Imaginism as a literary movement in Russia was formed in the 1910s. It was associated with the inability of the cultural system of that time to respond to new challenges that emerged during the transition period with its rapidly increasing rhythm of life. The collapse of the familiar picture of the world and the emergence of an alternative with particular acuteness touched the entire literary and artistic process. First of all, this concerned young artists and poets.
The origin of the term "imagination"
The term "imagism" in literature is a borrowing from the avant-garde poetic school of England. This school was called Imagism. We will briefly talk about it. In the Russian press, the first information about English imagists appeared in 1915. It was then that the article "English Futurists" Z.A. was published in the collection "Sagittarius" Hungerova. It spoke of a poetic group from London, led by T. Hume, E. Pound, R. Aldington, T. Eliot.
Imagism, which appeared in England in the 1910s, set itself a definite artistic task. It was not abstract-poetic, but concrete and vital - it was necessary to directly reproduce reality. Imagists contrasted the "fresh", unusual images with a template, worn-out poetic cliche (in English - image, from where the name of this school came from). They sought to renew the poetic language. This was reflected in their theories of free verse, image.
When did imagination appear in Russian literature?
The term "imagism" in Russia appeared in the book "Green Street ..." V.G. Shershenevich, published in 1916. In it, the author, who has not yet broken ties with futurism, called himself so. Shershenevich drew special attention to the content of the poetic image, and not to its form. It was he who became the main ideologist of the new direction. In 1918, Shershenevich announced the emergence of "imagism" as a phenomenon broader than futurism. The modern term has been entrenched since 1919. Since then, the concepts of "imagists" and "imagism" have often appeared in literature. A brief definition of the latter can be given as follows: a literary movement that affirmed the main role of the verbal image over the idea, meaning, which replaced Russian futurism.
"Declaration" of imagists
Imaginism in the literature of our country has played a prominent role. Articles about him appeared in all known encyclopedias. A group of imagists, formed at that time, relied on imagery. It was she who was considered the main feature of poetry. In 1919, the Declaration was published in the Siren magazine, the first manifesto of a new direction. Poets argued that the identification of life through the image and its rhythm is the only law of all art, its incomparable method. This document presented a creative program of adherents of a new direction. It has been argued that image is of key importance in the structure of a work of art. The whole program was built on his theory. From the text of the “Declaration” we learn that imagination in literature has the following basis: a specific understanding by its representatives of the role of the aesthetic impact of the image. It is the impression of the latter, artificially constructed, that is decisive in poetry.
"2x2 = 5"
Another theoretical justification for the new direction is the Shershenevich's treatise (pictured above) under the name "2x2 = 5". His author saw poetry akin to mathematics. It seemed unnecessary to any attempt to interpret the text, with the exception of copyright. For the sake of the appearance of the image, the principle of the equality of the unclean and the pure was affirmed. This sometimes turned into openly carnal images.
Language from the point of view of imagism
Those who created imaginism in literature offered their vision of the language. His representatives formulated the idea that the language of poetry is unique. At an early stage of development, they believed, he was all saturated with figurative representations. Therefore, representatives of imagism in Russian literature considered it logical to study the origins of the language. In this way, they wanted to discover the original images of various words. Moreover, analyzing the traditional word formation and the properties of the language, they began to create images themselves. However, researcher D.L. Shukurov notes that the way the imaginative word was understood was nominalistic and extremely rationalized.
The desire for the original imagery of the word
Representatives of the new direction declared their main goal to be a unique image, and not just an unusual word. V.G. Shershenevich rethought the experience of the futurists, in particular, the theory they created "abstruse poetry." He created another version of the concept of the so-called "self-proclaimed word." The latter should be understood as the basis of the triad from the works of A.A. Feast on linguistics.
The scientist in the composition of the word singled out its content ("internal form"), the original imagery and external form. Rejecting the formal-sound and substantive aspects, the imagists focused their attention on imagery. They sought to maximize the saturation of her works. However, at the same time, the imagists sought to ensure that the images were not common.
Lack of unity among imagists
In poetic issues, despite the presence of some commonality, there was no absolute unity among the representatives of the new direction. Companions and friends in life, they were adherents of completely different approaches to creativity (in the photo in the center - Yesenin, on the left - Mariengof, on the right - Kusikov).
It is hardly possible to characterize in detail the imagism in the literature of the 20th century. The composition of the school included poets who had very diverse theoretical views and features of creativity, different in both literary and social connections. Between Mariengof and Shershenevich, on the one hand, and Kusikov and Yesenin, on the other, there are more differences than similarities. Imaginism of the former, and of the latter, is rustic through and through. Both of these jets express the being and psychology of different social groups that encountered during the declassification. All this makes it difficult to answer the question "What is imagism in literature?". The determination of its characteristic features sometimes leads to the identification of opposites.
Poetry of Mariengof and Shershenevich
The poetry of Mariengof (his photo is presented above) and Shershenevich - the product of urban declassified intelligentsia, which has lost ground. She found her last refuge and social connections in Bohemia. The work of these poets presents a picture of emptiness and decline. The declarative calls of Marienhof and Shershenevich to joy are powerless. Decadent eroticism is filled with their poetry. The topics that are revealed in it are connected with deeply personal experiences. They are full of pessimism, which was due to the rejection by these poets of the October Revolution.
The nature of Imaginism Yesenin
The nature of Imaginism of Yesenin is completely different. He was a representative of the prosperous village peasantry, the kulaks, who were also declassified. True, in his work you can see a passive attitude towards the world. However, his premises were completely different. The imagination of Sergei Alexandrovich comes from subsistence farming, its material concreteness. It was on the basis of the latter that he grew up. It is based on zoomorphism and anthropomorphism of the primitive psychology of peasants.
The polemic of imagists
In "Sheets of the Imaginist" V. Shershenevich polemicized with Yesenin's work "Mary's Keys", in which his theoretical ideas were expressed. In addition, he criticized the poetry of fellow artists. Shershenevich wrote that combining individual images in a poem is a mechanical work, not organic, as A. Kusikov and S. Yesenin believe. A poem is a crowd of images, not an organism. One of them can be pulled out of it without damage or ten more can be inserted. A. Mariengof also polemiced with ideas of S. Yesenin in his work under the title “Buyan Island”.
He believed that contemporary folk art certainly "should be twilight." In other words, this is “second grade,” “semi-art,” “transition stage,” however, necessary for the masses. But in the life of art itself, it does not play any role. Yesenin answered with his article "Life and Art". Sergei Alexandrovich wrote that his brethren did not recognize coordination and order in a combination of images and words. And in this they are wrong.
Split
Thus, a split was brewing. In 1924, he took shape. Then, in the newspaper Pravda, a Letter to the Editor appeared, written by S. Yesenin and I. Gruzinov. They announced that, as the creators of Imaginism, they decided to make it known to the public that the previously known group of Imaginists was declared dissolved.
The role of imagism in Russian literature
There is still debate among literary scholars about whether it is worth placing imagism close to such areas as futurism, acmeism and symbolism. Perhaps it is more correct to consider this phenomenon among a number of currents that existed in literature in the 1920s. Nevertheless, the significant contribution made to the rhyming culture by its representatives, as well as the requirement for the unity of poetic composition from a lyrical point of view and other searches in the field of poetics became relevant in the 1920s. They served as a guide for a number of authors who worked in the second half of the 20th century and developed modernist traditions.
Now you know how to continue the phrase "imaginism in literature is ...". Briefly we described this direction, named its main representatives. You learned about the main ideas that the adherents of this school brought to art. The peculiarities of imagism in Russian literature were largely an expression of the era in which its representatives lived.