The great Russian writer Maxim Gorky said that "in the literature of the 19th century the great impulses of the spirit, mind and heart of true artists are captured." This is 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 upon itself the task of restoring all its former. An independent philosophical thought began to awaken in Russia, new trends in art appeared, writers and poets of the 20th century overestimated values and abandoned the old morality.
What kind of literature is it 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 person’s inner world was depicted in accordance with his social position; socialist realism did not allow criticism of power, so the writers in their work tried not to raise political issues. The golden age was followed by the silver one with its bold new ideas and diverse themes. Poems of the poets of the 20th century were written in accordance with a certain trend and style: Mayakovsky was characterized by writing with a ladder, for Khlebnikov - his numerous occasionalisms, for Severyanin - an unusual rhyme.
From futurism to socialist realism
In symbolism, the poet focuses 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 of eternal ideals, while turning to mysticism. In 1910, the crisis of symbolism came - all ideas were already taken apart, and the reader did not find anything new in the poems.
Futurism completely denied the old traditions. Translated, the term means "art of the future", writers attracted the audience with shocking, rude and clear. Poems by representatives of this movement - Vladimir Mayakovsky and Osip Mandelstam - are distinguished by their original composition and occasionalisms (author's words).
Socialist realism set itself the task of educating the working people in the spirit of socialism. The writers depicted the specific situation in society in revolutionary development. Of the poets, Marina Tsvetaeva was especially distinguished, and of the prose writers, Maxim Gorky, Mikhail Sholokhov, Evgeny Zamyatin.
From Acmeism to New Peasant Lyrics
Imaginism arose in Russia in the first years after the revolution. Despite this, Sergey Yesenin and Anatoly Mariengof did not reflect socio-political ideas in their work. Representatives of this direction argued that poems should be figurative, so they did not skimp on metaphors, epithets and other means of artistic expressiveness.
Representatives of the new peasant lyrics in their works turned to folk traditions, admired the village way of life. Such was the Russian poet of the 20th century Sergey 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 1917 revolution, a short delight gave way to disappointment.
The term "acmeism" in translation means "blooming time." Poets of the 20th century Nikolai Gumilev, Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam and Sergey Gorodetsky in their work returned to the past of Russia and welcomed joyful admiring life, clarity of thoughts, simplicity and conciseness. It was as if they were retreating from difficulties, swimming smoothly with the flow, 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 some of his experiences related to the advent of a new time were reflected in his work, nevertheless, 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 life: "I see, hear, happy - everything is in me." In other works, the lyrical hero allows himself to reflect on the transience of life, which becomes an occasion for sadness.
Bunin is engaged in writing in Russia and abroad, where after the revolution many poets of the early 20th century went. In Paris, he feels a stranger - "the bird has a nest, the beast eats a hole", and he lost his native land. Bunin finds his salvation in talent: in 1933 he receives the Nobel Prize, and in Russia he is considered an enemy of the people, but they do not stop printing.
Sensual lyricist, poet and brawler
Sergei Yesenin was an imaginist and did not create new terms, but enlivened the dead words, enclosing them in vivid poetic images. From school, he became famous as a mischievous person and carried this quality through his whole life, was a regular at taverns, and was famous for his love affairs. Nevertheless, he passionately loved his homeland: “I will sing the sixth part of the earth with the whole creature of the poet with the name short“ Rus ”- many poets of the 20th century shared his admiration for the native land. Esenin's philosophical lyrics reveal the problem of human existence. After 1917, the poet became disillusioned with revolution, because instead of the long-awaited paradise, life has become like hell.
Night, street, lantern, 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 evolution of the female image takes place 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 defame him, later the girls seem to him to be more mundane creatures. Through the wonderful world of romanticism, he finds meaning, having gone through life's difficulties, responds in his poems to events of public importance. In the poem "Twelve" he conveys the idea that revolution is not the end of the world, and its main purpose is to destroy the old and create a new world. Readers remembered Blok as the author of the poem "Night, Street, Lantern, Pharmacy ..." in which he reflects on the meaning of life.
Two women writers
The philosophers and poets of the 20th century were mostly men, and their talent was revealed thanks to the so-called muses. Women created by 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 did not show interest in refined stanzas - her poems could not be put on music, means of artistic expression were rare. The predominance of yellow and gray in the description, the poorness and dullness of the objects make the readers sad and reveal the true mood of the poetess who survived the shooting of her husband.
The fate of Marina Tsvetaeva is tragic. She ended her life with suicide, and two months after her death her husband Sergey Efron was shot . Readers will remember her forever as a small fair-haired woman, connected with nature by blood bonds. Especially often in her work appears the mountain ash berry, which forever entered the heraldry of her poetry: "The mountain ash was lit with a red brush. The leaves fell. I was born."
What are the poems of poets of the 19-20 centuries unusual for?
In the new century, pen and word masters have approved new forms and themes of their works. The poems-messages to other poets or friends remained relevant. Imaginist Vadim Shershenevich surprises with his work "Toast". He does not place a single punctuation mark in it, does not leave spaces between words, but its originality is different: looking through the text with eyes from line to line, you can notice how some capital letters stand out from other words that make up the message: Valery Bryusov from the author .
all cactus
fall down easy now
rushing amused
dame
NashGerBukrashenlikery
Idea
We are looking for SouthJuljava
MCHA StrengthYoungTockclipper
All-knowing
and all-mail
Claiming this
We are happy about Zabryusov’s
The creativity of poets of the 20th century is striking in its originality. Vladimir Mayakovsky was also remembered for creating a new form of stanza - "ladder". The poet wrote poetry for any reason, but spoke little about love; he was studied as an unsurpassed classic, printed by millions, the audience fell in love with him for shocking and innovation.