in Sormovo (a suburb Nizhny Novgorod). During a strike at the Zlatoust arms factory on March 13, 1903, troops opened fire on the workers (69 people were killed, 250 were injured). That same year, a general strike swept through industrial enterprises in southern Russia. An attempt by the head of the Moscow security department S.V. Zubatov to create in the early 1900s. legal workers' organizations, operating under the control of the authorities, did not meet with support in the highest spheres of government and failed. In the spring of 1902, mass uprisings of peasants took place in the Poltava and Kharkov provinces, suppressed by troops. In the summer and autumn of 1902, peasant unrest engulfed a number of counties in Kursk, Volyn, Chernigov, Voronezh, Kherson, Saratov, Simbirsk, Ryazan provinces and the Kuban region. The growth of the peasant movement contributed to the revival of faith among the radical intelligentsia in the revolutionary potential of the Russian peasantry. In 1901-02, various neo-populist circles and organizations united into the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs), its Combat Organization carried out a number of terrorist acts against senior officials (the assassination of Minister of Internal Affairs V.K. by E. S. Sozonov on July 15, 1904 had the greatest public resonance). Plehve). The student movement intensified sharply: in 1900-10) unrest swept through almost all universities and some other higher education institutions. educational establishments. Many students were arrested and turned into soldiers. In response to these actions of the authorities, on February 14, 1901, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party P. V. Karpovich mortally wounded the Minister of Public Education N. P. Bogolepov. On March 4, 1901, the police brutally dealt with the participants in the demonstration of students and female students on the square of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The zemstvo movement expanded, whose participants sought to expand the rights of zemstvos. The liberal movement was headed by the “Union of Liberation” created in 1903, and in the same year the “Union of Zemstvo Constitutionalists” took shape. During the “banquet campaign” organized by the Liberation Union in 1904, at meetings of representatives of the liberal intelligentsia, demands for the introduction of representative government in Russia were openly put forward. The aggravation of socio-political contradictions in Russia was aggravated by the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. By the end of 1904 the country was on the verge of revolution. II. "Silver Age" of Russian poetry (endXIX- StartXXcentury)
- Symbolism. Definition, history, symbolist poets.
Symbolism is the first and most significant of the modernist movements in Russia. Based on the time of formation and the characteristics of the ideological position in Russian symbolism, it is customary to distinguish two main stages. Poets who made their debut in the 1890s are called “senior symbolists” (V. Bryusov, K. Balmont, D. Merezhkovsky, Z. Gippius, F. Sologub, etc.). In the 1900s, new forces joined symbolism, significantly updating the appearance of the movement (A. Blok, A. Bely, V. Ivanov, etc.). The accepted designation for the “second wave” of symbolism is “young symbolism.” The “senior” and “younger” symbolists were separated not so much by age as by the difference in worldviews and the direction of creativity.
The philosophy and aesthetics of symbolism developed under the influence of various teachings - from the views of the ancient philosopher Plato to the philosophical systems of V. Solovyov, F. Nietzsche, A. Bergson, contemporary to the symbolists. The symbolists contrasted the traditional idea of understanding the world in art with the idea of constructing the world in the process of creativity. Creativity in the understanding of the symbolists is a subconscious-intuitive contemplation of secret meanings, accessible only to the artist-creator. Moreover, it is impossible to rationally convey the contemplated “secrets”. According to the largest theoretician among the Symbolists, Vyach. Ivanov, poetry is “the secret writing of the ineffable.” The artist is required not only to have super-rational sensitivity, but also to have the subtlest mastery of the art of allusion: the value of poetic speech lies in “understatement,” “hiddenness of meaning.” The main means of conveying the contemplated secret meanings was the symbol.
“The category of music is the second most important (after symbol) in the aesthetics and poetic practice of the new movement. This concept was used by symbolists in two different aspects - general ideological and technical. In the first, general philosophical meaning, music for them is not a sound rhythmically organized sequence, but a universal metaphysical energy, the fundamental basis of all creativity. In the second, technical meaning, music is significant for symbolists as the verbal texture of a verse permeated with sound and rhythmic combinations, that is, as the maximum use of musical compositional principles in poetry. Symbolist poems are sometimes constructed as a bewitching stream of verbal and musical harmonies and echoes.”
Symbolism enriched Russian poetic culture with many discoveries. The symbolists gave the poetic word a previously unknown mobility and ambiguity, and taught Russian poetry to discover additional shades and facets of meaning in the word. Their searches in the field of poetic phonetics turned out to be fruitful: K. Balmont, V. Bryusov, I. Annensky, A. Blok, A. Bely were masters of expressive assonance and effective alliteration. The rhythmic possibilities of Russian verse have expanded, and the stanzas have become more diverse. However, the main merit of this literary movement is not associated with formal innovations.
Symbolism tried to create a new philosophy of culture and, after going through a painful period of revaluation of values, sought to develop a new universal worldview. Having overcome the extremes of individualism and subjectivism, the symbolists at the dawn of the new century raised the question of the social role of the artist in a new way and began to move towards the creation of such forms of art, the experience of which could unite people again. Despite the external manifestations of elitism and formalism, symbolism managed in practice to fill the work with the artistic form with new content and, most importantly, to make art more personal, personalistic.
Symbolist poets: Annensky Innokenty, Balmont Konstantin, Baltrushaitis Jurgis, Bely Andrey, Blok Alexander, Bryusov Valery, Gippius Zinaida, Dobrolyubov Alexander, Sorgenfrey Wilhelm, Ivanov Vyacheslav, Konevskoy Ivan, Merezhkovsky Dmitry, Piast Vladimir, Rukavishnikov Ivan, Sologub Fedor, Solovyova Polixena, Viktor Strazhev, Alexander Tinyakov, Konstantin Fofanov, Georgy Chulkov.
- Acmeism. Definition, history, main features of the current
- liberation of poetry from symbolist appeals to the ideal, returning it to clarity; rejection of mystical nebula, acceptance of the earthly world in its diversity, visible concreteness, sonority, colorfulness; the desire to give a word a certain, precise meaning; objectivity and clarity of images, precision of details; appeal to a person, to the “authenticity” of his feelings; poeticization of the world of primordial emotions, primitive biological natural principles; echoes of past literary eras, broad aesthetic associations, “longing for world culture.”
- Futurism and its directions
Futurism (from Latin futurum - future) is the general name of the artistic avant-garde movements of the 1910s - early 1920s. XX century, primarily in Italy and Russia.
Unlike Acmeism, futurism as a movement in Russian poetry did not originate in Russia at all. This phenomenon was entirely brought from the West, where it originated and was theoretically justified. The birthplace of the new modernist movement was Italy, and the main ideologist of Italian and world futurism was the famous writer Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944), who spoke on February 20, 1909 on the pages of the Saturday issue of the Parisian newspaper Le Figaro with the first “Manifesto of Futurism”, which included its stated “anti-cultural, anti-aesthetic and anti-philosophical” orientation.
In principle, any modernist movement in art asserted itself by rejecting old norms, canons, and traditions. However, futurism was distinguished in this regard by its extremely extremist orientation. This movement claimed to build a new art - “the art of the future”, speaking under the slogan of a nihilistic negation of all previous artistic experience. Marinetti proclaimed the “world-historical task of Futurism,” which was to “spit every day on the altar of art.”
“Futurists preached the destruction of the forms and conventions of art in order to merge it with the accelerated life process of the 20th century. They are characterized by a reverence for action, movement, speed, strength and aggression; exaltation of oneself and contempt for the weak; the priority of force, the intoxication of war and destruction were asserted.” In this regard, futurism in its ideology was very close to both right-wing and left-wing radicals: anarchists, fascists, communists, focused on the revolutionary overthrow of the past.
The main features of futurism:
- rebellion, anarchic worldview, expression of mass sentiments of the crowd; denial of cultural traditions, an attempt to create art aimed at the future; rebellion against the usual norms of poetic speech, experimentation in the field of rhythm, rhyme, focus on the spoken verse, slogan, poster; searches for a liberated “authentic” word, experiments in creating an “abstruse” language; cult of technology, industrial cities; shocking pathos.