Towards the end of the first decade of the 20th century, a new modernist trend with the so-called âfuturismâ (translated from Latin as âthe futureâ) is spreading in Western Europe.
The Italian writer Filippo Marinetti, who proclaimed in 1909 the complete destruction of all established cultural values ââand traditions in the depiction of the world, was considered to be its ancestor. Instead, futurist poets drew readers to the swiftness of modern life and preferred to talk more about the future. All the main provisions were stated in the Manifestos, the author of the first of which was Marinetti.
The creation of a fundamentally new art was the initial goal of the futurists both in Europe and in Russia. The writers were subsequently supported by artists who took as a basis the image of a person in the center of a moving forward world, symbolically represented in the form of a large number of geometric figures.
Features of the lyrics of futurists
The hero of the works of the new avant-garde trend is a resident of a modern city with its dynamism, high speed, an abundance of technology and electrification, leading to an ever-improving life. The lyrical "I" of futurists is persistently striving to get away from the classical past, which is manifested in special thinking that does not accept the rules of syntax, word formation, and lexical compatibility of words. The main goal posed by futurist poets is to convey their worldview and understanding of what is happening around in any way convenient for a person.
The formation of Russian avant-garde
In Russia, a new direction begins to take shape in 1910. This is the period when many poets of the Silver Age gain fame . Futurists very quickly attract attention. In addition to the peculiar artistic form of the verse (in all respects), this is facilitated by scandalously provocative public appearances and trips to the largest cities of Russia.
Russian futurism, unlike European, was not holistic and was diverse. Between avant-garde groups, sometimes quite fierce disputes were observed. There were times when futurist poets moved from one association to another. But the greatest success was nevertheless achieved by two centers in this direction: Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Ego Futurists
In the northern capital, innovative poets by 1912 rallied around Ivan Ignatiev. They christened themselves ego-futurists, which meant "I am the future." The leading position in this circle was taken by Igor Severyanin (Lotarev), who a year earlier outlined the main features and the original name of a new direction in poetry. According to him, âomnipotent egoismâ becomes a force that nothing can resist. It is he who, not amenable to pacification, having reached the climax of triumph, raging, according to the poets, is the only right norm of life.
The Petersburg Herald Publishing House has become a platform with which futurist poets performed. Their poems were distinguished by new word formations and adaptation of foreign vocabulary to the Russian language, mainly German and elegant French. As a result, the work of the ego-futurists acquired features that were little reminiscent of the legacy of their Italian counterparts, who stood at the origins of this avant-garde trend in literature.
Gilea
Moscow futurist poets differed somewhat from St. Petersburg in terms of their attitude to depicting reality. Their list begins with the brothers Burlyukov, V. Mayakovsky, V. Khlebnikov. They contrast the âIâ with a more confident âWeâ and proclaim themselves cubo-futurists. The ideological platform for them was the Gilea association, formed in 1910 in Moscow.
They remembered their roots and proudly bore the name âRussian Futuristsâ. The poets did their best to separate themselves from their Italian counterparts, and V. Khlebnikov even suggested giving the direction a new name - "will", which would emphasize its originality and individualism. It was then that the scandalous manifesto âSlap in the face of public tasteâ was immediately published, which immediately attracted the attention of the entire Russian intelligentsia. This was followed by spectacular performances and performances in which futuristic poets shocked the audience with their appearance and shocking (just remember V. Mayakovsky with his famous yellow jacket or painted faces of poets). The editions of their poems, programs, and manifestos were printed defiantly, printed either on old wallpaper or on brown paper, and not always in order to save money. Someone was outraged by the complete disregard for existing literary norms and the creation of unusual words and completely non-traditional ways of writing the text, but be that as it may, all this subsequently provided the âhooligansâ (as they were often called in society) the loud and well-deserved title âPoets of Silver century. " Futurists "Galei" took a strong place in Russian literature and contributed to its development and improvement.
Vladimir Mayakovsky
The revolutionary poet and rebel - so often spoke of the most famous representative of Russian futurism. The years 1912-1914 accounted for the beginning of Mayakovskyâs career. And we can say with confidence that the ideas of the avant-garde trend formed the aesthetic taste of the poet and determined his future fate in literature. In the twenties, many were convinced that Mayakovsky was a futurist poet, since his work was characterized by unusual syntax, peculiar vocabulary, an abundance of author word forms, stunning metaphors. All these features of the poetâs artistic style are rooted in early works, evocative and flashy. And after decades, it is with his name that the activity of the futurists is primarily associated.
Other avant-garde destinations
In 1913, the âMezzanine of Poetryâ took shape (B. Lavrenev, V. Shershenevich) and the âLyricâ, from which the Centrifuge (B. Pasternak, N. Aseev) separated a year later (they are also sometimes called futurists of the second convocation). The first group broke up pretty quickly. The Centrifuge, which lasted until 1917, relied on classical literary traditions, organically combining them with futuristic innovation. However, this did not bring much fame to the poets. B. Pasternak, for example, very soon departed from this direction and took the place of independent lyricist in literature.
Famous Silver Age Futurist Poets
The list of word masters who supported the ideas of avant-gardism at a certain stage of their work is quite extensive. The participation of some in the activities of the futurists was short-lived, while others remained within the direction throughout the entire career. Here are the most prominent representatives of the noted groups.
Cubofuturists:
- Burliuki are the founders;
- V. Khlebnikov - the ideological inspirer;
- V. Mayakovsky - the most striking personality, whose work subsequently went far beyond the direction;
- A. Kruchenykh.
"Centrifuge":
- N. Aseev,
- B. Pasternak,
- S. Bobrov.
Ego Futurists:
- founder - âking of poetsâ I. Severyanin,
- S. Olympus,
- G. Ivanov,
- M. Lokhvitskaya.
The Mezzanine of Poetry:
- V. Shershenevich,
- S. Tretyakov,
- R. Ivnev.
The milestone of World War I and the revolution
The years 1913-1914 are the peak of glory that the Russian futurists reached. Poets were well recognized in all literary circles, organized a large number of exhibitions, reports, poetry evenings. In 1915, they talked about the "death" of futurism, although the "Centrifuge" existed for more than 2 years. Echoes of futuristic ideas are heard in the post-revolutionary 20s: at the beginning of the decade - in the works of Tiflis poets from the 41o group, then in the verses of the Petrograd Oberiuts. They were still actively engaged in "improvement" of the language, changing its lexical, syntactic, graphic structure.
The attitude of the Russian intelligentsia towards futurism
The emergence of a new direction and the extraordinary actions of its representatives attracted attention from the Russian intelligentsia. During the course of the activity, many futuristic poets heard many contradictory statements. The list of critics opens with the symbolist V. Bryusov recognized at that time. He reproached the âinnovatorsâ with their manifestos, which were largely âwritten off from Italian,â and their negative attitude to the traditions of Russian culture. At the same time, he noted rational grains in the works of Moscow and St. Petersburg futurists and expressed the hope that they could "grow into flowers." The main condition is to take into account the experience of the Symbolists.
The new poets were perceived negatively by I. Bunin and M. Osorgin, who saw hooliganism in their work and behavior. Gorky, on the contrary, considered the appearance of futurists in Russian literature timely and consistent with reality.