9th ed. - M.: Enlightenment, 2004. - 399 p.
If you want to get acquainted with a new perspective on domestic literature XX century, if you are interested in the dramatic destinies of the largest Russian writers of our century, if you need a book written scientifically, meaningfully and at the same time fascinatingly by a team of leading writers, literary scholars, critics, then this book is in front of you - this is a textbook on Russian literature of the 20th century.
After reading it carefully, you will be able to independently prepare for final exams at school and entrance exams to universities.
Format: pdf/zip
To readers 3Literature of the early 20th century (L. A. Smirnova) 8
Origins and nature of literary quests 8
The desire for creative transformation of the world... 9
Literary quests of supporters of the revolutionary movement 11
Direction philosophical thought beginning of the century.... 12
The originality of realism 15
Features of the latest poetry 20
Modernism: the path to a new harmony 20
Symbolism 22
Acmeism 24
Futurism 26
Prose of the 20th century (O.N. Mikhailov) 28
The uniqueness of Russian literature abroad 28
Ideological and aesthetic struggle 31
I.A.Bunin 32
The role of the “small” homeland and noble traditions 32
The nature of social duality 33
The influence of his elder brother Yu. A. Bunin 34
First experiments 34
Spiritual health, folk origin 35
Traditions of Russian classics 35
Wanderer 36
New quality of prose 37
Bunin the poet 38
"Village" 39
Hidden polemic with M. Gorky 39
The Krasov brothers - two types of Russian people... 41
People-philosopher 42
"John the Sorber" 44
"Mr. from San Francisco" 45
The image of sin in which a person’s life takes place 45
“Hollow” man - the creation of a mechanical civilization 45
Theme of the end, disaster 46
Intransigence of position 46
Prose of the 20s 47
Russia theme 47
"Mowers" 48
Love Theme 48
"Sunstroke" 49
“The Life of Arsenyev” 50
Innovation of the novel 51
"Dark Alleys" 52
"Clean Monday" 53
A. I. Kuprin 56
Childhood. The role of the mother 56
Harsh barracks school 57
Personality formation and the origins of humanism... 58
First literary experiments. Service in the regiment.... 58
Kuprin "universities" 59
"Olesya" 60
Composition Mastery 61
On St. Petersburg Parnassus. 61
"Duel" 62
Image of Romashov 64
At the zenith of glory 64
"Garnet Bracelet" 65
During the years of great unrest 66
Creativity of the 20s 66
Russia Theme 67
"Wheel of Time" 68
Kuprin - master of the story 68
"Junker" 69
"Zhaneta" 70
L. N. Andreev. 72
The Brokenness of a Young Soul 72
Early creativity 73
Climb 74
At the crossroads of realism and modernism 75
L. Andreev and symbolism 77
Expressionist Writer 77
Artistic originality 78
Last years 79
I.S.Shmelev 82
Writer's personality 82
Position 83
Father's tragedy 83
"Sun of the Dead" 84
“Politics”, “Summer of the Lord” 85
Mastery 86
The language of Shmelev’s works 89
Inequality of creativity 89
B.K. Zaitsev 91
Gaining religious consciousness 92
New quality of the artist 93
"Reverend Sergius of Radonezh" 93
"Gleb's Journey" 94
Fictionalized biographies 95
Zaitsev's lessons 96
A. T. Averchenko 97
First Russian Revolution 98
Magazine "Satyricon" 98
Master of Humorous Story 99
Averchenko and the “new” art 99
Political satire 100
“A Dozen Knives in the Back of the Revolution” 101
"Laughter through Tears" 102
Teffi 103
Sad laughter 104
The artistic world of Teffi 105
Heroines of Teffi 105
In exile 106
B. V. Nabokov 108
"Mashenka" 111
Russia Nabokov 111
Nabokov and the classical tradition 113
"Algebra of Magnificent Technology" 113
“Singles” and “crowd” 114
The diversity of artistic individualities of the poetry of the Silver Age (L.A. Smirnova) 117
V. Ya. Bryusov 118
Formation of a poet. Years of childhood and youth 118
Motives of early lyrics 119
Urban theme of creativity 121
The image of man in poetry of the 10s. 123
K.D.Balmont 124
Childhood and youth. 124
Ideas and images of creativity 125
Reasons and first years of emigration 126
Image of Russia 127
Attitude lyrical hero 128
F. Sologub 130
Childhood and adolescence 130
Themes and images of poetry 130
Poet's prose 131
A. White 131
Childhood and youth. 131
Early work 132
Creative maturity. 133
I. F. Annensky 135
Early years 135
Creative quest 135
N.S. Gumilev. 137
Childhood and youth. 137
Early lyrics 138
“Pearls”: search for the land of dreams 140
Poetic discoveries of the collection “Pillar of Fire” 141
I. Severyanin 143
Early years of life and creativity 143
Poetic originality 144
V. F. Khodasevich 146
Life in Russia. Reason for emigration 146
The originality of early lyrics 146
Bitter thoughts in the collection
"Happy House" 147
The book “The Path of the Grain”: spiritual contradictions and achievements 149
Confession of the poet in the book “Heavy Lyre” 151
Tragic perception of the world in the cycle “European Night” 152
G. V. Ivanov 154
Life in Russia. Early work 154
Public and creative activity in exile 156
The motive of the death of the soul in the collection “Portrait without Resemblance” 157
Image of the Motherland (“Portrait without resemblance”, “1943-1958. Poems”) 158
The significance of A. Blok’s poetry for the work of G. Ivanov: the motive of revived love 159
Maxim Gorky (L. A. Smirnova) 164
Early years 164
Early stories 165
Gorky on contradictions people's soul 166
The Origins of Romantic Prose 166
Humanistic position romantic hero. . 167
The meaning of the contrast between Danko and Larra 167
Image of spiritual harmony of the world 168
“Song of the Petrel” as an expression of the romantic ideal 169
"Foma Gordeev." Dream and reality in the novel. 170
Foma Gordeev and his entourage. Narrative Features 170
"At the Bottom" 172
Chekhov's tradition in Gorky's dramaturgy 172
“At the Bottom” as a socio-philosophical drama.172
The atmosphere of spiritual separation of people. The role of the polylogue 173
The originality of the internal development of the play 173
The meaning of Act IV 174
Philosophical subtext of the play 175
Gorky and the first Russian revolution 175
Novel "Mother". In search of the moral value of the revolution 176
The meaning of human spiritual transformation 176
Moral conflict in the camp of revolution 177
Gorky in exile 177
Thoughts on the fate of Russia 178
New features of autobiographical prose 178
The writer’s attitude to the October Revolution of 1917 180
“Untimely Thoughts” 180
Creativity of the period of the second emigration 181
“The Artamonov Case” - enrichment of the novel form 182
“The Life of Klim Samgin” - a figurative embodiment of history 182
A. A. Blok (A. M. Turkov) 185
The beginning of the journey 185
"Poems about a Beautiful Lady." The Romantic World of Early Block 186
Block and symbolism 188
“I set out on a path open to the eyes...” (Blok in 1905-1908) 189
“On the Kulikovo Field” 194
Poem "Retribution" 196
"Scary World" 198
“...My topic, the topic about Russia...” 199
"Nightingale Garden" 202
On the eve of the revolution 203
"Twelve" 204
Last years. “But these were not the days we called...” .... 208
New Peasant Poetry (V.P.Zhuravlev) 212
N.A.Klyuev 214
Spiritual and poetic origins 214
Nikolay Klyuev and Alexander Blok 218
Literary recognition 219
Nikolay Klyuev and Sergey Yesenin 220
In disputes with proletarian poetry 223
Poem "Pogorelytsina" 226
Poem “Song of the Great Mother” 229
S. A. Klychkov 232
P. V. Oreshin 234
S. A. Yesenin (A. M. Marchenko) 239
Yesenin - Russian artistic idea 239
Awakening creative thoughts 239
The beginning of conscious creativity 242
Discoverer of "Blue Rus'" 243
"Long live the revolution!" 249
“The life of an image is huge and varied.” Features of S. Yesenin's metaphorism 251
The pain of perestroika. "Mare ships." "Moscow Tavern" 253
Lessons from America. "Iron Mirgorod" 257
Breakthrough attempt 259
"Anna Onegina" 261
“In these lines there is a song...” “Persian motives”, “The golden grove dissuaded...” 266
V.V. Mayakovsky (A.A. Mikhailov) 279
Childhood and adolescence 279
Mayakovsky and futurism 283
Drama of love, drama of life 287
Poem “Cloud in Pants” 289
Revolution 290
“Windows of Satire” 292
For personal reasons 293
October in Mayakovsky's poetry 296
"Now Let's Talk About Trash" 301
Bullet point at the end of 304
Literary process of the 20s (VL. Chalmaev) 310
The people and the revolution in poetry and prose: stages in the formation of a new type of realism.
Literary groups 310
A new approach to assessing October and the Civil War 310
Understanding the events of the revolution and the fate of Russia:
“Proletarian cultural and educational organizations” (Proletkult), “Forge” 313
A. M. Remizov 318
D. A. Furmanov 320
A. S. Serafimovich 322
Literary groups of the 20s 326
LEF. 326
"PASS" 326
CONSTRUCTIVISM, or LCC 327
OBERIU 328
A. A. Fadeev 329
Novel "Destruction" 332
“Change of milestones” 335
I. E. Babel (G. A. Belaya) 340
Start 340
Early work 340
"Cavalry" 341
"Odessa Stories" 348
Crisis 348
E. I. Zamyatin (V. G. Vozdvizhensky) 352
The beginning of the journey 352
During the revolution 353
Dystopian novel “We” 355
Prose and plays of the 20s. 360
Abroad 361
B. Pilnyak (I. O. Shaitanov) 364
The beginning of the journey 364
The novel “The Naked Year” as a page in the writer’s biography 365
“Machines and Wolves”: B. Pilnyak’s method of orientation in the elements of nature and history 367
Pilnyak’s historical metaphors: “The Tale of the Unextinguished Moon” 367
Boris Pilnyak in the 30s: novels “Mahogany” and “The Volga Flows into the Caspian Sea” 370
M.M.Zoshchenko (GA.Belaya) 373
Early years 373
Literary environment 374
Zoshchenko the satirist 375
Zoshchenkovsky hero 377
Writer's style 378
Zoshchenko the moralist 380
Essay topics for reviewing the course of 20th century literature 383
Brief dictionary of literary terms 384
Advanced Russian literature has always spoken out in defense of the people, always sought to truthfully illuminate the conditions of their life, to show their spiritual wealth - and its role in the development of self-awareness of Russian people was exceptional.
Since the 80s. Russian literature began to widely penetrate abroad, amazing foreign readers with its love for man and faith in him, with his passionate denunciation social evil, with his ineradicable desire to make life more fair. Readers were attracted by the tendency of Russian authors to create broad pictures of Russian life, in which the depiction of the fate of the heroes was intertwined with the formulation of many fundamental social, philosophical and moral problems.
By the beginning of the 20th century. Russian literature began to be perceived as one of the powerful streams of the world literary process. Noting the unusual nature of Russian realism in connection with Gogol’s centenary, English writers wrote: “...Russian literature has become a torch shining brightly in the darkest corners of Russian national life. But the light of this torch spread far beyond the borders of Russia - it illuminated the whole of Europe.”
Russian literature (in the person of Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy) was recognized as the highest art of speech due to its unique attitude to the world and man, revealed by original artistic means. Russian psychologism, the ability of Russian authors to show the interconnection and conditionality of social, philosophical and moral problems, the genre looseness of Russian writers who created the free form of the novel, and then the short story and drama, were perceived as something new.
In the 19th century Russian literature adopted a lot from world literature, now it generously enriched it.
Having become the property of foreign readers, Russian literature widely introduced them to the little-known life of a huge country, to the spiritual needs and social aspirations of its people, to their difficult historical fate.
The importance of Russian literature increased even more on the eve of the first Russian revolution - both for Russian (which had grown significantly in number) and for foreign readers. The words of V.I. Lenin in the work “What to do?” are very significant. (1902) about the need to think “about the worldwide significance that Russian literature is now acquiring.”
AND literature XIX in and latest literature helped to understand what exactly contributed to the maturation of the explosion of popular anger and what general state modern Russian reality.
L. Tolstoy’s merciless criticism of the state and social foundations of Russian life, Chekhov’s depiction of the everyday tragedy of this life, Gorky’s search for a true hero new history and his call “Let the storm blow harder!” - all this, despite the difference in the writers' worldviews, indicated that Russia found itself at a sharp turning point in its history.
The year 1905 marked the beginning of the “end of the “eastern” immobility” in which Russia found itself, and foreign readers sought an answer to the question of how all this happened in the most accessible source to them - Russian literature. And it is quite natural that special attention has now begun to attract the work of modern writers, reflecting the mood and social aspirations of Russian society. At the turn of the century, translators fiction They pay great attention to which works are most successful in Russia, and rush to translate them into Western European languages. Released in 1898–1899 Three volumes of “Essays and Stories” brought Gorky all-Russian fame; in 1901 he was already a famous writer in Europe.
At the beginning of the 20th century. there was no doubt that Russia, which had learned a lot from the historical experience of Europe, was itself beginning to play a huge role in the world historical process, hence the increasingly increasing role of Russian literature in revealing changes in all areas of Russian life and in the psychology of Russian people.
Turgenev and Gorky called the liberated Russia “teenager” in the European family of nations; Now this teenager was turning into a giant, calling to follow him.
V.I. Lenin's articles about Tolstoy show that the global significance of his work (Tolstoy was already recognized as a world genius during his lifetime) is inseparable from the global significance of the first Russian revolution. Viewing Tolstoy as an exponent of the moods and aspirations of the patriarchal peasantry, Lenin wrote that Tolstoy with remarkable power reflected “the features of the historical originality of the entire first Russian revolution, its strength and its weakness.” At the same time, Lenin clearly outlined the boundaries of the material subject to the writer’s depiction. “The era to which L. Tolstoy belongs,” he wrote, “and which was reflected in remarkable relief both in his brilliant works of art, and in his teaching, there is an era after 1861 and before 1905.”
The work of the greatest writer of the new century, Gorky, was inextricably linked with the Russian revolution, who reflected in his work the third stage of the liberation struggle of the Russian people, which led him to 1905, and then to the socialist revolution.
And not only Russian, but also foreign readers perceived Gorky as a writer who saw the true historical figure XX century in the person of the proletarian and who showed how the psychology of the working masses changes under the influence of new historical circumstances.
Tolstoy depicted with amazing power a Russia already receding into the past. But, recognizing that the existing system is becoming obsolete and that the 20th century is the century of revolutions, he still remained faithful to the ideological foundations of his teaching, his preaching of non-resistance to evil through violence.
Gorky showed Russia as it replaced the old one. He becomes the singer of young, new Russia. He is interested in the historical modification of the Russian character, the new psychology of the people, in which, unlike previous and a number of modern writers, he looks for and reveals anti-humble and strong-willed traits. And this makes Gorky’s work especially significant.
The confrontation between two great artists in this regard - Tolstoy, who has long been perceived as the pinnacle of realistic literature of the 19th century, and young writer, reflecting in his work the leading trends of modern times, was caught by many contemporaries.
K. Kautsky’s response to the novel “Mother” he had just read in 1907 is very characteristic. “Balzac shows us,” Kautsky wrote to Gorky, “more accurately than any historian, the character of young capitalism after the French Revolution; and if, on the other hand, I managed to understand Russian affairs to some extent, then I owe this not so much to Russian theoreticians as, perhaps to an even greater extent, to Russian writers, primarily Tolstoy and you. But if Tolstoy teaches me to understand the Russia that was, then your works teach me to understand the Russia that will be; understand the forces that bear new Russia».
Later, saying that “Tolstoy, more than any other Russian, plowed and prepared the ground for a violent explosion,” S. Zweig will say that it was not Dostoevsky or Tolstoy who showed the world the amazing Slavic soul, but Gorky allowed the amazed West understand what and why happened in Russia in October 1917, and will especially highlight Gorky’s novel “Mother”.
Having highly appreciated Tolstoy’s work, V.I. Lenin wrote: “The era of preparation for the revolution in one of the countries oppressed by the feudal owners, thanks to Tolstoy’s brilliant illumination, appeared as a step forward in artistic development of all humanity."
The writer who illuminated with great artistic force the pre-revolutionary mood of Russian society and the era of 1905–1917 was Gorky, and thanks to this illumination, the revolutionary era that ended with the October Revolution socialist revolution, in turn, was a step forward in the artistic development of mankind. By showing those who walked towards this revolution and then carried it out, Gorky opened a new page in the history of realism.
Gorky’s new concept of man and social romanticism, his new coverage of the problem of “man and history,” the writer’s ability to identify the sprouts of the new everywhere, the huge gallery he created of people representing old and new Russia - all this contributed to both the expansion and deepening of artistic knowledge of life. New representatives of critical realism also made their contribution to this knowledge.
So, for the literature of the early 20th century. The simultaneous development of critical realism, which at the turn of the century was experiencing a time of renewal, but without losing its critical pathos, and socialist realism, became characteristic. Noting this remarkable feature of the literature of the new century, V. A. Keldysh wrote: “In the context of the revolution of 1905–1907. For the first time, that type of literary relationship arose, which was later destined to play such a significant role in the world literary process of the 20th century: “old”, critical realism develops simultaneously with socialist realism, and the appearance of signs of a new quality in critical realism is largely the result of this interaction.”
Socialist realists (Gorky, Serafimovich) did not forget that the origins of a new image of life go back to the artistic quests of such realists as Tolstoy and Chekhov, while some representatives of critical realism began to master the creative principles of socialist realism.
Such coexistence would later be characteristic of other literatures during the years of the emergence of socialist realism in them.
The simultaneous flowering of a significant number of great and dissimilar talents, noted by Gorky as the uniqueness of Russian literature of the last century, was also characteristic of the literature of the new century. The creativity of its representatives develops, as in the previous period, in close artistic relationships with Western European literature, also revealing its artistic originality. Like the literature of the 19th century, it enriched and continues to enrich world literature. Particularly indicative in this case is the work of Gorky and Chekhov. Under the sign of the artistic discoveries of the revolutionary writer, Soviet literature will develop; his artistic method will also have a great influence on the creative development of democratic writers in the foreign world. Chekhov's innovation was not immediately recognized abroad, but starting in the 20s. it found itself in the sphere of intensive study and development. World fame first came to Chekhov the playwright, and then to Chekhov the prose writer.
The work of a number of other authors was also noted for innovation. Translators, as we have already said, paid attention in the 1900s. attention to both the works of Chekhov, Gorky, Korolenko, and the works of writers who came to prominence on the eve and during the years of the first Russian revolution. They especially followed the writers grouped around the publishing house “Znanie”. L. Andreev’s responses to the Russo-Japanese War and the rampant tsarist terror (“Red Laughter,” “The Tale of the Seven Hanged Men”) became widely known abroad. Interest in Andreev’s prose did not disappear even after 1917. The trembling heart of Sashka Zhegulev found an echo in distant Chile. A young student of one of the Chilean lyceums, Pablo Neruda, will sign his first great work“Holiday Song”, which will receive a prize at the “Spring Festival” in 1921.
Andreev’s dramaturgy also gained fame, anticipating the emergence of expressionism in foreign literature. In “Letters on Proletarian Literature” (1914), A. Lunacharsky pointed out the overlap between individual scenes and characters in E. Barnavol’s play “Cosmos” and Andreev’s play “Tsar Hunger.” Later, researchers will note the impact of Andreevsky drama on L. Pirandello, O’Neill and other foreign playwrights.
Among the features of the literary process of the early 20th century. The extraordinary variety of dramaturgical searches and the rise of dramatic thought should be attributed. At the turn of the century, Chekhov's theater appeared. And before the viewer had time to master the innovation of psychological Chekhov's drama, as already appears, a new, social drama by Gorky, and then an unexpected expressionist drama by Andreev. Three special dramaturgies, three different stage systems.
Simultaneously with the enormous interest shown in Russian literature abroad at the beginning of the new century, interest in old and new Russian music, the art of opera, ballet, and decorative painting is also growing. A major role in arousing this interest was played by concerts and performances organized by S. Diaghilev in Paris, performances by F. Chaliapin, and the first trip of the Moscow Art Theater abroad. In the article “Russian Performances in Paris” (1913), Lunacharsky wrote: “Russian music has become a completely definite concept, including the characteristics of freshness, originality and, above all, enormous instrumental skill.”
Realism polemicizing with naturalists, symbolists, and various decadent schools. In critical realism, four leading lines are distinguished: socio-psychological (G. de Maupassant, T. Hardy, D. Galsworthy, G. James, T. Dreiser, K. Hamsun, A. Strindberg, early T. Mann, R. Tagore, etc.); social and philosophical (A. France, B. Shaw, G. Wells, K. Chapek, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, etc.); satirical and humorous (early G. Mann, D. Meredith, M. Twain, A. Daudet, etc.); heroic (R. Rolland, D. London).
In general, critical realism at the turn of the century is distinguished by its open borders, is influenced by and absorbs the features of all the main artistic methods of the era, while maintaining the main quality - the nature of typification. The deep internal restructuring of realism was associated with experimentation, the bold testing of new means. The main achievements of critical realism of previous periods - psychologism, social analysis - are being qualitatively deepened, the sphere of realistic representation is expanding, and the genres of short stories, novels, and dramas are rising to new artistic heights.
This stage in the development of critical realism acts as a transitional period in which the main differences between realistic literature of the 20th century are laid. from critical realism of the 19th century.
Naturalism- one of the most important trends in literature of the late 19th century. The genesis of naturalism is associated with the defeat of the European revolutions of 1848, which undermined faith in utopian ideas and in ideology in general.
Principles of naturalism. Philosophical basis naturalism became positivism. The literary prerequisites for naturalism were the work of G. Flaubert, his theory of “objective”, “impersonal” art, as well as the activities of “sincere realists” (Chanfleury, Duranty, Courbet).
Naturalists set themselves a noble task: from the fantastic inventions of the romantics, who in the middle of the century were increasingly moving away from reality into the realm of dreams, to turn art towards the truth, towards real fact. Balzac's work becomes a model for naturalists. Representatives of this trend turn to the life of the lower classes of society; they are characterized by genuine democracy. They expand the scope of what is depicted in literature; for them there are no prohibited topics. If the ugly is depicted reliably, it acquires the meaning of genuine aesthetic value for naturalists.
Naturalism is characterized by a positivist understanding of reliability. The writer must be an objective observer and experimenter. He can only write about what he has studied. Hence - the image of only a “piece of reality”, reproduced with photographic accuracy, instead of a typical image (as a unity of the individual and the general); refusal to portray the heroic personality as “atypical” in a naturalistic sense; replacing plot (“fiction”) with description and analysis; the author’s aesthetically neutral position in relation to what is depicted; for him there is no beautiful or ugly; analysis of society on the basis of strict determinism, which denies free will; showing the world in static form, like a jumble of details; the writer does not seek to predict the future.
Symbolism- direction in literature at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. The basis of his aesthetics is the idealistic concept of two worlds, according to which all the world- only a shadow, a “symbol” of the world of ideas, and the comprehension of this upper world is possible only through intuition, through a “suggestive image”, and not with the help of reason. The spread of this concept, based on the works of A. Schopenhauer and his followers, is associated with disappointment in the philosophy of positivism.
Symbolism was a reaction to naturalism. The origins of symbolism are in the activities of the romantics and Parnassians. L.U. Baudelaire is rightly considered the immediate predecessor of the symbolists or even the founder of symbolism as a movement.
The term " neo-romanticism"appeared at the end of the 19th century. Neo-romanticism is associated with the traditions of romanticism, but arises in a different historical era. This is an aesthetic and ethical protest against the dehumanization of the individual and a reaction to naturalism and the extremes of decadence. Neo-romanticists believed in a strong, bright personality, they affirmed the unity of the ordinary and the sublime, dreams and reality. According to the neo-romantic view of the world, all ideal values can be found in everyday reality from a special point of view of the observer, in other words, if you look at it through the prism of illusion. Neo-romanticism is heterogeneous: in each country where it established itself, it acquired specific features.
Aestheticism- a movement in aesthetic thought and art that originated in the 1870s, was finally formed in the 1880s-1890s and lost its position at the beginning of the 20th century, when it merged with various forms of modernism. Aestheticism manifested itself most clearly in England; its largest representatives were W. Pater and O. Wilde. Therefore, aestheticism is usually considered as a phenomenon of English culture. Only at the very Lately The idea began to be expressed that aestheticism is an international phenomenon. Thus, the work of the French writers A. de Regnier, C. M. J. can be attributed to aestheticism. Huysmans, P. Valerie, early works M. Proust, A. Gide, etc.; You can find phenomena related to English aestheticism in German, Austrian, Italian, American and other national literatures.
Naturalism becomes one of the most important phenomena of the second half XIX - early XX century Naturalism at the turn of the century is both an artistic method, that is, a way of recreating reality, and literary direction, that is, a set of artistic, visual and aesthetic and worldview principles. As a method, naturalism manifested itself in previous eras. In this regard, we can talk about “naturalistic features” in the works of many authors: from ancient to modern. As a literary movement, naturalism took shape in the second half of the 19th century. Basic principles of naturalism developed E. Zola and outlined in his works “An Experimental Novel” (1880), “Naturalism in the Theater” (1881), “Novelists are Naturalists” (1881), “What I Hate” (1866).
Another notable phenomenon of the literary process at the turn of the century is impressionism. If impressionism in painting is already an established phenomenon, then various approaches are possible to understanding literary impressionism. If naturalists demanded an accurate reproduction of a fact, then the impressionists literally elevated the reflection of the impression caused by this or that fact into a cult. Impressionistic tendencies as a property of style can be found in the works of many Western European and Russian literary artists (A. Rimbaud, P. Verlaine, S. Mallarmé, E. Zola, brothers E. and J. de Goncourt, O. Wilde, M. Proust, Huysmans J.-K., R. M. Rilke, G. von Hofmannsthal, V. Garshin, I. A. Bunin, A. P. Chekhov, E. Guro, B. Zaitsev).
Almost simultaneously with impressionism, starting in the 60s. XIX century develops symbolism. The artistic practice of symbolism is somewhat ahead of aesthetic and theoretical principles (early 70s - the theory of “clairvoyance” was substantiated A. Rimbaud; 1882-83 - “The Art of Poetry” by P. Verlaine; essays by P. Verlaine “The Damned Poets”; "Manifesto symbolism" by J. Moreas).
In the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. receives further development romanticism and how the genetics associated with it are formed neo-romanticism. Neo-romanticism is moving closer to romanticism both thematically and in visual-style terms. Characteristics of neo-romanticism, which reached its culmination in the 90s of the 19th century, researchers consider the following: rejection of reality; strong personality, spiritually indomitable and often lonely, driven to action by altruistic ideals; the severity of ethical issues; maximalism and romanticization of feelings, passions; tension of plot situations; priority of the expressive over the descriptive; active appeal to fantasy, grotesque, exotic.
Deserves special attention in the literature of the turn of the century aestheticism, most fully expressed in the English literary process. Creativity can be considered a unique artistic illustration of English aestheticism O. Wilde.
In the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. is being further developed realism. The intensity of its development in different countries heterogeneous. In France, it took shape in its classical form already in the 30s - 40s (Stendhal, Balzac), in England (40s - 60s). In other European countries this happens in the 60s and 70s and later. Realism at the turn of the century is entirely focused on the artistic quest of the era. It becomes richer in terms of genre and style, new forms of depicting reality appear. At the turn of the century, the social and everyday principles begin to be replaced by philosophical, intellectual, spiritual and personal issues.
The desire for creative transformation of the world.
Origins and nature of literary quests.
LITERATURE OF THE EARLY XX CENTURY
Russian literature of the late XIX - early XX centuries. took shape in less than three decades (1890-1910s), but came to surprisingly bright achievements of independent significance. The younger generation of authors was closely connected with the Russian classical literature, however, for a number of objective reasons, it made its way in art.
As a result of the October events of 1917 ᴦ. the life and culture of Russia have undergone a tragic cataclysm. The majority of the intelligentsia did not accept the revolution and, willingly or unwillingly, went abroad. The study of the works of emigrants was for a long time under the strictest ban.
The first attempt to fundamentally comprehend artistic innovation at the turn of the century were undertaken by figures from the Russian diaspora.
N.A. Otsup introduced it in 1933. many concepts and terms that are widely recognized in our time. He likened the era of Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy (i.e. the 19th century) to the conquests of Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio and called it domestic "golden age". He called the phenomena that followed him, as if squeezed into three decades, ≪silver age≫.
Otsup established the similarities and differences between the two layers of poetic culture. They were brought together by a “feeling of special, tragic responsibility for common destiny≫. But the bold visions of the “golden age” were replaced during the period of “revolution that absorbed everything” with “conscious analysis”, which made creativity “more human-sized”, “closer to the author”.
There is a lot of insight in such a figurative comparison. First of all, the influence of revolutionary upheavals on literature. It, of course, was not at all direct, but very peculiar.
In the era of crisis, faith in possible harmony has weakened significantly. That is why “conscious analysis” (N. Otsup) was re-exposed eternal problems: the meaning of life and spirituality of people, culture and the elements, art and creativity... Classical traditions developed in new conditions of destructive processes.
The artists of the Silver Age possessed intense attention to the everyday flow of days and the ability to grasp the bright beginning in its depths.
I. Annensky very accurately identified the origins of such a search. “The old masters,” he believed, were characterized by a sense of “harmony between elementary human soul and nature≫. And in his contemporaneity he highlighted the opposite: “Here, on the contrary, the “I” flashes, which would like to become the whole world, dissolve, spill into it, the “I” - tormented by the consciousness of its hopeless loneliness, the inevitable end and aimless existence...≫.
This is how it was in the literature of the turn of the century. Its creators painfully experienced the elements of crushing and waste of life.
The darkest pictures were, however, brightened by the “creative spirit.” The path to true existence lay through the artist’s self-deepening. In the innermost spheres of individual worldview, faith in the imperishable values of life grew.
The creative transformation of reality appeared even more visibly in the poetry of the beginning of the century. I. Annensky came to the correct observation: “The boundaries between the real and the fantastic for the poet not only became thinner, but in some places became completely transparent.” Truth and desires often merge their colors for him.” In the thoughts of many talented artists era we find similar thoughts.
The desire for creative transformation of the world. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Striving for creative transformation of the world." 2017, 2018.
LITERATURE OF THE EARLY 20th century
Origins and nature of literary quests
Russian literature of the late XIX - early XX centuries. took shape in less than three decades (1890-1910s), but came to amazingly bright achievements of independent significance. They were determined very quickly, despite the simultaneity with the work of a number of great classical artists. During this period, L. N. Tolstoy completed the novel “Resurrection”, created the drama “The Living Corpse” and the story “Hadji Murat”. At the turn of the century, perhaps the most remarkable works of A. P. Chekhov were published: the prose “House with a Mezzanine”, “Ionych”, “Man in a Case”, “Lady with a Dog”, “Bride”, “Bishop”, etc. . and the plays “The Seagull”, “Uncle Vanya”, “Three Sisters”, “ The Cherry Orchard" V. G. Korolenko wrote the story “Without Language” and worked on the autobiographical “The History of My Contemporary”. At the moment of the birth of modern poetry, many of its forerunners were alive: A. A. Fet, Vl. S. Solovyov, Ya. P. Polonsky, K. K. Sluchevsky, K. M. Fofanov. The younger generation of authors was closely connected with Russian classical literature, but for a number of objective reasons they made their own way in art.
As a result of the October events of 1917, the life and culture of Russia underwent a tragic cataclysm. The majority of the intelligentsia did not accept the revolution and, willingly or unwillingly, went abroad. The study of the works of emigrants was for a long time under the strictest ban. The first attempt to fundamentally comprehend the artistic innovation of the turn of the century was made by figures from the Russian diaspora.
N. A. Otsup, once a colleague of N. S. Gumilyov, introduced in 1933 (Parisian magazine “Numbers”) many concepts and terms that are widely recognized in our time. He likened the era of Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy (i.e., the 19th century) to the conquests of Dante and Petrarch. Boccaccio called the Russian “golden age”. The phenomena that followed, “as if squeezed into three decades, which occupied, for example, the entire nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in France,” were called the “Silver Age” (now written without quotation marks, with a capital letter).
Otsup established the similarities and differences between the two layers of poetic culture. They were brought together by “a feeling of special, tragic responsibility for a common fate.” But the bold visions of the “golden age” were replaced during the period of “the revolution that absorbed everything and everyone” with “conscious analysis”, which made creativity “more human-sized”, “closer to the author”.
There is a lot of insight in such a figurative comparison. First of all, the influence of revolutionary upheavals on literature. It, of course, was not at all direct, but very peculiar.
Russia at the beginning of our century, as we know, experienced three revolutions (1905-1907, February and October 1917) and the wars that preceded them - the Russian-Japanese (1904-1905), the First World War (1914-1918). In a stormy and formidable time, three political positions competed: supporters of monarchism, defenders of bourgeois reforms, and ideologists of the proletarian revolution. Heterogeneous programs for radical restructuring of the country emerged. One - “from above”, by means of “the most exceptional laws” leading “to such a social revolution, to such a displacement of all values<...>, which history has never seen” (P. A. Stolypin). The other is “from below,” through “a fierce, seething war of classes, which is called revolution” (V.I. Lenin). Russian art has always been alien to the idea of any violence, as well as bourgeois practicality. They were not accepted even now. L. Tolstoy in 1905 had a presentiment that the world “stands on the threshold of a huge transformation.” However, he prefaced the change in the “forms of social life” with the spiritual self-improvement of the individual.
The desire for creative transformation of the world
The feeling of universal catastrophism and the dream of the rebirth of man became extremely acute among L. Tolstoy’s younger contemporaries. Salvation was seen not “from above” and certainly not “from below”, but “from within” - in moral transformation. But in an era of crisis, faith in possible harmony has weakened significantly. That is why eternal problems were again subjected to “conscious analysis” (N. Otsup): the meaning of life and spirituality of people, culture and the elements, art and creativity... Classical traditions developed in new conditions of destructive processes.
“Higher questions”, according to Iv. Bunin, “about the essence of being, about the purpose of man on Earth” acquired a rare dramatism. The writer was aware of his “role in the boundless crowd of people.” He later explained this point of view: “We know the nobles Turgenev and Tolstoy. But we cannot judge the Russian nobility en masse, since both Turgenev and Tolstoy depict the upper layer, rare oases of culture.” The loss of “oases” (with them - the large personality of the hero) meant the need to “immerse” in the monotonous existence of one or another community of “middle” (L. Andreev) people.
Therefore, the desire has matured to find some hidden force to counteract their inert state. The artists of the Silver Age possessed intense attention to the everyday flow of days and the ability to grasp the bright beginning in its depths.
I. Annensky very accurately identified the origins of such a search. The old masters, he believed, were characterized by a sense of “harmony between the elemental human soul and nature.” And in his modern times he highlighted the opposite: “Here, on the contrary, flashes the “I”, which would like to become the whole world, dissolve, spill into it, the “I” - tormented by the consciousness of its hopeless loneliness, inevitable end and aimless existence...” In such a way In the rarefied, cold atmosphere, Annensky nevertheless saw a craving for a “creative spirit” that produces “beauty through thought and suffering.”
This is how it was in the literature of the turn of the century. Its creators painfully experienced the elements of crushing and waste of life. B. Zaitsev was oppressed by the mystery of earthly existence: it “in its immeasurable course knows no boundaries, no time, no love, or even, as it sometimes seemed, any meaning at all” (story by “Agrafen”). The proximity of universal destruction (“Mr. from San Francisco”), the horror both from the meager “world of existence” and from the universe that we do not comprehend,” reported I. Bunin. L. Andreev portrayed a terrifying, fatal figure: the inexorable “Someone in Gray” briefly lights the candle “The Life of a Man” (the title of the play) and extinguishes it, indifferent to suffering and insights.
The darkest pictures were, however, brightened by the “creative spirit.” The same Andreev wrote: “...for me, imagination has always been higher than reality, and I experienced the strongest love in a dream...”, since real beauty is “moments far scattered in space and time.” The path to true existence lay through the artist’s self-deepening. Bunin's works are permeated, as he admitted, with “secret madness” - “an unresolved feeling of the indescribable mystery of the charm” of the earthly kingdom. And A. Kuprin, who painfully felt “The Lost Power” (the title of the story), discovered spiritual energy that lifted “the human personality to infinite heights.” In the innermost spheres of individual worldview, faith in the imperishable values of life grew.
The creative transformation of reality appeared even more visibly in the poetry of the beginning of the century. I. Annensky came to the correct observation: “The boundaries between the real and the fantastic for the poet not only became thinner, but in some places became completely transparent. Truth and desires often merge their colors for him.” In the thoughts of many talented artists of the era we find similar thoughts.
A. Blok heard in the “timelessness” of the beginning of the century “the wild cry of a lonely soul, hanging for a moment over the barrenness of the Russian swamps.” However, he also noticed a thirst for “fire for his slightly smoldering soul.” The poet sang “I, in which, being refracted, reality is transformed.”
Blok felt such a gift in the poems of F. Sologub, K. Balmont and others. A. F. Sologub wrote: “The art of our days” “seeks to transform the world through the effort of creative will...” The newest poetry was truly born of this impulse.
Literary quests of supporters of the revolutionary movement
At the beginning of the 20th century. A completely different direction of literature arose.
It was associated with specific tasks of social struggle. This position was defended by a group of “proletarian poets.” Among them were intellectuals (G. Krzhizhanovsky, L. Radin, A. Bogdanov), workers and former peasants (E. Nechaev, F. Shkulev, Evg. Tarasov, A. Gmyrev). The attention of the authors of revolutionary songs and propaganda poems was drawn to the plight of the working masses, their spontaneous protest and organized movement. The following were sung: the victory of the “young army” (L. Radin), the “flame of struggle” (A. Bogdanov), the destruction of the “slave building” and a free future (A. Gmyrev), the feat of “fearless warriors” (Evg. Tarasov). The exposing of the “masters of life” and the defense of Bolshevik ideology were actively promoted by the highly satanic fables and “manifestos” of D. Bedny.
Works of such an ideological orientation contained many real facts, correct observations, and expressively conveyed some public sentiments. However, there were no significant artistic achievements here. The attraction to political conflicts and the social essence of man prevailed, and the development of personality was replaced by ideological preparation for participation in class battles. It is difficult to disagree with the self-critical confession of Evg. Tarasova: “We are not poets - we are forerunners...” The path to art lay through the comprehension of multifaceted relationships between people and the spiritual atmosphere of the time. And where specific phenomena were somehow linked to these problems, a living word was born, bright image
. This beginning was characteristic of a number of works created by revolutionary-minded writers: the stories “Sands” (received the highest rating by L. Tolstoy), “Chibis”, and the novel “City in the Steppe” by A. Serafimovich. stories by A. Chapygin. K. Treneva, V. Shishkova and others. Indicative. however, that interesting pages of the works were devoted to acute moral situations, far from the proletarian struggle. And the struggle itself was reflected very schematically.
The spirit of the times manifested itself immeasurably more deeply in the embodiment of the author's subjective worldviews. M. Voloshin said this very well: “The history of mankind... will appear to us in a completely different and incomparably more accurate form when we approach it from the inside, analyze the writings of this or that book, which we call our soul, and are aware of the lives of billions of people , vaguely rumbled within us...”
The direction of philosophical thought at the beginning of the century
Russian border philosophy gravitated towards similar ideals. L. Tolstoy, shortly before his death, made the following note: “... you need to connect this life with all of endless life, follow the law that embraces not just this life, but all of it. This gives faith in the future life.” In his passionate desire for “eternally distant perfection,” the writer relied on the wisdom of Christianity and many Eastern faiths. This was how the desire for purifying love and the ability to see the highest truth, the “light of God” in the soul, was established, bringing all peoples together.
The painful reaction to social struggle and calls for violence gave rise to the non-religious quest of the era. The Christian precepts of Goodness, Love, and Beauty were opposed to the preaching of class hatred. This is how a number of thinkers sought to find in the teachings of Christ a way to the salvation of contemporary humanity, tragically divided and alienated from eternal spiritual values. Along this line, the previous experience of Russian philosophers was perceived - N. F. Fedorov (1829-1903), especially Vl. S. Solovyova (1853-1900).
The “good news” of Christ led Fedorov to the conviction: the “sons of men” will be able to become “recreators” of the destroyed connection of generations and life itself, turning the “blind force” of nature into the conscious creativity of a harmonious spirit. Soloviev defended the idea of reuniting “dead humanity” with the “eternal divine principle.” To achieve such an ideal, he believed, was possible through the power of various insights - in religious faith, high art, perfect earthly love. The concepts of Fedorov and Solovyov developed in the 19th century, but their main works appeared at the turn of two centuries.
The “Religious Renaissance” determined the activities of a number of philosophers of modern times: N. A. Berdyaev (1879-1948), S. N. Bulgakov (1871 - 1944), D. S. Merezhkovsky (1866-1941), V. V. Rozanov (1856-1919), E. N. Trubetskoy (1863-1920), P. A. Florensky (1882-1937) and many others. All of them were warmed by the dream of introducing a weak, lost person to the divine truth. But everyone expressed their own idea of such a rise.
Merezhkovsky believed in the salvation of “the revelation of Christianity in Russian, and perhaps in world culture.” He dreamed of creating a heavenly and earthly kingdom on earth, based on the principles of divine harmony. Therefore, he called the intelligentsia to religious asceticism in the name of the future.
Berdyaev understood the “new consciousness” as the internal “merging with Christ” of an individual and the people as a whole. The secret of love for God was revealed in the achievement of “eternal perfect individuality,” in other words, the complete transformation of the human soul.
Rozanov advocated for the renewal of the church. In the teachings of God the Son, he saw a close connection with the real needs of earthly life. Therefore, he considered it necessary to get rid of Christian asceticism, preserving the spirituality of the covenants of Christ. Soon, however, Rozanov abandoned his idea, calling his own efforts to “destroy” the historically established church “madness.”
Disappointment in social activities(S. Bulgakov. N. Berdyaev started with Marxist, D. Merezhkovsky with populist hopes) led to the dream of a “religious public” (D. Merezhkovsky). She, the thinkers thought, was capable of awakening the sleepy soul of her contemporaries and morally transforming the country.
Entire poetic associations gravitated towards their idols: the symbolists - towards Solovyov, many futurists - towards Fedorov, A. Remizov, B. Zaitsev, I. Shmelev and others completely independently penetrated the depths of the commandments of Christ. Most writers, outside of special research in the field of religion, came to be in tune with neo-Christian ideals. In the recesses of a lonely, contradictory soul, a latent desire for perfect love, beauty, and harmonious fusion with the divinely beautiful world was revealed. In the subjective experience of the artist, faith in the incorruptibility of these spiritual values was gained.
Alignment with creativity, unraveling the hidden higher meaning of existence behind external reality, became common to the literature of the turn of the century. This search brought her closer different directions 1, who in their own way comprehended the connection between the existence of an individual person and “endless life” (L. Tolstoy).
On this path, the art of words was no exception. Similar trends have matured in music, painting, and theater.