Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich is a famous Russian poet, one of the founders of Russian symbolism, prose writer, playwright, literary critic, critic, translator. The Moscow merchant family, into which he was born on December 13 (December 1, O.S.), 1873, did not pay much attention to raising their son. Most often, Valery was left to his own devices, so he had the opportunity to read everything that was at hand, from scientific articles to pulp novels. He wrote his first poem at the age of 8, and Bryusov’s first publication took place in the children’s magazine “Sincere Word” when the boy was 11 years old. While not particularly involved with their son, his parents still provided him with a good education. From 1885 to 1893 he studied at two private gymnasiums. As a 13-year-old teenager, Bryusov already realized that his life’s calling was connected with poetry.

In the early 90s. Bryusov became seriously interested in the French symbolists, who, by his own admission, discovered a new world and inspired him to create a different type of creativity. In a letter to Verlaine written in 1893, the young Bryusov positions himself as the founder of a new literary movement in Russia and names its dissemination as his mission. In the period from 1893 to 1899. he was a student at the Faculty of History and Philology at Moscow University. During 1894-1895, he published three collections entitled “Russian Symbolists”, most of the poems in which were written by him. In 1895, his debut “personal” collection, “Masterpieces,” appeared, which drew fire with its pretentious title, which critics considered inappropriate to the content.

After graduating from university in 1899, Bryusov had the opportunity to completely devote himself to creativity. The second half of the 90s is marked in his biography by his rapprochement with symbolist poets. In 1899, Bryusov was among the initiators and leaders of the new Scorpion publishing house, which rallied supporters of the movement around itself. In 1897, Bryusov married Ioanna Runt, who until the poet’s death was his faithful friend and assistant.

In 1900, the book “The Third Watch” was published, written in line with symbolism, which opened a new stage in Bryusov’s creative biography. In 1901 to 1905, Bryusov took a direct part in the creation of the almanac “Northern Flowers”; from 1904 to 1909 he acted as editor of the main central printed organ of the Symbolists, the magazine “Scales”. The significance of Bryusov’s work for Russian modernism and symbolism in particular is difficult to overestimate. Both the publication he headed and he himself were considered great literary authorities; Bryusov was called a master, a priest of culture.

Bryusov considered the apogee of his work to be the collection “Wreath,” which was written during the revolutionary events of 1905. In 1909, the publication of “Scales” was stopped, and by the next year there was a noticeable decrease in the activity of the symbolism movement. Bryusov no longer positions himself as the leader of this movement, does not lead a literary struggle for the right to its existence, his position becomes more balanced. Period 1910-1914 Literary scholars call Bryusov's crisis - both spiritual and creative. When the First World War began, in 1914 he went to the front as a war correspondent for Russian Vedomosti.

With the coming of the Bolsheviks to power, a new life and creative stage began. V.Ya. Bryusov is developing vigorous activity, striving to be in the forefront everywhere. In 1917-1919 he was the head of the Press Registration Committee in 1918-1919. - Head of the Moscow Library Department at the People's Commissariat for Education, in 1919-1921. he is the chairman of the Presidium of the All-Russian Union of Poets (the poet’s 1919 entry into the Bolshevik Party contributed to his tenure in this post). There were also such episodes in his biography as working at the State Publishing House, heading the literary subdepartment of art education at the People's Commissariat for Education, membership in the State Academic Council, and professorship at Moscow State University. In 1921, Valery Yakovlevich became the organizer of the Higher Literary and Art Institute, of which he was a professor and rector until the end of his life. Bryusov was the editor of the department of literature, art and linguistics in the team preparing the first edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

Remained active creative activity, however, his creative experiments inspired by the revolution remained equally poorly understood by both supporters of modernism and the general public. Nevertheless, on the occasion of his 50th anniversary in 1923, the Soviet government presented the poet with a certificate for his services to the country. Death overtook Bryusov on October 9, 1924. The cause was said to be lobar pneumonia, probably aggravated by the writer’s long years of addiction to drugs. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich
13.12.1873 - 09.10.1924
biography

Born into a merchant family. The grandfather on the father's side is a merchant from former serfs, and the grandfather on the mother's side is the self-taught poet A. Ya. Bakulin. My father was interested in literature and natural sciences.

In the private gymnasium of F.I. Kreiman (1885-1889), Bryusov was immediately admitted to the second grade. In his second year of study, together with classmate V.K. Stanyukovich, he published a handwritten gymnasium magazine, “Nachalo,” through which he first realized himself as a “writer.”

In 1889, he published a handwritten “V Class Sheet”, in which he denounced the rules of the gymnasium. Because of this article, Bryusov’s relationship with the administration worsened, as a result of which he had to move to the gymnasium of L. I. Polivanov (1890-1893). At the same time, Bryusov experienced a number of his first youthful hobbies; a love affair with E. A. Maslova (Kraskova), who died suddenly of smallpox in 1893, left a particularly strong mark on his soul, to whom he dedicated many poems and the last chapters (under the name of the heroine Nina) story "My Youth".

In 1893-1899 Bryusov studies at the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University. In addition to classical philology, he studies Kant and Leibniz, listens to history courses by V. O. Klyuchevsky, P. G. Vinogradov, and attends seminars by F. E. Korsh. The years of study at the university marked the first initial period of Bryusov’s conscious literary creativity.

In 1894-1895 Bryusov publishes three small editions of the collection “Russian Symbolists”, in which he gives examples of “new poetry”. This was the first collective manifesto of Russian modernism in Russia. The reaction to the collections was scandalous and deafening.

In 1895-1986, Bryusov published his first collection of poems, “Masterpieces,” consisting of two editions. The catchy title, the provocative content and the preface, far from modest, addressed to “eternity and art,” aroused unanimous criticism.

In the period from 1895 to 1899, he became close to famous symbolist writers: K. K. Sluchevsky, K. M. Fofanov, F. Sollogub, D. S. Merezhkovsky, Z. N. Gippius, N. M. Minsky. At Georg Bachmann's "Saturdays", and then at his own "Wednesdays", Bryusov began to regularly meet with Moscow modernists.

In 1897 he travels abroad for the first time, to Germany. In the same year he married Ioanna Matveevna Runt, who became his life partner and assistant in literary affairs.

From 1900 to 1903 Bryusov was the secretary of the editorial board of the Archive. He published a number of articles here, including “On the collected works of F. I. Tyutchev” (1898), “F. I. Tyutchev. Chronicle of his life” (1903).

In the fall of 1900, the Scorpion publishing house published the third book of Bryusov’s lyrics, “The Third Watch. Book of New Poems. 1897-1900,” which opens the second mature period of the writer’s work.

In March 1903, Bryusov gave a keynote lecture on art, “The Keys of Secrets,” perceived as a manifesto of modern Russian symbolism.

Since the end of 1902, the poet has been a secretary for some time in the magazine “New Way”, publishes poems, articles, notes, and also runs the “Political Review” column. At the same time, he was a member of the commission of the Moscow Literary and Artistic Circle, and since 1908 - chairman of its directorate.

The collection "Wreath. Poems 1903-1905" became the poet's first truly major success. In it, along with historical and mythological subjects and intimate lyrics, Bryusov included poems on the topical topic of war and revolution. With fantastic rapture, the poet looks at war and revolution as if it were a cleansing element of fate.

By 1909, Bryusov became a recognized master of “courageous” Apollonian lyrics.

In 1904-1908 Bryusov is the organizer, permanent leader and leading author of the main magazine of Russian symbolists, “Scales”. After the closure of "Scales" (1909), from September 1910, for two years, Bryusov became the head of the literary criticism department of the magazine "Russian Thought".

During the First World War, Bryusov spent many months as a correspondent at the theater of military operations. At first, this war seemed to the poet the last ("The Last War", 1914), capable of transforming human life for the better. However, two and a half years later, Bryusov’s opinion about her changed (“The Thirtieth Month,” 1917). Disillusioned with the outcome of the war and politics, Bryusov went deeper and deeper into literature and scientific work. He turns to translations of Armenian, Finnish and Latvian poetry.

In 1923, the year of the poet’s 50th anniversary, the Armenian government awarded Bryusov the honorary title of People’s Poet of Armenia.

Disappointment in the victorious outcome of the war, after brief hesitation, prepared Bryusov to accept the October Revolution. In 1920, he joined the Communist Party, worked in the People's Commissariat for Education, headed the presidium of the All-Russian Union of Poets, gave various lecture courses, organized (1921) and directed the Higher Literary and Artistic Institute.

Post-October, mainly revolutionary collections of Bryusov's poems ("On Such Days", 1921; "Dali", 1922; "Hurry", 1924) marked the last, final period of the master's work.

Filled with a “foreign” air, because their connection with the French and Latin poetic tradition was closer than with the Russian one. What Bryusov has in common with Balmont is the lack of fine finishing, subtle shades and the “finishing touch”. His best poems are magnificent: purple and gold; the worst ones are completely in bad taste.

Like most Russian symbolists, Bryusov's poems consist mainly of “high” words and are always solemn and hieratic. In his early poems (1894–1896), he tried to instill in Russia a “singing sound” Verlaine and early French symbolists, as well as to revive and modernize Fet’s “tunes”. But in general, Bryusov is not a musical poet, although, like all Russian symbolists, he often uses words as emotional gestures, and not as signs with a clear meaning. Although his work is imbued with the culture of centuries, Bryusov is not a philosophical or “thinking” poet. At one time under the influence Ivan Konevsky Bryusov took up metaphysical poetry, some of his poems of this kind are wonderful rhetoric, but there is little philosophy in them, more pathetic exclamations and oppositions.

The language of Bryusov's poetry is more concise and expressive than Balmont's, and sometimes he reaches the heights of poetic expressiveness, but he lacks precision: his words (sometimes wonderful) are never “lucky finds.” Bryusov’s favorite topics are reflections on the past and future of humanity, the depiction of sexual love as a mystical ritual and, as they liked to say in his time, “the mysticism of everyday life,” that is, the description of large modern cities as a mysterious forest of symbols.

Bryusov's creativity. Video lecture

Bryusov's best poems are contained in the collections Urbi et orbi(1903) and Stephanos(1906). IN Stephanos also includes a wonderful cycle of variations on the eternal themes of Greek mythology ( The eternal truth of idols). Poems like Achilles at the altar(Achilles awaits his fatal betrothal to Polyxena) Orpheus and Eurydice, Theseus Ariadne- the best achievements of the “classical” side of Russian symbolism, which strived for hieratic sublimity and symbolic fullness.

Bryusov's prose is generally the same as his poetry: solemn, hieratic and academic. The prose touches on the same themes: pictures of the past and future, the mysterious “abyss” of love - often in its most perverted and abnormal manifestations. Like poetry, prose has a clearly “translated from foreign” look. Bryusov himself felt this and often deliberately stylized his prose to resemble foreign examples from past eras. One of Bryusov's best stories - In an underground prison– written in the style of Italian Renaissance short stories. Bryusov's best novel - Fire Angel(1907) - tells about a German merchant from the time of Luther. The technique of stylization saved Bryusov’s prose from “poeticization” and impressionism. In general, his prose is masculine, direct, and has no mannerisms. The plots and composition of prose works were greatly influenced by Edgar Poe. The influence of this great writer is especially felt in the detailed documentary description of the future of civilization in Republic of the Southern Cross and in the cool study of pathological mental states in the story Now that I'm awake.

There is coldness and cruelty in Bryusov's prose: there is no pity, no compassion, only the cold fire of sensual exaltation, the desire to penetrate the hidden corners of human depravity. But Bryusov is not a psychologist, and his pictures of sensuality and cruelty are just a brightly colored carnival. Bryusov’s main work in prose is Fire Angel– perhaps the best Russian novel with a foreign plot. The plot is about witchcraft and the trial of a witch. Appear Doctor Faustus and Agrippa of Nettesheim. The novel is imbued with a genuine understanding of the era and is full of “erudition”, like the novels of Merezhkovsky, but is free from the naive philosophies of this author and is incomparably more entertaining. In essence, this is a very good, skillfully constructed historical novel. Landsknecht's calm manner in which he recounts the terrible and mysterious events he witnessed makes the novel a particularly gripping read.

Bryusov's second novel - Altar of Victory(1913), set in fourth-century Rome, is much worse: the book is long, boring, and lacking in creativity.

Russian literature of the Silver Age

Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov

Biography

BRYUSOV Valery Yakovlevich (1873 - 1924), poet, prose writer, literary theorist, translator.

Born on December 1 (13 NS) in Moscow into a wealthy merchant family. The father of the future poet raised his son in the spirit of the advanced ideas of the sixties. Bryusov recalled: “Portraits of Chernyshevsky and Pisarev hung above my father’s table. I was raised... in the principles of materialism and atheism." N. Nekrasov was a particularly revered poet in the family.

He studied at the Moscow private gymnasium of F. Kreiman, then moved to the gymnasium of the famous teacher L. Polivanov, who had a noticeable influence on the future poet. Already at the age of thirteen, Bryusov decided to become a writer. The interests of the high school student Bryusov are literature, history, philosophy, and astronomy. Having entered Moscow University in 1892 into the historical department of the Faculty of History and Philology, he studied in depth history, philosophy, literature, art, languages (ancient and modern).

At the end of 1892, young Bryusov became acquainted with the poetry of French symbolism - Verlaine, Rambaud, Malarme - which had a great influence on his further work. In 1894 - 95 he compiled small collections of “Russian Symbolists”, most of which were written by Bryusov himself. Some of these poems spoke of the author's talent.

In 1895 he published the book “Masterpieces”, in 1897 - the book “This is Me” about the world of subjectively decadent experiences that proclaimed egocentrism. In 1899, after graduating from university, he devoted himself entirely to literary activity. For two years he worked as secretary of the editorial board of the Russian Archive magazine. After organizing the Scorpion publishing house, which began to publish “new literature” (works of modernists), Bryusov took an active part in organizing almanacs and the magazine “Libra” (1904 - 09), the best magazine of Russian symbolism.

In 1900, the book “The Third Watch” was published, after which Bryusov received recognition as a great poet. In 1903 he published the book “To the City and the World”, in 1906 - “Wreath”, his best poetry books.

In subsequent years, Bryusov’s poetry became more intimate, new features of his lyrics appeared: intimacy, sincerity, simplicity in the expression of thoughts and feelings (the collection “All Tunes”, 1909; the book “Mirror of Shadows”, 1912).

During the First World War, Bryusov was at the front as a correspondent for one of the St. Petersburg newspapers, writing patriotic poetry, but soon returned from the front, realizing the senselessness of this war for Russia.

Bryusov accepted the October Revolution and put his talent as an organizer of a new culture to its service. His activities in this direction were energetic and diverse. His poetic creativity was also very intense and productive: in the early 20s, he published five books of new poems, among which the best is “On Such Days” (1921). Known as an outstanding translator, a special place is occupied by translations of Armenian poetry and poems by Verhaeren. Bryusov did a lot in the study of the Russian language, made a significant contribution to the study of the works of Pushkin, Fet, Gogol, Blok and others. In Soviet times, at Moscow University he gave courses of lectures on ancient and modern Russian literature, on the theory of verse and the Latin language, on the history of mathematics , conducted seminars on the history of the Ancient East, etc. M. Gorky called Bryusov “the most cultural writer in Russia.” On October 9, 1924, before reaching the age of 51, Bryusov died in Moscow.

"THIS COMES FROM THE DUSK TO THE LIGHT..."

(About the creative path of Bryusov the poet)

In art, strict art is important.

Break the deadening captivity of souls

And go out on a fiery path

To the stream of eternal changes.

V. Bryusov

The literary activity of Valery Bryusov is striking in its versatility. He is known as the author of stories and novels, playwright, translator, art theorist, literary historian and literary critic, poetry researcher, journalist, editor, teacher, organizer of literary

Life... But in the minds of his contemporaries and subsequent generations, he was and remained, first of all, a poet. Indeed, the most important and significant thing in

Bryusov's extensive literary heritage is his poetic creativity.

Reading Bryusov’s poems, one cannot help but pay attention to the motif that persistently repeats from collection to collection, from year to year - the image of a path, a traveler, off-road wanderings or tireless movement forward, a difficult ascent.

Already in the poems of the early period, in the 90s, this kind of recognition and self-characteristics are constantly encountered:

We are travelers of a starless night,

Seekers of a vague paradise. (1895)

Or these calls:

And here are the lines from the 900s:

All the stone steps,

The rise is getting steeper and steeper. (1902)

And in the 1910s, on the eve of great historical events, again:

I don’t know, but I’m going; I throw my torch high;

I kick the steps; my spirit is intoxicated. (1914)

And finally, after October again:

I’ll go, I’m glad for the unexpected thunder,

Catching all the moments and not complaining,

Throw back the faded hour. (1921)

The number of such citations can be increased many times over.

This path, which the poet constantly talks about, was not easy and difficult; it was replete with numerous twists and turns, ups and downs.

Where did it come from and where did it lead?

Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov was born in 1873 in Moscow into a merchant family, which had its origins in the serf peasantry, and the middle

Her generation was already affected by the influence of advanced democratic and scientific-materialist ideas of the 60s. But the 60s were already in the past.

Bryusov's adolescence dates back to the gloomy 80s, and his youth to the early 90s. The poet himself subsequently characterized the era when his

Conscious life and the formation of his views:

I grew up in a deaf time, When the whole world was deaf and quiet. And it seemed to people to live as a burden, And the ear did not need verse.

It was a time of severe political reaction, degeneration and shredding of the traditions of the liberation movement, disappointment in them, disappearance

Interest in social issues among a significant part of the intelligentsia, the spread of the theory of “small deeds”, the growth of philistine sentiment. Certainly,

New social forces were already awakening and forming in the depths of society, the transition to a new, proletarian stage of the revolutionary movement was being prepared,

However, young Bryusov, like most people in his environment, was far from those social strata and had not yet seen these processes.

Let us pay attention to the fact that the quoted lines of the poet speak not only of political, but also of literary timelessness. If you turn to

Poetry of those years, we will see that it really experienced a clear decline, ideological impoverishment. The poems of the overwhelming majority of poets were dominated by

Petty subject matter, banality, dull epigonism, a sluggish, inexpressive form that can only discredit any social content.

In such a social and literary environment, Bryusov’s poetic activity began.

His early poems were largely born of this time. The stuffy atmosphere of the then bourgeois-intellectual environment left its mark on them,

Deprived of real civic ideals and interests, big ideas and aspirations. Hence the extreme individualism and egocentrism reflected

In these verses, there is apoliticality, a demonstrative disregard for social issues.

“I am a stranger to the worries of the universe,” the poet openly declared. And in another poem he admitted: “I know of no other obligations, / Except

Virgin self-confidence."

At the same time, young Bryusov was characterized by a desire to somehow push away from the environment around him with its dull way of life, with its stereotyped

Morality, with its stereotyped art, devoid of brightness and courage. The aspiring poet wanted to find some new ways, felt the need to say

Some new word. The first steps in this direction were suggested to him by

Foreign literature of that time.

At that time, in the West, and primarily in France, a new movement in the field of poetry took shape and developed, which became known as

In the name of symbolism or decadence (from the French word decadent - decadent), since its representatives expressed predominantly minor

The mood of a tired soul, tired of facing rough, prosaic reality. Poems of these poets (P. Verlaine, S. Mallarmé and others)

They made a strong impression on young Bryusov with their novelty and unusualness artistic means, the ability to subtly convey different shades of complex and

Conflicting experiences of modern man.

Fascinated by such examples, Bryusov plans to become the leader and organizer of “new poetry” in Russia. In 1894 - 1895 he released three

Small collections called “Russian Symbolists”, filling them mainly with his own poems and under his own name and under different

Nicknames. These collections, which were supposed to demonstrate the emergence of a new poetic school in Russia, were soon followed by

Personal collections of the young poet with pretentious foreign-language titles: “Chefs d’oeuvre” (“Masterpieces”, 1895) and “Me eum esse” (“This is me”,

What characterized this early period of Bryusov’s creativity? Most clearly his poetic platform, his then aesthetic

Bryusov formulates his position in the famous poem “To the Young Poet,” which contains three calls: “don’t sympathize with anyone,” “don’t live in the present,”

“worship art, only it, thoughtlessly, aimlessly.” The stanzas of this work acquired the meaning of a manifesto of decadent poetry with its

Ultra-individualism, isolation from public life, with its outright immoralism and rejection of humanistic principles, with its cult

Self-sufficient art.

Moving away from the unsightly reality, the poet plunges either into the world of unclear visions and fruitless fantasies, or into the stuffy sphere of some broken

And painful experiences, then into geographical and historical exoticism. In his poems there are unusual, bizarre images at every step. Thus, a poem about Moscow begins with the line: “Moscow slumbers, like a female sleeping ostrich,” and a poem about love with the words: “My love is scorching.”

I remember: in the early silence I praised the burning afternoon of Java, the Dream of lush lilies

On the wave, Trunks to which boa constrictors cling, Herbs unknown to our eyes, To us

Unknown flowers...

M. Gorky back in 1900 had reason to say about Bryusov that he “appears before the reader in strange and eccentric clothes, with

Elusive moods."

Of course, not everything from the decadent props of the first Bryusov collections should be taken seriously and considered an expression of genuine

The poet's experiences. There was a lot here of the desire to challenge the usual aesthetic norms, to force people to pay attention to themselves, shocking the public

From a “decent” society, accustomed to the decorous, formulaic and overwhelmingly completely dull poetry of those years. Hence the notorious

The one-line poem “Oh, close your pale legs,” and the “naked moon” (from the poem “Creativity”), which rises “under the azure

Moon,” and other extravagant images and motifs.

Bryusov himself admitted that in his poems he sometimes demonstrated “deliberate obfuscation of meaning,” “boyish swagger,” “panache.”

In rare words”, etc., in the manner of some Western poets. And in his diary of 1896, he promised that his next book “will be gigantic

A mockery of the human race."

It is not surprising that his performances at that time caused bewilderment among readers, indignation among reviewers, and numerous parodies. Bryusov succeeded

He “irritated the geese” so much that he was denied access to the big press for a number of years.

If Bryusov had stopped at this stage of his poetic development,

Then in books on the history of literature he would be mentioned only in small print as one of the original representatives of decadent poetry and, of course, not

Would be of significant interest to us today.

But the poet himself was by no means satisfied with his poetic experiments of that time. “We were daring, we were children,” he will soon say about the releases

"Russian Symbolists". He will write to his colleague in symbolism, Konstantin Balmont, about these collections: “You know their meaning well, that is

Lack of their meaning." And “Masterpieces” will receive such a merciless assessment from the author in the very next collection: “Believe me: for a long time I have considered the poor book a mistake

Mine." And subsequently the mature Bryusov would call his early poems “not quite

Successful tests for a somewhat arrogant young man.”

Already from the third collection, published at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries - “Tertia Vigilia” (“Third Watch”) - Bryusov began the process of active

Overcoming decadence. And in this he is helped by turning to the example, experience, testament of the great writers of the past, and above all Pushkin, by research

The work of which he already began to engage in and the admiration for which he carried throughout his life.

In Pushkin, Bryusov seeks and finds the answer to the question of what a poet should be. In his diary for 1897 we read the following entry: “A poet must

To be reborn, he must meet an angel at a crossroads, who would cut his chest with a sword and put, instead of a heart, a burning coal. Not yet

It was silently dragging “in the wild desert”..."

Having languished for several years in the desert of decadent art, Bryusov was already languishing and longing for renewal. On ways to overcome egocentric

The poet turns to the limitations of decadence with its narrow-chambered lyricism to what he himself called “lyrical epic.” And he finds material for it

At first only in past centuries.

A historian by training and by his scientific interests, Bryusov possessed to a high degree, according to Gorky’s definition, “a subtle and rare gift

Penetration into the past." For him, history was not a “land of graves,” but a “familiar world” with which he “once lived as one soul.”

In the collection “The Third Watch” the main place is occupied by the large section “Favorites of the Ages”. It contains expressive images of named and unnamed historical and legendary heroes from different countries and eras. Here is a stern warrior who cannot imagine life outside of battles (“Old Viking”), and a poet, ideals

Who comes into sharp conflict with reality (“Dante”), and the ancient observer of nature, striving to comprehend the “mysteries of the worlds” (“Chaldean

Shepherd").

True, Bryusov approaches the depicted phenomena of the past with purely aesthetic criteria; he admires strong characters and bright

Individuals, regardless of their social and moral character. And among the “darlings of the centuries” who attract the poet, it turns out, for example,

The cruel eastern despot Assargadon, who “erected his powerful throne” “on

The bones of enemies."

But going into the past and poetizing its “powerful shadows” undoubtedly indicate that Bryusov did not find a real hero in

Modernity, that in the bourgeois-philistine society surrounding him he saw predominantly dull vegetation, which evoked his condemnation and disgust:

We are not used to bright colors, Our clothes are the color of the earth; And we lowered our timid gaze, We drag ourselves slowly in the dust. What am I dreaming about? - wild

Screams. What's close to me? - blood and war. My brothers are the northern lords, My time is the Viking times.

The aspiration outlined in “The Third Watch” from the chamber, narrow-minded world into the big world with its affairs and interests is embodied in

The next collection is “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”), the very title of which the poet shows that he is no longer addressing a narrow circle of his

Like-minded people, but to a wider circle of readers.

In poems such as “Escape” and “Work”, Bryusov largely anticipates the theme of Blok’s poem “The Nightingale Garden”. The lyrical hero of the first poem, hearing a trumpet call, runs from the lush alcove in which he slept in a sweet dream into life with its noise, anxieties and worries. IN

The hero of the second poem also leaves his daily life filled with hard work. Throwing off the “purple from his shoulders,” he takes up the plow, shovel and

For Bryusov, a great worker, work has always been the main meaning of life. Now he glorifies work in poetry. And poetic, literary

He - as if in polemic with poets of a romantic-idealistic type - represents creativity in the form of hard work, in the image of plowing a field, and a poetic dream - in the image of an ox pulling a heavy plow.

Having recently declared in his poems: “I don’t see our reality, / I don’t know our century,” Bryusov is now turning his face to modern

Reality, greedily absorbs her impressions. His poetry includes the theme of the big city, paintings appear and occupy a significant place

City life with its noise, din, movement of human crowds and fast-moving carriages, with its temptations and contradictions. He glorifies

The modern city sings its praises and at the same time it sees its ulcers and deformities. Bryusov becomes the first urban poet in Russian poetry XX

Century. The influence of Verlaine is replaced by the influence of the singer of the city Verhaeren, with whose works Bryusov then introduced Russian readers in his

Excellent translations. Previously, Bryusov’s confession was typical: “I wander alone in silence.” Now he writes in his diary: “I’m going to people,

I merge with people, fraternize with them.” In his poems about the city, social motives are increasingly heard, more and more attention is paid to the fate of the disadvantaged

Urban lower classes. At this time, Bryusov created his famous poem “The Bricklayer” - about a worker who is forced to build a prison where he will

It may be his own son who is languishing in prison. And soon the poet will express the bitter complaint of another mason:

We break stones to live in the world,

And we live to beat...

Woe to those who are now children,

To those who should be!

After the release of The Third Watch, M. Gorky wrote to Bryusov: “You, to me

It seems like they could stand up well for an oppressed person.” Gorky is not

Wrong. The theme of the oppressed person appears in Bryusov and where he

Refers to the historical past. For example, in the poem “The Rowers

Triremes" he speaks on behalf of captive slaves chained to the oars and their

With the efforts of moving the ship, on the deck of which they enjoy the life of a darling

The increasing democratism of Bryusov’s poetry is also manifested in his attempts

Imitate the forms of modern folklore, and especially urban folklore. So

A cycle of his “Songs” appears, two of which are called “Factory Songs”.

The poet’s sharpening of attention to social issues is powerful

The entire socio-political situation of those years contributed to

Preceding the revolutionary explosion of 1905, and especially the revolution itself.

Not so long ago, Bryusov urged not to live in the present and preached

Dispassion. Now he is deeply concerned about the unfolding big

Political events. Bryusov becomes the continuer of Russian traditions

Classic poetry. Picking up Lermontov’s comparison of a poet with a dagger,

He calls himself a "struggle songwriter" and states:

The poet is always with people when the storm is noisy, And the song with the storm is always sisters.

As a bright civic poet of great strength, Bryusov appears in the collection

“Stephanos” (“Wreath”), published just during the days of the armed December

Uprisings of 1905. The most important section of this collection is called

"Modernity".

Bryusov brands bourgeois liberals, half-hearted

Gradualists, “happy with little”, satisfied with pitiful concessions with

Sides of the tsarist regime. With all sincerity, he is ready to glorify the “ocean

The passion of the people, crushing the fragile throne into splinters.”

True, the impending revolution attracts him mainly because of its

The destructive side. He calls revolutionaries “close ones,” but declares:

To break - I will be with you, to build - no!

This gave V.I. Lenin the basis to define the then social

Bryusov’s position as that of a “poet-anarchist.”

The change in the content of Bryusov’s poetry and his entire worldview led

And to a change in his poetic style. Already in his early poem

“Sonnet to Form” Bryusov expressed his attraction to “sharpened and complete

Phrase”, to the “harmoniousness of the sonnet”. But in his early collections in style, in language,

In the entire poetic manner there was much that was impressionistically unclear,

Vague, vague, indefinite. The mature Bryusov's verse becomes

Masculine, chased, forged, images - convex, clear, sculptural,

The phrase takes on a complete, aphoristic character. These qualities

They emphasize almost everything that characterized his poetry in his mature years. Yes, Andrey

Bely called Bryusov “a poet of marble and bronze,” he wrote about his “ringing,

Metal lines”, about “words as strong as hammer blows”. A.V.

Lunacharsky noted Bryusov’s “cut precision of images”, “the weight of each

Lines and stanzas and the beautiful architecture of the whole.” And Bryusov himself believed

The virtue of his poems is precisely “conciseness and strength”, “providing tenderness and

Melodiousness - to Balmont.”

Of course, Bryusov’s work in the 1900s and 1910s is very controversial.

More than once he had reason to repeat the words

One of His poems: “Again my soul is split.” In collections

And during its heyday one can find many relapses of uneradicated decadence.

Here there is hypertrophied eroticism, the perception of love as dark,

Destructive passion, and the affirmation of man's fatal loneliness, and

A feeling of satiety with life (one of the poems is called “Boredom”

Life"), and the glorification of the "bliss of death". Yes, Bryusov could say about himself,

Then he worshiped those that were brighter, that were more corporeal,

Then he trembled in anticipation of the shadows.

Bryusov’s favorite heroes in his “lyric-epic” works are those whose

According to the poet, “a clear lot is beautiful - / to shine and die” - very

Various. Along with Aeneas, who rushed towards a high feat,

Having left the bed of negativity, “throwing away the thoughts of love,” the poet glorifies the triumvir

Anthony, who violated his duty because of his love for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra

Statesman and commander. “Oh, let me draw the same lot!” -

Bryusov exclaims, finishing this poem.

And yet in the consciousness and poetry of Bryusov above the decadent,

The pessimistic, individualistic were increasingly triumphant,

Heroic, life-affirming, humanistic beginning. The poet is increasingly

Glorifies man-creator, tireless worker, creator,

A victorious man, transforming the earth, conquering nature, cognizing

The Universe. In this regard, the famous

Poem "Praise to Man."

Stones, wind, water, flame

You humbled with your bridle,

Raised the jubilant banner

Right into the blue dome.

Before other poets, Bryusov sang the praises of the first aviators. With firm faith in

The power of the human mind, the power of science and technology, it looks into the future,

He dreams that a person will win victories in space and will even be able to cheat

And the trajectory of your planet:

I believe you, daring one!

You will bet

There are rows of sails across the Earth.

You will guide with your hand

The planet's run between the stars.

Symbolist magazine "Scales". But it can be argued that he never was

A devout symbolist. For example, the mysticism of most of his

Younger colleagues, their belief in the other world and in the possibility of some kind of

Communication with a mime. He had long felt like a stranger “among his own.” Back in 1907

He wrote to one literary critic: “Although from the outside I seem to be the leader of those who

Of old memory they call our decadents, but in reality I am among them

Like a hostage in an enemy camp. It’s been a long time since everything I write and everything that

I say, it is decidedly not to the liking of my literary comrades, but to me,

Frankly, I don’t really like what they write and say.” Subsequently he

He recalled heated arguments with the Symbolists, who cruelly reproached him for

Realism in symbolism, for materialism in idealism.

Symbolists, led to a break with them. Once upon a time he persistently extolled the dream

And a dream over reality. Now, in his critical articles, he

Reality" that "as soon as art is divorced from reality,

His creatures are stripped of flesh and blood, fade and die.”

To fully strengthen the connection with the surrounding reality, with the real

Bryusov strives for life, including the most ordinary, the simplest, in his

Poems of the 1910s.

At the dawn of his work, Bryusov expressed demonstrative disdain

To real nature:

I created in secret dreams a world of ideal nature, - that this

Ashes: Steppes, rocks, and waters.

Soon, however, this arrogant and contemptuous attitude towards nature, according to

In the poet's expression, it “jumped off” him. With each new collection of 1900 - 1910s

Over the years, the theme of nature has occupied an increasing place in Bryusov. Fields, forests, mountains,

The sea, “the sparkle of the day, the blackness of the night, spring, winter” find their lover in him

In his poems of the second decade of the 20th century, Bryusov deliberately

Polemicizes with decadent mentalities. He wants to oppose

The weariness of life characteristic of his former comrades, “indomitable,

An invincible call to life, to life at all costs, to all wounds and to

To her joys." No wonder his collection “Mirror of Shadows” opens with an epigraph from

As long as I'm on the earth's chest, although I'll be breathing with difficulty, all the thrill of life

Young I will be audible from everywhere.

And the collection “Seven Colors of the Rainbow” begins with riotous lines:

What should I do when I am not satiated with this intoxicated life!

In the same decade, Bryusov’s work also included the big theme of friendship.

The peoples inhabiting Russia, and the poet makes a great contribution through his activities

To develop and strengthen this friendship.

Even before the revolution, he became close to M. Gorky, actively participated in

His publishing endeavors. Gorky highly valued the cooperation of Bryusov and

He called him “a comrade in work for the benefit of Russian culture.” Very

Their collaboration was fruitful in the preparation of collections that contributed to

To familiarize Russian readers with the poetry of some other peoples of Russia.

The book “Poetry of Armenia” compiled by Bryusov acquired particular significance.

With which he worked both as a translator of many poetic texts and as

Russian readers enjoy the rich world of Armenian poetic culture, and

It is not surprising that on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday he was awarded

Honorary title of People's Poet of Armenia.

For a quarter of a century of his pre-revolutionary work, Bryusov, like us

We see that there were different “paths and crossroads” (that’s what he called the three-volume collection

of his works), he tried, one might say, “all the tunes” (this is also

The title of one of his collections).

In the 900s, Bryusov already enjoyed great popularity and recognition.

But he never stopped there and often felt

Dissatisfaction with one’s position in life and literature, one’s creativity.

In his letter to the writer N.I. Petrovskaya, associated with symbolist

In circles, we find, for example, the following confessions: “I can no longer live

Outlived beliefs, those ideals that I stepped over in

I cannot live by poetry, by the “new art,” whose very name is intolerable to me.

More". And in his diary he writes in 1907: “At times I am quite

I was sincerely ready to give up all the previous paths of my life and move on to new ones,

Start your whole life all over again.”

However, only the greatest event of the 20th century, which caused a powerful shock

All social life from top to bottom, - October socialist

The revolution forced Bryusov “to reconsider everything at the very core, at the very root.”

Your worldview." It turned out to be a profound revolution for him personally.

“I see myself,” noted Bryusov, “completely different before this edge and after

It may seem surprising that the meter of the symbolist movement, in

In the past, a militant defender of the individualistic and self-sufficient

Art decisively and irrevocably went over to the side of Oktyabrskaya

Revolution, became an active builder of socialist culture and even a member

Communist Party.

In order to find an explanation for this, we must remember that Bryusov

He was never a loyal son of his class; he “broke out” of it long ago.

Imbued with knowledge of history, delighted with the heroism of outstanding people and

Great events of the past, Bryusov made high demands on his modernity

Ethical and aesthetic requirements that bourgeois reality

Far from matching. Hence his long-standing conflict with this

Reality. Bryusov was quite sincere when he wrote back in his

Beginning of the century:

How I hated the system of this whole life, Shamefully petty, wrong,

Ugly.

Bryusov understood and anticipated different socio-historical formations

The inevitability of the fall of the existing capitalist system. More than once he

His works spoke about the impending social cataclysm, he

Looking ahead to the future when

A free man will stand firmly before the face of the sky on his planet.

Naturally, the poet is much larger than many of his fellow poets.

Class and profession was prepared to receive and welcome

Great October, to “turn your horse onto a new path.”

Back in 1906, he wrote: “There are some truths... ahead of modern

Humanity. Whoever shows me the way to them, I will be with him.” This path is decisive

The moment was indicated to Bryusov by the October Revolution, Lenin and his comrades.

In the early spring of 1918, when a significant part of the intelligentsia

Still took hostile or wait-and-see positions towards the Soviet

Authorities, Bryusov, together with Professor P.N. Sakulin, came to the People's Commissar

Enlightenment A.V. Lunacharsky and offered his cooperation.

We saw that in 1905 the poet declared, addressing the revolutionaries:

“To break - I will be with you, to build - no!” Now he went to build with

Communists create a new society, a new culture.

A man of extraordinary activity by nature, Bryusov was always not

Only a writer. Even before the revolution, he devoted a lot of effort and time

Organizational work in the field of literature and culture. October opened for

His social and organizational activities have wide scope.

He carries out responsible work in the People's Commissariat for Education, heading scientific

Libraries, literary department, art education. He's a dick

State Academic Council, deputy of the Moscow Council, professor

Moscow University, editor of the magazine “Artistic Word”,

Chairman of the All-Russian Union of Poets. He works at Gosizdat. He

Creates and heads the world's first higher education institution for training

Young Writers - Higher Literary and Art Institute, which

His name was given.

And he combines this big, intense daily work with

Continuation of the main work of his life - poetic creativity. For seven

During the years he lived after October, he published six collections of new poems and

Becomes one of the founders of Soviet poetry. The verses included in these

The collections are not of equal value, but among them there are those that belong to

Poetic classics of the post-October years.

Particularly significant was the collection with expressive

The outstanding poet was born on December 1 into a wealthy family that had its origins in the serf peasantry. The father raised his son in the spirit of the sixties. Especially in the family of Valery Yakovlevich they loved to reread the works of Nekrasov. Valery Yakovlevich received his education at the private Moscow gymnasium of F. Kreiman, after which he came to the gymnasium of L. Polivanov, a famous teacher who had a significant influence on the poet. Bryusov was interested in literature, history, philosophy, and astronomy.

The poems of the overwhelming majority of that time were dominated by banality and inexpressive form. His early poems were born from that time. In 1894-1895 Bryusov compiled small collections of poems “Russian Symbolists”, most of which were written by himself and speak of the poet’s extraordinary talent. In 1895 he published the book “Masterpieces”, In 1897 - “This is Me”. In 1899, after graduating from university, he devoted himself entirely to literary activities. Works as a secretary in the editorial office of the Russian Archive magazine, takes part in the creation and development of almanacs and the Libra magazine. Bryusov received his recognition after the publication of the book “The Third Watch” in 1900. In 1903 he published the book “To the City and to the World.” And in 1906 - “Wreath” - these are his best poetic books. In subsequent years, new features appear in the author’s poetry: intimacy, sincerity, simplicity of thoughts and feelings.

Reading Bryusov’s works, it is impossible not to pay attention to the persistently repeated motif - the image of the path, wanderings, tireless movement forward and difficult ascent. During the First World War, Valery Yakovlevich was at the front, where he served as a correspondent for one of the newspapers. The October Revolution revealed in the poet the talent of an organizer of a new culture. Studying the works of Pushkin A.S. whose work he admired and bowed to all his life, Valery Yakovlevich found the answer to the question “What should a real poet be?” A real poet must be reborn, and instead of a heart there must be a flaming coal placed in him by an angel. He published five books of new poems, the best of which is “On Days Like These.” He contributed a lot to the study of the Russian language and the study of the works of famous Russian poets: Pushkin, Fet, Gogol, Blok and many others. Bryusov also gave lectures on ancient and modern Russian literature, Latin, and history.

Blok considered himself unworthy to review this genius, much less to publish with him in the same journal. The fact is that the main poet of the Silver Age, having re-read the work of Valery Yakovlevich, was so amazed by his creation that he immediately placed himself at a lower rank. It is worth saying that the poet, whose poems are quoted by lovers of literature to this day, was deified by his contemporaries. Many saw in Bryusov a messiah, coming along the waters of intricately woven lines and denoting new rounds of literature.

In fact, this master of the pen is rightfully considered the founder of Russian symbolism and the forerunner of Acmeism, which acquired both admirers and followers, and insidious ill-wishers.

It is noteworthy that Valery Yakovlevich is known not only for his poems - this talented writer also proved himself in translations, journalism and non-trivial prose. Bryusov is familiar from his works “August”, “I Forgive Everything”, “I Love”, “First Snow” and other remarkable works that have become immortal.

Childhood and youth

The master of Russian symbolism was born on a cold winter day on December 1 (13), 1873 in the very heart of Russia. The future poet grew up and was brought up in a wealthy merchant family together with his sister Nadezhda, who became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory.

Valery Yakovlevich has an interesting pedigree. His paternal grandfather, Kuzma Andreevich, was a serf of the landowner Bruce and two years before the abolition of serfdom - the reform carried out - bought his freedom and began his trading business. Thanks to perseverance and hard work, Kuzma Andreevich rose from rags to riches and purchased a two-story mansion on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow.

On his mother’s side, the writer’s grandfather was Alexander Yakovlevich Bakulin, known to his contemporaries as a poet-fabulist and author of the collection “Fables of a Provincial.” Perhaps it was this person who influenced Valery Yakovlevich.

As for Father Valery, Yakov Kuzmich was a mysterious and ambiguous figure, he sympathized with the ideas of the populist revolutionaries who, driven by Herzen’s socialist ideas, wanted by all means to get closer to the intelligentsia and find their place in the world. The head of the family was a gambling man: carried away by horse racing, Bryusov Sr. instantly squandered his entire fortune on bets and was almost left penniless.

It is noteworthy that Bryusov’s parents were not pious people; they were not involved in raising their offspring, but they protected him from “religious fairy tales.” Thus, the future poet knew much more about naturalistic ideas than about the details of existence and the crucifixion.

Valery Yakovlevich became addicted to literature early. Instead of playing with the boys in the yard, the future author of the poem “The Coming Huns” spent his time reading classic works and pulp novels; one might say that the young man devoured books one after another. Even scientific articles that accidentally fell into Bryusov’s hands did not go without due attention.

Valery's favorites were the author of adventure literature, who gave the world "Captain Nemo", and the writer who wrote "The Headless Horseman", Thomas Main Reid. It is also known that Valery Yakovlevich received an excellent education, he studied at two prestigious gymnasiums, and in last years While at school, he began to show interest in the queen of sciences - mathematics - and successfully solved the most complex equations and problems.

Perhaps Bryusov’s name would have stood on a par with Francois Viet and, however, the young man chose a different, creative path. Having earned a matriculation certificate, the young man continued to receive his education and became a student at Moscow University. – studied at the Faculty of History and Philology.

Literature

Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov knew his calling from childhood, so already at the age of 13 he was writing poetry. Yakov Kuzmich supported his son in all his endeavors, so he sent the creative efforts of his beloved child to publications and even sent his essay about vacationing with his family to the children's magazine “Dushevnoye Slovo”. Written by an eleven-year-old boy, “Letter to the Editor” was published in 1884.

Although Bryusov’s early poems were a success, the young man’s first stories cannot be called successful. It is worth noting that when young Valery took an inkwell and a pen, he was inspired by a classic of Russian literature. Later, Bryusov began to admire Semyon Yakovlevich Nadson.

It is noteworthy that already in 1893 the young poet set himself the goal of becoming a distributor of symbolism in Russia. The symbolists tried to expose the existence of every soul and endow the main character with the entire spectrum of human experiences. said that the emergence of this movement is “the desire to forget, to be on the other side of good and evil.”

Bryusov’s views were preceded by his passion for French poets; he enjoyed the works of Baudelaire, Verlaine, Mallarmé, and ultimately became the author of the drama “The Decadents” (“End of the Century,” 1893). In 1899, Valery Yakovlevich received a diploma and began to intensively study literature and develop theories of symbolism. Around the same time, Bryusov became close to.

The acquaintance of the two poets later grew into a strong friendship; they communicated closely until the emigration of Konstantin Dmitrievich. It got to the point that at the beginning of the 20th century, Bryusov dedicated the collection “Tertia Vigilia” (“Third Watch”) to a friend, which literary critics consider the first sprout of the urban stage of the writer’s work: the author more and more often glorifies in his works the expanses of a noisy city and meticulously describes even the smallest details.

Three years later, Bryusov’s creative biography was replenished with a collection of civil lyrics “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”). The collection includes the elegy “To a Woman,” the ballad “Slave,” as well as sonnets, poems, odes and epistles. The works of Valery Yakovlevich from “Urbi et Orbi” influenced, and.

Next, Valery Yakovlevich becomes the author of the collection “Στεφανος” (“Wreath”, 1905), which, according to Bryusov, is the apogee of his work. All works from “Wreath” were written under the influence of a fierce revolution, which could not but affect the author’s mood. There are few poems about love in this book, but the poet’s active civic position is expressed.

In 1907, Valery Yakovlevich became the author of his debut novel “Fire Angel”. The plot is based on the relationship between Bryusov, Andrei Bely and Nina Petrovskaya, however, the actions of the main characters take place not in Moscow, but in medieval Europe. The writer peppers the work with fantastic elements and borrows motifs taken from Faust.

Later, the work of Valery Bryusov is correlated with the revolution, and, judging by the works of the poet, he, like the Marxists, began to praise the Bolshevik revolution and became the founder of the Russian literary Leninianism, contradicting his own postulate set out in the poem “To the Young Poet” (1896).

According to writers, Valery Yakovlevich sought to become part of the new era amid the general buzz, but did not find public support and could not withstand competition from the new Soviet poetry, which was identified with and.

Personal life

As for his personal life, Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov was married only once: in 1897, the writer proposed marriage to Joanna Runt, a woman of Czech origin, who agreed. The lovers lived hand in hand until their death, and Joanna was both a faithful wife and a muse, inspiring the poet to new works. There were no children in the Bryusov family.

Death

The founder of symbolism in Russia died on October 9, 1924 in Moscow. The cause of death was pneumonia. The great poet was interred at the Novodevichy cemetery. It is known that after the death of her lover, Ioanna Matveevna published her husband’s unpublished works.