Acmeism in literature is a trend that emerged at the very beginning of the 20th century and became widespread among all poets who created their masterpieces during this period of time. Mostly he hooked on Russian literature, and also became a kind of reciprocal move towards symbolism. This direction characterized by clarity, extreme clarity and down-to-earthness, but at the same time there is no place for everyday problems.

A small description of the style

Acmeism in literature has always been distinguished by sensuality, a tendency to analyze human feelings and experiences. The poets who wrote their works in this style were quite specific, did not use metaphors and hyperbole. As modern writers believe, such characteristics appeared as if in contrast to the previously existing symbolism, which, in turn, was famous for the ambiguity of images, a complete lack of specificity and accuracy. At the same time, the Acmeists attached importance only to the highest human needs, that is, they described spiritual world... They were alien to political or social themes, aggressiveness and the like. That is why their poems are so easily perceived, because they write about complex things very simply.

What acmeism was based on

As such, there was no philosophy in Russian literature that would have defined acmeism at that time. Such a fulcrum was formed only in the process of the existence and prosperity of the style, when the first verses of its representatives began to appear, on the basis of which it was possible to determine the whole essence of what was written. Thus, acmeism in literature has distinguished itself by a realistic view not only of the general picture of life, but also of rather "unearthly" problems that are associated with feelings and emotional experiences. The key role in any work, according to the authors, should have been played by the word. It was with his help that all the thoughts and events that were described were to be expressed with the utmost precision.

Inspiration from the poets of this era

More often than not, symbolism, which was the predecessor of acmeism, is compared to music. It is just as mysterious, ambiguous, it can be interpreted in all sorts of ways. It is thanks to such artistic techniques this style became a concept in the art of that time. In turn, acmeism as a trend in literature has become a very significant opposite to its predecessor. Poets-representatives of this trend themselves compare their work more with architecture or with sculpture than with music. Their poems are incredibly beautiful, but at the same time, they are accurate, foldable and extremely understandable for any audience. Each word directly conveys the meaning that was originally embedded in it, without any exaggeration or comparison. That is why Acmeist verses are so easy to teach by memory to all schoolchildren, and it is so easy to understand their essence.

Representatives of Acmeism in Russian Literature

A distinctive feature of all representatives of this was not just cohesion, but even friendship. They worked in one team, and at the very beginning of their creative path loudly declared themselves, having founded the so-called "Workshop of Poets" in Leningrad. They didn't have a specific literary platform, standards by which to write poetry, or other production details. We can say that each of the poets knew what his work should be, and knew how to present each word so that it would be perfectly understandable for others. And among such geniuses of clarity, famous names can be distinguished: Anna Akhmatova, her husband Nikolai Gumilyov, Osip Mandelstam, Vladimir Narbut, Mikhail Kuzmin and others. The poems of each of the authors differ from each other in their structure, character, and mood. However, each work will be understandable, and a person will not have any unnecessary questions after reading it.

The glory of the Acmeists during their existence

When acmeism appeared in literature, people read the first reports about it in the journal "Hyperborey", which was published under the editorship of poets we know. By the way, in this regard, Acmeists were often also called Hyperboreans, who fought for novelty and beauty. domestic art... This was followed by a series of articles written by almost every member of the "Guild of Poets", which revealed the essence of this meaning of existence and much more. But, despite the zeal for work and even the friendship of all the poets who became the founders of a new trend in art, acmeism in Russian literature began to fade away. By 1922, the "Workshop of Poets" had already ceased to exist, attempts to renew it were in vain. As believed then literary critics, the reason for the failure was that the theory of the Acmeists did not coincide with practical intentions, and they still did not manage to completely break away from symbolism.

Introduction

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a very interesting phenomenon appeared in Russian literature, which was later called "the poetry of the Silver Age." It was a time of new ideas and new directions. If the 19th century, nevertheless, for the most part passed under the sign of the desire for realism, then a new surge of poetic creativity at the turn of the century was already on a different path. This period was with the desire of contemporaries to renew the country, update literature and with various modernist currents, as a result, that appeared at this time. They were very diverse both in form and content: symbolism, acmeism, futurism, imagism ...

Thanks to such different directions and trends, new names appeared in Russian poetry, many of which had a chance to stay in it forever. The great poets of that era, starting in the depths of the modernist trend, very quickly grew out of it, striking with talent and versatility of creativity. This happened with Blok, Yesenin, Mayakovsky, Gumilev, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Voloshin and many others.

Conventionally, the beginning of the "Silver Age" is considered to be 1892, when the ideologist and the oldest member of the Symbolist movement Dmitry Merezhkovsky read a report "On the causes of decline and new trends in modern Russian literature." So for the first time the Symbolists declared themselves.

The beginning of the 1900s was the heyday of symbolism, but by the 1910s, a crisis began in this literary movement. The attempt of the Symbolists to proclaim the literary movement and master the artistic consciousness of the era failed. The question of the relationship of art to reality, the meaning and place of art in the development of Russian national history and culture.

A new direction had to appear, which would raise the question of the relationship between poetry and reality in a different way. This is exactly what acmeism has become.

The emergence of acmeism

In 1911, among poets who were striving to create a new direction in literature, a circle "Workshop of Poets" appeared, headed by Nikolai Gumilyov and Sergei Gorodetsky. The members of the "Workshop" were mostly novice poets: A. Akhmatova, N. Burliuk, Vas. Gippius, M. Zenkevich, Georgy Ivanov, E. Kuzmina-Karavaeva, M. Lozinsky, O. Mandelstam, Vl. Narbut, P. Radimov. At different times E. Kuzmina-Karavaeva, N. Nedobrovo, V. Komarovsky, V. Rozhdestvensky, S. Neldikhen were close to the "Workshop of Poets" and Acmeism. The brightest of the "younger" acmeists were Georgy Ivanov and Georgy Adamovich. A total of four almanacs "The Workshop of Poets" were published (1921 - 1923, the first under the title "Dragon", the last one was published in Berlin by the emigrated part of the "Workshop of Poets").

The creation of a literary movement called Acmeism was officially announced on February 11, 1912 at a meeting of the Academy of Verse, and in No. 1 of the Apollo magazine for 1913, Gumilyov's articles “The Heritage of Symbolism and Acmeism” and Gorodetsky's “Some Trends in modern Russian poetry ”, which were considered the manifestos of the new school.

The name "acmeism" comes from the Greek. “Acme” - a point, a top.
The theoretical basis is N. Gumilyov's article "The Heritage of Symbolism and Acmeism." Acmeists: N. Gumilyov, A. Akhmatova, S. Gorodetsky, M. Kuzmin.

ACMEISM is a modernist movement that declared concrete sensory perception outside world, the return to the word of its original, not symbolic meaning.

At the beginning of their career, young poets, future acmeists, were close to symbolism, they attended “Ivanovo Wednesday” - literary meetings at Vyach.Ivanov’s St. Petersburg apartment, which was named “tower”. In the "tower" classes were conducted with young poets, where they studied versification. In October 1911, the students of this "poetry academy" founded a new literary association"Workshop of poets". "Shop" was a school of professional skills, and its leaders were young poets N. Gumilyov and S. Gorodetsky. In January 1913, they published the declarations of the Acmeist group in the Apollo magazine.

The new literary movement, which rallied the great Russian poets, did not last long. The creative searches of Gumilev, Akhmatova, Mandelstam went beyond the framework of acmeism. But the humanistic meaning of this trend was significant - to revive a person's thirst for life, to return the feeling of its beauty. It also included A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam, M. Zenkevich, V. Narbut and others.

Acmeists are interested in the real, not the other world, the beauty of life in its concrete - sensual manifestations. The nebula and hints of symbolism were contrasted with a major perception of reality, the reliability of the image, the clarity of the composition. In some ways, the poetry of Acmeism is the revival of the “golden age,” the time of Pushkin and Baratynsky.

The highest point in the hierarchy of values ​​for them was a culture identical to universal human memory. Therefore, acmeists often refer to mythological subjects and images. If the Symbolists in their work focused on music, then the Acmeists - on spatial arts: architecture, sculpture, painting. The gravitation towards the three-dimensional world was expressed in the acmeists' fascination with objectivity: a colorful, sometimes exotic detail could be used for a purely pictorial purpose.

Aesthetics of Acmeism:
- the world should be perceived in its visible concreteness, appreciate its realities, and not get off the ground;
- you need to revive love for your body, the biological principle in a person, appreciate a person, nature;
- the source of poetic values ​​is on earth, and not in the unreal world;
- in poetry 4 principles should be merged together:
1) the traditions of Shakespeare in the image inner peace human;
2) Rabelais traditions in the chanting of the body;
3) Villon's tradition of singing the joys of life;
4) the tradition of Gaultier in praising the power of art.

Basic principles of acmeism:
- the liberation of poetry from symbolist appeals to the ideal, the return of clarity to it;
- rejection of mystical nebula, acceptance of the earthly world in its diversity, visible concreteness, sonority, brilliance;
- the desire to give the word a definite, precise meaning;
- objectivity and clarity of images, perfection of details;
- appeal to a person, to the "authenticity" of his feelings;
- poeticization of the world of primordial emotions, primitive biological natural principle;
- a roll call with past literary eras, the broadest aesthetic associations, "longing for world culture."

Distinctive features of acmeism:
- hedonism (enjoyment of life), adamism (animal essence), clarism (simplicity and clarity of language);
- lyrical plot and the depiction of the psychology of experience;
- colloquial elements of the language, dialogues, narration.

Acmeism (from the Greek akme - highest degree something, flowering, maturity, peak, edge) is one of the modernist trends in Russian poetry of the 1910s, which was formed as a reaction to the extremes of symbolism.

Overcoming the symbolists' predilection for the "superreal", the polysemy and fluidity of images, and complicated metaphor, the Acmeists strove for a sensual plastic-material clarity of the image and accuracy, the coherence of the poetic word. Their "earthly" poetry is prone to intimacy, aestheticism and the poetry of the feelings of the primordial man. Acmeism was characterized by extreme apoliticality, complete indifference to the pressing problems of our time.

The Acmeists, who replaced the Symbolists, did not have a detailed philosophical and aesthetic program. But if in the poetry of symbolism the decisive factor was the fleetingness, the momentaryness of being, a certain mystery covered with a halo of mysticism, then a realistic view of things was laid as the cornerstone in the poetry of Acmeism. The hazy unsteadiness and indistinctness of symbols was replaced by precise verbal images. The word, according to the Acmeists, had to acquire its original meaning.

The highest point in the hierarchy of values ​​for them was a culture identical to universal human memory. Therefore, acmeists often refer to mythological subjects and images. If the Symbolists in their work focused on music, then the Acmeists - on spatial arts: architecture, sculpture, painting. The gravitation towards the three-dimensional world was expressed in the acmeists' fascination with objectivity: a colorful, sometimes exotic detail could be used for a purely pictorial purpose. That is, the "overcoming" of symbolism took place not so much in the field of general ideas as in the field of poetic stylistics. In this sense, Acmeism was as conceptual as Symbolism, and in this respect they are undoubtedly in a continuity.

“A distinctive feature of the Acmeist circle of poets was their“ organizational cohesion ”. In essence, the Acmeists were not so much an organized movement with a common theoretical platform, as a group of talented and very different poets who were united by personal friendship. " The Symbolists had nothing of the kind: Bryusov's attempts to reunite his brothers were in vain. The same was observed among the futurists - despite the abundance of collective manifestos that they issued. Acmeists, or - as they were also called - "Hyperboreans" (after the name of the printed mouthpiece of Acmeism, the magazine and the publishing house "Hyperborey"), immediately acted as a single group. They gave their union the significant name "Poets' Workshop". And the beginning of a new trend (which later became almost a "prerequisite" for the emergence of new poetic groups in Russia) was laid by a scandal.

In the fall of 1911, a "riot" broke out in the poetry salon of Vyacheslav Ivanov, the famous "Tower", where the poetic society gathered and the reading and discussion of poetry took place. Several talented young poets defiantly left the next meeting of the Academy of Verse, outraged by the derogatory criticism of the “masters” of Symbolism. Nadezhda Mandelstam describes this case as follows: “The 'Prodigal Son' of Gumilyov was read at the Academy of Verse, where Vyacheslav Ivanov reigned, surrounded by respectful students. He subjected the "Prodigal Son" to a real defeat. The performance was so rude and harsh that Gumilyov's friends left the Academy and organized the Poets' Workshop, as opposed to it. "

A year later, in the fall of 1912, the six main members of the "Workshop" decided not only formally, but also ideologically to separate from the Symbolists. They organized a new community, calling themselves "Acmeists", that is, the pinnacle. Moreover, the "Workshop of Poets" as organizational structure survived - the Acmeists remained in it as an internal poetic association.

The main ideas of Acmeism were outlined in the programmatic articles by N. Gumilyov "The Heritage of Symbolism and Acmeism" and S. Gorodetsky "Some Trends in Contemporary Russian Poetry" published in the journal Apollo (1913, no. 1), published under the editorship of S. Makovsky. The first of them said: “Symbolism is being replaced by a new direction, no matter what it is called, whether acmeism (from the word akme - the highest degree of something, a blossoming time) or adamism (courageously firm and clear view of life), in every case, requiring a greater balance of power and a more accurate knowledge of the relationship between subject and object than was the case in symbolism. However, in order for this movement to assert itself in its entirety and become a worthy successor to the previous one, it must accept its inheritance and answer all the questions it posed. The glory of the ancestors obliges, and symbolism was a worthy father. "

S. Gorodetsky believed that “symbolism ... having filled the world with 'correspondences', turned it into a phantom, important only insofar as it ... shines through with other worlds, and belittled its high intrinsic value. Among the Acmeists, the rose again became good by itself, with its petals, smell and color, and not with its imaginable likenesses with mystical love or anything else. "

In 1913, Mandelstam's article "The Morning of Acmeism" was also written, which was published only six years later. The postponement in publication was not accidental: Mandelstam's acmeistic views differed significantly from the declarations of Gumilyov and Gorodetsky and did not make it to the pages of Apollo.

However, as T. Scriabin notes, “for the first time the idea of ​​a new direction was expressed on the pages of Apollo much earlier: in 1910 M. Kuzmin appeared in the magazine with an article“ On beautiful clarity, ”anticipating the appearance of the declarations of acmeism. By the time of this writing, Kuzmin was already a mature person, had experience of cooperation in symbolist periodicals. To the otherworldly and hazy revelations of the Symbolists, “incomprehensible and dark in art,” Kuzmin opposed “beautiful clarity”, “clarism” (from the Greek clarus - clarity). The artist, according to Kuzmin, should bring clarity to the world, not muddy, but clarify the meaning of things, seek harmony with the environment. The philosophical and religious searches of the Symbolists did not captivate Kuzmin: the artist's job was to focus on the aesthetic side of creativity, artistic skill. The symbol “dark in the last depth” gives way to clear structures and admiration for “pretty little things”. ” Kuzmin's ideas could not help but influence the acmeists: “excellent clarity” was in demand by the majority of the participants in the “Workshop of Poets”.

Another "harbinger" of Acmeism can be considered Innokenty Annensky, who, formally being a Symbolist, in fact only in early period of his work paid tribute to him. Later Annensky took a different path: the ideas of late symbolism practically did not affect his poetry. But the simplicity and clarity of his poems was well assimilated by the acmeists.

Three years after the publication of Kuzmin's article in Apollo, the manifestos of Gumilyov and Gorodetsky appeared - from that moment on, it is customary to count the existence of Acmeism as a formed literary trend.

Acmeism has six of the most active participants in the movement: N. Gumilev, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam, S. Gorodetsky, M. Zenkevich, V. Narbut. G. Ivanov claimed the role of the "seventh acmeist", but this point of view was protested by A. Akhmatova, who stated that "there were six acmeists, and there never was a seventh." O. Mandelstam was in solidarity with her, who believed, however, that six was too much: "There are only six Akmeists, and among them there was one extra ..." Mandelstam explained that Gorodetsky was "attracted" by Gumilev, "Yellow-mouthed". “Gorodetsky was [by that time] famous poet... ". At various times in the work of the "Workshop of Poets" took part: G. Adamovich, N. Bruni, Nas. Gippius, Vl. Gippius, G. Ivanov, N. Klyuev, M. Kuzmin, E. Kuzmina-Karavaeva, M. Lozinsky, V. Khlebnikov and others. a school of mastering poetic skills, a professional association.

Acmeism as literary direction united exceptionally gifted poets - Gumilyov, Akhmatova, Mandelstam, the formation of their creative individuals took place in the atmosphere of the "Poets' Workshop". The history of Acmeism can be viewed as a kind of dialogue between these three outstanding representatives of it. At the same time, the Adamism of Gorodetsky, Zenkevich and Narbut, who constituted the naturalistic wing of the current, significantly differed from the "pure" acmeism of the aforementioned poets. The difference between the Adamists and the Gumilev-Akhmatov-Mandelstam triad has been repeatedly noted in criticism.

As a literary trend, Acmeism did not last long - about two years. In February 1914, it split. The Poets' Workshop was closed. Acmeists managed to publish ten issues of their magazine "Hyperborey" (editor M. Lozinsky), as well as several almanacs.

“Symbolism was fading away” - in this Gumilev was not mistaken, but he failed to form a current as powerful as Russian symbolism. Acmeism failed to gain a foothold in the role of the leading poetic trend. The reason for such a rapid extinction is called, among other things, "the ideological inability of the direction to the conditions of the abruptly changed reality." V. Bryusov noted that “the acmeists are characterized by a gap between practice and theory”, and “their practice was purely symbolist”. It was in this that he saw the crisis of acmeism. However, Bryusov's statements about Acmeism have always been harsh; at first he said that "... acmeism is an invention, a whim, a metropolitan whim" and foreshadowed: "... most likely, in a year or two there will be no acmeism. His very name will disappear ”, and in 1922, in one of his articles, he generally denied him the right to be called a direction, a school, believing that there was nothing serious and distinctive about Acmeism and that he was“ outside the mainstream of literature ”.

However, attempts to resume the activities of the association were subsequently made more than once. The second “Workshop of Poets”, founded in the summer of 1916, was headed by G. Ivanov together with G. Adamovich. But it did not last long either. In 1920, the third "Workshop of Poets" appeared, which was Gumilyov's last attempt to organizationally preserve the Acmeist line. Under his wing poets who consider themselves to be the school of acmeism united: S. Neldikhen, N. Otsup, N. Chukovsky, I. Odoevtseva, N. Berberova, Vs. Rozhdestvensky, N. Oleinikov, L. Lipavsky, K. Vatinov, V. Pozner and others. The third "Workshop of Poets" existed in Petrograd for about three years (in parallel with the studio "Sounding Shell") - until the tragic death of N. Gumilyov.

The creative fates of the poets, one way or another connected with acmeism, developed in different ways: N. Klyuev subsequently declared his innocence in the activities of the community; G. Ivanov and G. Adamovich continued and developed many of the principles of Acmeism in emigration; Acmeism did not have any noticeable influence on V. Khlebnikov. IN Soviet time the poetic manner of the acmeists (mainly N. Gumilyov) was imitated by N. Tikhonov, E. Bagritsky, I. Selvinsky, M. Svetlov.

In comparison with other poetic trends of the Russian Silver Age, acmeism in many ways is seen as a marginal phenomenon. It has no analogues in other European literatures (which cannot be said, for example, about symbolism and futurism); all the more surprising seem to be the words of Blok, a literary opponent of Gumilyov, who declared that acmeism was just "an imported thing from abroad." After all, it was Acmeism that turned out to be extremely fruitful for Russian literature. Akhmatova and Mandelstam managed to leave behind "eternal words". Gumilyov appears in his poems as one of the brightest personalities of the cruel time of revolutions and world wars. And today, almost a century later, interest in acmeism persists mainly because the work of these outstanding poets is associated with it, who had a significant impact on the fate of Russian poetry of the 20th century.

Basic principles of acmeism:

• • liberation of poetry from symbolist appeals to the ideal, the return of clarity to it;
• • rejection of mystical nebula, acceptance of the earthly world in its diversity, visible concreteness, sonority, brilliance;
• · The desire to give the word a definite, precise meaning;
• · Objectivity and clarity of images, perfection of details;
• • appeal to a person, to the "authenticity" of his feelings;
• · Poeticization of the world of primordial emotions, primitive biological natural principle;
• · A roll call with past literary eras, the broadest aesthetic associations, "longing for world culture."

"Poets of the Silver Age of Russian Poetry" - silver Age Russian poetry. Russian "Silver Age". The fundamental question. Symbol. Poets are futurists. A slap in the face for public taste. Alone among the hostile host. Conscious meaning of the word. Representatives of symbolism. Acmeist poets.

"Poems of the Silver Age Poets" - Gippius Zinaida Nikolaevna. The gray-eyed king. Name the poets of the Silver Age. The sophistication of Russian slow speech. Gumilev Nikolay Stepanovich. Analyze the poem "Giraffe". Strings. Annensky Innokenty Fedorovich. Balmont Konstantin Dmitrievich. Symbolism. Futurism. Boris Pasternak. Vocabulary. Poem. Akhmatova. The path of the conquistadors. Poems by Z. Gippius. Akhmatova and Gumilyov.

"Themes of the poetry of the Silver Age" - Symbolism in the world. Paul Gauguin. And I dedicate a verse to all the gods. Contemporaries about the era. Romantic flowers. Key categories of acmeism. Philosophical basis of symbolism. The tasks of the futurists. A look at the world. Musical and compositional techniques. The rhythm of Bryusov's verse. The origin of modernism. Collections of poems by N.S. Gumilyov. The founder of Russian symbolism. Poetics of Gumilyov's Late Lyrics. Futurism in poetry.

"Directions of Poetry of the Silver Age" - Features of Symbolism. Features of acmeism. The main directions of the Silver Age. V.V. Mayakovsky. Symbolism. Aesthetics of Acmeism. The Silver Age of Russian Poetry. Symbolist poets. Aesthetics of futurism. The aesthetics of symbolism. Way of thinking. Groups of futurists. The emergence of symbolism. The emergence of acmeism. The concept of the "Silver Age". Acneism. Futurism. Speeches by futurists. Poets-futurists. Acmeism.

"Anthology of Poetry of the Silver Age" - Peasant poetry. Alexander Blok. Imagists. Vladimir Mayakovsky. Basic principles of acmeism. Acmeists. Vladislav Khodasevich. Prisoner. Innokenty Annensky. Symbolist poets. Daniil Kharms... Harbingers. Shershenevich Vadim. Igor Severyanin. Centrifuge. Sergey Yesenin. Oberiu. Konstantin Konstantinovich Sluchevsky. Futurists. Symbolists. Nikolay Gumilyov. Osip Mandelstam. Foliage.

"Poetry of the Silver Age" - Relationship to the word. Relationship to previous cultures. Futurism. Symbolism. Decades have passed. Existentialism. The Silver Age of Russian Poetry. Silver Age. Electronic educational resources. Features of literary trends. Acmeism. Modernism. The purpose of the modernist poets. Figurative expression. Alexander Blok.