2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The great Russian writer Maxim Gorky said that "the literature of the 19th century captures the great impulses of the spirit, minds and hearts of true artists." This was reflected in the work of writers of the 20th century. After the revolution of 1905, the First World War and the Civil War, the world seemed to begin to disintegrate. Social disharmony has set in, and literature takes on the task of bringing back everything that was. In Russia, independent philosophical thought began to awaken, new trends in art appeared, writers and poets of the 20th century overestimated values and abandoned the old morality.
What is literature like at the turn of the century?
Classicism in art was replaced by modernism, which can be divided into several branches: symbolism, acmeism, futurism, imagism. Realism continued to flourish, in which the inner world of a person was depicted in accordance with his social position; socialist realism did not allow criticism of the authorities, so the writers in their work tried not to raise political problems. The golden age was followed by the silver age with its bold new ideas and diverse themes. Poems of poets of the 20th century were written in accordance with a certain trend and style: for Mayakovsky, writing with a ladder is typical, for Khlebnikov - his numerous occasionalisms, for Severyanin - an unusual rhyme.
From Futurism to Socialist Realism
In symbolism, the poet focuses his attention on a certain symbol, a hint, so the meaning of the work can be ambiguous. The main representatives were Zinaida Gippius, Alexander Blok, Dmitry Merezhkovsky. They were in constant search for eternal ideals, while turning to mysticism. In 1910, a crisis of symbolism came - all ideas were already sorted out, and the reader did not find anything new in the poems.
In futurism, old traditions were completely denied. In translation, the term means "the art of the future", the writers attracted the public with shocking, rudeness and clarity. The poems of the representatives of this trend - Vladimir Mayakovsky and Osip Mandelstam - are distinguished by their original composition and occasionalisms (author's words).
Socialist realism set as its task the education of workers in the spirit of socialism. The writers depicted the specific situation in society in revolutionary development. Of the poets, Marina Tsvetaeva stood out, and of the prose writers - Maxim Gorky, Mikhail Sholokhov, Evgeny Zamyatin.
From acmeism to new peasant lyrics
Imagism arose in Russia in the first years after the revolution. Despite this, Sergei Yesenin and Anatoly Mariengof did not reflect in their work the socialpolitical ideas. Representatives of this trend argued that poems should be figurative, so they did not skimp on metaphors, epithets and other means of artistic expression.
Representatives of the new-peasant lyric poetry turned to folklore traditions in their works, admired the village life. Such was the Russian poet of the 20th century Sergei Yesenin. His poems are pure and sincere, and the author described nature and simple human happiness in them, referring to the traditions of Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov. After the revolution of 1917, short-lived enthusiasm turned into disappointment.
The term "acmeism" in translation means "blooming time". Poets of the 20th century Nikolai Gumilyov, Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam and Sergei Gorodetsky in their work returned to the past of Russia and welcomed the joyful admiration of life, clarity of thought, simplicity and conciseness. They seemed to retreat from difficulties, smoothly drifting, assuring that the unknowable cannot be known.
Philosophical and psychological richness of Bunin's lyrics
Ivan Alekseevich was a poet living at the junction of two eras, so his work reflected some of the experiences associated with the advent of the new time, however, he continued the Pushkin tradition. In the poem "Evening" he conveys to the reader the idea that happiness does not lie in material values, but in human existence: "I see, I hear, I am happy - everything is in me." In other works, the lyrical hero allows himself to reflect on the transience of life, which becomescause for sadness.
Bunin is engaged in writing activities in Russia and abroad, where many poets of the early 20th century go after the revolution. In Paris, he feels like a stranger - "a bird has a nest, a beast has a hole", and he lost his native land. Bunin finds his salvation in talent: in 1933 he received the Nobel Prize, and in Russia he is considered an enemy of the people, but they do not stop publishing.
Sensual lyricist, poet and brawler
Sergey Yesenin was an imagist and did not create new terms, but revived dead words, enclosing them in vivid poetic images. From the school bench, he became famous as a mischievous person and carried this quality through his whole life, he was a frequenter of taverns, and was famous for his love affairs. Nevertheless, he passionately loved his homeland: “I will sing with all my being the poet’s sixth part of the earth with the short name“Russia”- many poets of the 20th century shared his admiration for his native land. Yesenin’s philosophical lyrics reveal the problem of human existence. After 1917, the poet is disappointed in revolution, because instead of the long-awaited paradise, life has become like hell.
Night, street, lamp, pharmacy…
Alexander Blok - the brightest Russian poet of the 20th century, who wrote in the direction of "symbolism". It is interesting to observe how the female image evolves from collection to collection: from the Beautiful Lady to the ardent Carmen. If at first he deifies the object of his love, faithfully serves him and does not dare to discredit, latergirls seem to him more mundane creatures. Through the wonderful world of romanticism, he finds meaning, having gone through life's difficulties, he responds in his poems to events of social importance. In the poem "The Twelve" he conveys the idea that the revolution is not the end of the world, and its main goal is the destruction of the old and the creation of a new world. Readers remember Blok as the author of the poem "Night, street, lamp, pharmacy …", in which he thinks about the meaning of life.
Two female writers
Philosophers and poets of the 20th century were predominantly male, and their talent was revealed thanks to the so-called muses. Women created themselves, under the influence of their own mood, and the most prominent poets of the Silver Age were Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva. The first was the wife of Nikolai Gumilyov, and the famous historian Lev Gumilyov was born in their union. Anna Akhmatova showed no interest in exquisite stanzas - her poems could not be set to music, the means of artistic expression were rare. The predominance of yellow and gray in the description, the poorness and dimness of objects make readers sad and allow them to reveal the true mood of the poetess who survived the execution of her husband.
The fate of Marina Tsvetaeva is tragic. She committed suicide, and two months after her death, her husband Sergei Efron was shot. Readers will forever remember her as a small fair-haired woman connected with nature by blood ties. Especially often in her work appears rowan berry, which foreverentered the heraldry of her poetry: "The rowan was lit with a red brush. Leaves were falling. I was born."
What is unusual about the poems of poets of the 19th-20th centuries?
In the new century, the masters of the pen and the word approved new forms and themes of their works. Poems-messages to other poets or friends remained relevant. Imagist Vadim Shershenevich surprises with his work "Toast". He does not put a single punctuation mark in it, does not leave gaps between words, but his originality lies elsewhere: looking through the text with your eyes from line to line, you can see how some capital letters stand out among other words, forming a message: Valery Bryusov from the author.
we all look like we're in commercials
sFalling easynow
rush and have fun and how much
ladies are lorning for us instead of us
ourgErBucreated with liqueurs
imideSharpShowerAshiprom
Looking forSouthJulyinAllform
mchaForceopenTokclipper
know we know that all the boys
andEverythingalmostRubbeard
Saying thisAshkupunsha
drink with joyzabrusova
The work of poets of the 20th century is striking in its originality. Vladimir Mayakovsky is also remembered for the fact that he created a new form of stanza - "ladder". The poet wrote poems for any reason, but spoke little about love; he was studied as an unsurpassed classic, printed in millions, the public fell in love with him for shocking and innovative.
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