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

Some new direction should have appeared, raising the question of the relationship between poetry and reality in a different way. This is exactly what acmeism has become.

In 1911, among the poets who were striving to create a new direction in literature, a circle “Poets' Workshop” appeared, headed by Nikolai Gumilyov and Sergey 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 various times, E. Kuzmina-Karavaeva, N. Nedobrovo, V. Komarovsky, V. Rozhdestvensky, S. Neldikhen were close to the "Workshop of Poets" and acmeism. The most striking of the "junior" acmeists were Georgy Ivanov and Georgy Adamovich. In total, four almanacs "The Workshop of Poets" were published (1921 - 1923, the first under the title "Dragon", the last was published already in Berlin by the emigrated part of the "Workshop of Poets").

The creation of a literary trend called “acmeism” was officially announced on February 11, 1912 at a meeting of the “Academy of Verse”, and articles by Gumilyov “The Heritage of Symbolism and Acmeism” and Gorodetsky “Some Trends in contemporary Russian poetry", which were considered manifestos of the new school.

In his famous article “The Legacy of Symbolism and Acmeism,” N. Gumilyov wrote: “A new direction is replacing symbolism, no matter how it is called, in any case, requiring a greater balance of power and more accurate knowledge of the relationship between subject and object than it was in symbolism. The chosen name of this direction confirmed the desire of the acmeists themselves to comprehend the heights of literary skill. Symbolism was very closely connected with acmeism, which its ideologists constantly emphasized, starting from symbolism in their ideas.

In the article "The Legacy of Symbolism and Acmeism", Gumilyov, acknowledging that "symbolism was a worthy father", stated that he "has completed his circle of development and is now falling." After analyzing both domestic and French and German symbolism, he concluded: “We do not agree to sacrifice other methods of influence to him (the symbol) and are looking for their complete consistency”, “It is more difficult to be an Acmeist than a symbolist, as it is more difficult to build a cathedral than tower. And one of the principles of the new direction is to always follow the line of greatest resistance.”

Speaking about the relationship between the world and human consciousness, Gumilyov demanded "always remember the unknowable", but at the same time "not offend your thoughts about it with more or less probable guesses." Negatively referring to the aspiration of symbolism to know the secret meaning of being (it remained secret even for acmeism), Gumilyov declared the “unchasteness” of the knowledge of the “unknowable”, “childishly wise, painfully sweet feeling of one’s own ignorance”, the inherent value of the “wise and clear” reality surrounding the poet. Thus, acmeists in the field of theory remained on the basis of philosophical idealism.

The main attention of the acmeists was focused on poetry. Of course, they also had prose, but it was poetry that formed this trend. As a rule, these were works of small volume, sometimes in the genre of a sonnet, an elegy. The most important criterion was attention to the word, to the beauty of the sounding verse. It is rather difficult to talk about the general theme and stylistic features, since each outstanding poet, whose, as a rule, early poems can be attributed to acmeism, had his own characteristic features.

But everywhere rhyme, rhythm and meter are observed. The sentences are usually simple, without complex multi-stage turns. Vocabulary is mostly neutral, obsolete words were practically not used in acmeism, high vocabulary. However, colloquial vocabulary is also missing. There are no examples of "word-creation", neologisms, original phraseological units. The verse is clear and understandable, but at the same time unusually beautiful. If you look at parts of speech, nouns and verbs predominate. There are practically no personal pronouns, since acmeism is more directed to the outside world, and not to the inner experiences of a person. Various expressive means are present, but do not play a decisive role. Of all the tropes, comparison prevails. Thus, the acmeists created their poems not at the expense of multi-stage constructions and complex images - their images are clear, and the sentences are quite simple. But they are distinguished by the desire for beauty, the sublimity of this very simplicity. And it was the acmeists who were able to make ordinary words play in a completely new way.

Despite numerous manifestos, acmeism still remained poorly expressed as a holistic direction. His main merit is that he was able to unite many talented poets. Over time, all of them, starting with the founder of the school, Nikolai Gumilyov, "outgrew" acmeism, created their own special, unique style. However, this literary direction somehow helped their talent to develop. And for this alone, acmeism can be given an honorable place in the history of Russian literature at the beginning of the 20th century.

Nevertheless, the main features of the poetry of acmeism can be distinguished. Firstly, attention to the beauty of the surrounding world, to the smallest details, to distant and unknown places. At the same time, acmeism does not seek to know the irrational. He remembers it, but prefers to leave it untouched. As for the stylistic features directly, this is the desire for simple sentences, neutral vocabulary, the absence of complex turns and piling up of metaphors. However, at the same time, the poetry of acmeism remains unusually bright, sonorous and beautiful.

It often happens with pioneers that instead of the planned opening of a short route to India, the New World is unexpectedly discovered, and instead of El Dorado, the Inca Empire. Something similar happened at the beginning of the twentieth century with the Acmeists. The direction of acmeism arose in opposition to its predecessors, but, as it turned out later, it only continued them and became a kind of crown of symbolism. However, many researchers believe that the difference between the two poetic groups was much deeper than it seemed at the beginning of the last century. Speaking about what acmeism is, it is worth telling not only about the features of the literary work of its representatives, but also about their life path.

The emergence of the movement

The history of the movement began in 1911, when poets under the leadership of Gorodetsky and Nikolai Gumilyov gathered for the first time in St. Petersburg. In an effort to emphasize the importance of craft and training in poetic creativity, the organizers called the new society the "Poets' Workshop". Thus, answering the question of what acmeism is, we can start with the fact that this is a literary trend, the founders of which were two St. Petersburg poets, who were later joined by no less significant heroes of the literary scene.

The first acmeists manifested their fundamental difference from the symbolists, arguing that, unlike the first, they strive for maximum reality, reliability and plasticity of images, while the symbolists tried to penetrate into "superreal" spheres.

Members of the poetry club

The official opening of the poetry club took place in 1912 at a meeting of the so-called Academy of Verse. A year later, two articles were published in the almanac "Apollo", which became fundamental for a new literary trend. One article, written by Nikolai Gumilyov, was titled "The Legacy of Symbolism and Acmeism." Another was written by Gorodetsky, and it was called "Some Trends in Modern Russian Poetry."

In his programmatic article on acmeism, Gumilyov points out the desire of himself and his associates to reach the heights of literary mastery. In turn, mastery was achievable only by working in a close-knit group. It was the ability to work in such a group and organizational cohesion that distinguished the representatives of acmeism.

According to the testimony of Andrei Bely, the name itself appeared quite by accident in the heat of a dispute between friends. On that decisive evening, Vyacheslav Ivanov jokingly began to talk about Adamism and Acmeism, but Gumilyov liked these terms, and since then he began to call himself and his comrades Acmeists. The term "Adamism" was less popular, as it evoked associations with brutality and soilism, with which the acmeists had nothing in common.

Basic principles of acmeism

Answering the question of what acmeism is, one should name the main features that distinguished it from other artistic movements of the Silver Age. These include:

• romanticization of the feelings of the first man;
• talk about earthly primeval beauty;
• clarity and transparency of images;
• understanding of art as a tool for improving human nature;
• influence on the imperfection of life by artistic images.

All these differences were reflected by the members of the informal community and reworked into specific instructions, which were followed by such poets as Nikolai Gumilyov, Osip Mandelstam, Mikhail Zinkevich, Georgy Ivanov, Elizaveta Kuzmina-Karavaeva and even Anna Akhmatova.

Nikolai Gumilyov in acmeism

Although many researchers insist that acmeism was one of the most cohesive movements of the early twentieth century, others, on the contrary, argue that it is more worth talking about the community of very different and talented poets in their own way. However, one thing remains indisputable: most of the meetings were held in Vyacheslav Ivanov's "Tower", and the literary journal "Hyperborea" was published for five years - from 1913 to 1918. In literature, acmeism occupies a very special place, being separated from both symbolism and futurism.

It will be convenient to consider all the internal diversity of this trend using the example of such key figures as Akhmatova and Gumilyov, who were married from 1910 to 1918. These two poets gravitated toward two fundamentally different types of poetic utterance.

From the very beginning of his work, Nikolai Gumilyov chose the path of a warrior, discoverer, conquistador and inquisitor, which was reflected not only in his work, but also in his life path.

In his texts, he used vivid expressive images of distant countries and fictional worlds, idealized much in the world around him and beyond, and in the end he paid for it. In 1921 Gumilev was shot on charges of espionage.

Anna Akhmatova and acmeism

This direction played an important role in the life of Russian literature even after the "Workshop of Poets" ceased to exist. Most members of the poetic community have lived difficult and eventful lives. However, Anna Andreevna Akhmatova lived the longest life, becoming a real star of Russian poetry.

It was Akhmatova who was able to perceive the pain of the people around her as her own, because the terrible age also cast its shadow on her fate. However, despite all the hardships of life, Anna Andreevna throughout her entire work remained faithful to acmeist principles: careful attitude to the word, heredity of times, respect for culture and history. One of the main consequences of the influence of acmeism was that in Akhmatova's work, personal experiences always merged with social and historical ones.

It seems that everyday life itself did not leave room for mysticism and romantic reflections on the lyrical. For many years, Akhmatova was forced to stand in lines to deliver parcels to her son in prison, she suffered from deprivation and disorder. Thus, daily life forced the great poetess to follow the acmeist principle of clarity of speech and honesty of expression.

Osip Mandelstam appreciated Akhmatova's work so highly that he compared the richness and imagery of her literary language with all the richness of the Russian classical novel. Anna Andreevna also achieved international recognition, but the Nobel Prize, for which she was nominated twice, was never awarded.

Akhmatova's lyrical acmeism contrasted sharply with the temperament of another poet from her circle, Osip Mandelstam.

Mandelstam in the circle of acmeists

Osip Mandelstam stood apart among young poets, distinguished from his compatriots by a special sense of the historical moment, for which he paid the price by dying in the Far Eastern camps.

The legacy of the great poet has survived to this day only thanks to the truly heroic efforts of his devoted wife, Nadezhda Yakovlevna Mandelstam, who kept her husband's manuscripts for several decades after his death.

It is worth noting that such behavior could cost Nadezhda Yakovlevna her freedom, because even for storing the manuscript of an enemy of the people, a serious punishment was due, and his wife not only saved, but also copied, and also distributed Mandelstam's poems.

Mandelstam's poetics is distinguished by a subject carefully inscribed in the context of European culture. His lyrical hero not only lives in the difficult time of Stalin's repressions, but also in the world of Greek heroes wandering the seas. It is possible that his studies at the historical and philological faculty of the university left their mark on the poet's work.

A conversation about what acmeism is for Russian culture cannot do without mentioning the tragic fates of its main representatives. As already mentioned, Osip Mandelstam, after the exile, was sent to the Gulag, where he went missing, and his wife was forced to wander around different cities for a long time, having no permanent home. The first husband and son of Akhmatova also spent many years in prison, which became an important topic in the texts of the poetess.

Acmeism (from Greek akme- the highest degree of something, flourishing, maturity, peak, tip) - one of the modernist trends in Russian poetry of the 1910s, formed as a reaction to the extremes of symbolism. Acmeists united in the group "Workshop of Poets", in 1912-1913. published the journal "Hyperborea". The main ideas of acmeism were outlined in the program articles by N. Gumilyov “The Heritage of Symbolism and Acmeism” and S. Gorodetsky “Some Trends in Modern Russian Poetry”, published in 1913 in No. 1 of the Apollo magazine (the literary organ of the group during its heyday) , edited by S. Makovsky.

Acmeism did not put forward a detailed philosophical and aesthetic concept. Poets shared the views of the Symbolists on the nature of art, absolutizing the role of the artist. But they called for a cleansing of poetry from the use of vague allusions and symbols, proclaiming a return to the material world and accepting it as it is.

For acmeists, the impressionist tendency to perceive reality as a sign of the unknowable, as a distorted likeness of higher entities, turned out to be unacceptable. Acmeists valued such elements of the artistic form as stylistic balance, pictorial clarity of images, precisely measured composition, and sharpness of details. In their poems, the fragile facets of things were aestheticized, an atmosphere of admiration for everyday, familiar trifles was affirmed.

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, colorfulness;
• the desire to give the word a specific, precise meaning;
• objectivity and clarity of images, sharpness of details;
• an appeal to a person, to the "authenticity" of his feelings;
• poetization of the world of primordial emotions, the primitive biological natural principle;
• echo with past literary epochs, the broadest aesthetic associations, "longing for world culture"

Acmeists have developed subtle ways of conveying the inner world of a lyrical hero. Often the state of feelings was not revealed directly, it was conveyed by a psychologically significant gesture, by listing things. A similar manner of reification of experiences was typical, in particular, for many poems by A. A. Akhmatova.

O. E. Mandelstam noted that acmeism is not only a literary, but also a social phenomenon in Russian history. Together with him, moral strength was revived in Russian poetry. Depicting the world with its joys, vices, injustice, acmeists defiantly refused to solve social problems and affirmed the principle of "art for art's sake".

After 1917, N. S. Gumilyov revived the "Workshop of Poets", but as an organized trend, acmeism ceased to exist in 1923, although there was another attempt to restore this literary movement in 1931.

The fate of the acmeist poets developed differently. The leader of the Acmeists N. S. Gumilyov was shot. O. E. Mandelstam died in one of the Stalinist camps from extreme exhaustion. A. A. Akhmatova suffered severe hardships: her first husband was shot, her son was arrested twice and sentenced to hard labor in the camp. But Akhmatova found the courage to create a great poetic testimony of the tragic era - "Requiem".

Only S. M. Gorodetsky lived a fairly prosperous life: abandoning the principles of acmeism, he learned to create “according to the new rules”, obeying the ideological demands of the authorities. In the 1930s created a number of opera librettos (“Breakthrough”, “Alexander Nevsky”, “Thoughts about Opanas”, etc.). During the war years, he was engaged in translations of Uzbek and Tajik poets. In the last years of his life, Gorodetsky taught at the Literary Institute. M. Gorky. He passed away in June 1967.

Russian acmeism as a literary trend arose when the political upsurge in Russia coexisted with society's fatigue from the stormy searches of previous years.

Acmeism - the history of definition

(from the Greek "Akme" - flowering, peak, point).

However, this literary movement had two more names - adamism(From the first man - Adam) and clarism(from the French "Clare" - clarity).

The main features of acmeism asliterary direction

They are considered:

• declaration of break with symbolism
• continuity with predecessors
• rejection of the symbol as the only way of poetic influence
• "the intrinsic value of each phenomenon" in creativity
• denial of the mystical
• the cornerstone of acmeism is the names of Shakespeare. Rabelais, F. Villon, T. Gauthier, as well as the poetry of I. Annensky
• connection in the creativity of the inner world of a person with "wise physiology"
• “clothing of impeccable forms” (N. Gumilyov).

Russian acmeists, to a greater extent than, went into the circle of purely literary tasks. In the Russian classics and in world literature, they chose what in the philosophy of creativity was associated with the elements of immediate vitality, in the circle of "non-politicized" culture, in search of a poetic word.

O. Mandelstam

So, O. Mandelstam in the article "On the nature of the word" admired the "Nominalism" of the Russian language.

Making the more beautiful

Than taken material

more dispassionate -

Verse, marble or metal.

Or Mandelstam:

The sound is wary and muffled

The fruit that fell from the tree

In the midst of the silent chant

The sad silence of the forest.

Such unity in theory did not exclude the peculiarities of the creative development of everyone who considered themselves to be part of this literary trend in Russian acmeism.

So, in the poetry of O. Mandelstam there is no concentration on the image of a lyrical hero. His poetry has long been alien to ideological certainty. In different years, various world cultural layers (Gothic, Hellenism, St. Petersburg) were refracted in his poetry in a peculiar way.

The poet's lyrical self is hidden in the subtext, in the semantic atmosphere of poetic texts. Mandelstam put forward the thesis of poetic architecture. The word is like a stone, which is the basis of the building of poetry.
The poet's first collection of poems was called "Stone". The objectivity of Mandelstam's poems is always associated with the mood of the character. Along with the stone, music, the world of ideas, and architecture are poeticized. The poet's world is alien to mysticism or symbolism. Ultimate clarity and materiality are the characteristics of this world (“Beautiful is the temple bathed in the world…”, “Notre Dame”).

A. Akhmatova and acmeism

Early Akhmatova's poems are a world of sounds and colors, smells and weight ("A dark-skinned youth wandered along the alleys ..."). The verses are extremely clear: the simplicity of vision, the world of objects that surrounds the lyrical heroine, the colloquial nature of poetic speech, the monologue, the gravitation towards the stage nature of the verse, while the main thing is the laconicism of the plot (“I saw my friend to the front ...”). At the same time, Akhmatova is alien to hedonism and "divine physiology" in poetry.

For N. Gumilyov himself, acmeism is the pathos of the heroic, the cult of male risk, courage, courage, the affirmation of the high pathos of life. Gumilyov is always accurate in details. At the same time, he, like many acmeists, turns to previous centuries of world culture (“Padua Cathedral”, “Pisa”). At the same time, unlike Blok, who, for example, saw the sunset of its former greatness in Italy, Gumilyov's colors are life-affirming, bright and pure.

Our presentation on acmeism

The meaning of Russian acmeism

The fate of Russian acmeism

The fate of Russian acmeism, like many literary movements that characterize the Silver Age of Russian culture, is largely tragic.

Acmeism, with all the declaration of clarity, life-affirmation, had to defend itself in the struggle. For many years of Soviet history, these poets were practically not talked about. The fate of many acmeists in Russia is tragic. N. Gumilyov was shot, V. Narbut and O. Mandelstam were destroyed. A tragic fate befell A. Akhmatova.

At the same time, in the words of the American professor of Russian studies O. Ronen, the "platinum age" of Russian poetry was buried along with acmeism.

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Acmeism in literature is a trend that arose at the very beginning of the 20th century and became widespread among all the 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 is characterized by clarity, utmost clarity and earthiness, 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 penchant for analyzing human feelings and experiences. The poets who wrote their works in this style were quite specific, did not use metaphors and hyperbole. According to modern writers, such characteristics appeared as if in opposition to the pre-existing symbolism, which, in turn, was famous for the vagueness of images, the complete lack of specificity and accuracy. At the same time, the acmeists attached importance only to the highest human needs, that is, they described the 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 was acmeism based on

As such, there was no philosophy that would define acmeism in Russian literature at that time. Such a foothold 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 with 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 its help that all the thoughts and events that were described should have been expressed with the utmost accuracy.

The inspiration that the poets of this era drew

Most often, symbolism, which was the forerunner of acmeism, is compared with music. It is just as mysterious, ambiguous, and can be interpreted in all sorts of ways. It was thanks to such artistic techniques that 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 representing this trend themselves compare their work more with architecture or sculpture than with music. Their poems are incredibly beautiful, but at the same time accurate, coherent and extremely understandable for any audience. Each word conveys directly the meaning that was originally put into it, without any exaggeration or comparison. That is why acmeist verses are so easy to learn by heart for all schoolchildren, and so easy to understand their essence.

Representatives of acmeism in Russian literature

A distinctive feature of all representatives of this was not just solidarity, but even friendship. They worked in the same team, and at the very beginning of their creative path they loudly declared themselves, having founded the so-called "Poets' Workshop" in Leningrad. They didn't have a specific literary platform, standards by which poetry had to be written, or other production details. It can be said that each of the poets knew what his work should be, and knew how to present each word so that it was extremely understandable to 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 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 Hyperborea, 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 the novelty and beauty of Russian art. This was followed by a series of articles written by almost every member of the "Workshop 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. By 1922, the "Workshop of Poets" had already ceased to exist, attempts to renew it were futile. As the then literary critics believed, the reason for the failure was that the theory of the acmeists did not coincide with practical intentions, and they still failed to completely break away from symbolism.