Gumilyov's life and creative path briefly. Nikolai Gumilyov: a brief biography and work of the poet. After a trip to the East

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Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

federal state autonomous educational institution higher professional education

"Far Eastern Federal University" (Branch in Nakhodka)

abstract

By discipline: "Russian literature"

On the topic: "The life and work of Nikolai Gumilyov"

Completed by: student of group 15С-1321

Yashchuk Tatyana Alekseevna

Nakhodka, 2015

1. The life and work of Nikolai Gumilyov

2. Analysis of Gumilev's work

3. Analysis of the poem "Captains"

4. Analysis of the poem “Slave”

Conclusion

Literature

1. lifeb and the work of Nikolai Gumilyov

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov was born on April 3 (15), 1886 in Kronstadt, where his father, Stepan Yakovlevich, who graduated from the gymnasium in Ryazan and Moscow University in the medical faculty, served as a ship's doctor. According to some reports, the father's family came from a clergy rank, which can be indirectly confirmed by the surname (from the Latin word humilis, "humble"), but the poet's grandfather, Yakov Stepanovich, was a landowner, owner of a small Berezka estate in the Ryazan province, where the Gumilyov family sometimes spent the summer. B. P. Kozmin, without indicating the source, says that the young N. S. Gumilyov, who was then fond of socialism and read Marx (he was at that time a Tiflis schoolboy - that means it was between 1901 and 1903), was engaged in agitation among the millers , and this caused complications with the governor. Berezki were later sold, and a small estate near St. Petersburg was bought in their place.

Gumilyov's mother, Anna Ivanovna, sister of Admiral L. I. Lvov, was the second wife of Stepan Yakovlevich and more than twenty years younger than her husband. The poet had an older brother, Dmitry, and a half-sister, Alexandra, in the marriage of Sverchkov. The mother outlived both sons, but the exact year of her death has not been established.

Gumilyov was still a child when his father retired and the family moved to Tsarskoye Selo. Gumilyov began his education at home, and then studied at the Gurevich gymnasium, but in 1900 the family moved to Tiflis, and he entered the 4th grade of the 2nd gymnasium, and then transferred to the 1st. But the stay in Tiflis was short-lived. In 1903, the family returned to Tsarskoe Selo, and the poet entered the 7th grade of the Nikolaev Tsarsko-Selo Gymnasium, the director of which at that time was and remained until 1906 famous poet Innokenty Fedorovich Annensky. The latter is usually credited with a great influence on the poetic development of Gumilyov, who, in any case, held Annensky very highly as a poet. Apparently, Gumilev began to write poetry (and stories) very early, when he was only eight years old. His first appearance in print dates back to the time when the family lived in Tiflis: on September 8, 1902, his poem "I fled from the cities to the forest ..." was published in the newspaper "Tiflis Listok".

Gumilyov studied poorly, especially in mathematics, and graduated from the gymnasium late, only in 1906. But a year before graduating from the gymnasium, he published his first collection of poems called "The Way of the Conquistadors", with an epigraph from the then hardly known to many, and later so famous French writer Andre Gide, whom he obviously read in the original.

Gumilyov entered St. Petersburg University in 1912, studied Old French literature at the Romano-Germanic department, but did not finish the course. He really went to Paris and spent 1907-1908 abroad, listening to lectures on French literature at the Sorbonne. In Paris, Gumilev took it into his head to publish a small literary magazine called "Sirius", in which he published his own poems and stories under the pseudonyms "Anatoly Grant" and "Co", as well as the first poems of Anna Andreevna Gorenko, who soon became his wife and became famous under the name of Anna Akhmatova - they knew each other from Tsarskoe Selo. Here in 1908 Gumilyov published his second book of poems - "Romantic Flowers". From Paris he made his first trip to Africa in 1907. Apparently, this trip was undertaken against the will of his father, at least, this is how A. A. Gumilyova writes about this: About this dream of his [to go to Africa] ... the poet wrote to his father, but his father categorically stated that neither money, nor his blessing for such an "extravagant journey" he will not receive until graduation from the university. Nevertheless, Nikolai, in spite of everything, set off in 1907, saving the necessary funds from his parents' monthly pay.

Subsequently, the poet enthusiastically told about everything he saw: - how he spent the night in the hold of the steamer with the pilgrims, how he shared their meager meal with them, how he was arrested in Trouville for trying to get on the steamer and drive "hare". This journey was hidden from the parents, and they learned about it only after the fact. The poet wrote letters to his parents in advance, and his friends carefully sent them every ten days from Paris.

In 1908 Gumilev returned to Russia. Now he already had some literary name. Between 1908 and 1910. Gumilyov makes literary acquaintances and enters the literary life of the capital. Living in Tsarskoye Selo, he communicates a lot with I. F. Annensky. In 1909, he met S.K. Makovsky and introduced the latter to Annensky, who for a short time became one of the pillars of the Apollo magazine founded by Makovsky.

In the spring of 1910, Gumilyov's father died, having been seriously ill for a long time. A little later in the same year, on April 25, Gumilyov married Anna Andreevna Gorenko. After the wedding, the young people left for Paris. In the autumn of the same year, Gumilyov undertook a new trip to Africa, this time visiting the most inaccessible places in Abyssinia. In 1910, the third book of Gumilyov's poems was published, which brought him wide fame - "Pearls".

In 1911, the Gumilyovs had a son, Lev. The birth of the Guild of Poets dates back to the same year, Gumilev sets off on a new journey in 1913 to Africa, this time furnished as a scientific expedition, with an order from the Academy of Sciences (on this journey, Gumilev was accompanied by his seventeen-year-old nephew, Nikolai Leonidovich Sverchkov). Gumilyov wrote about this trip to Africa (and perhaps partly about the previous ones) in his "Iambas Pentameters" published for the first time in "Apollo":

But the months went by

I swam and took away the tusks of elephants,

Paintings by Abyssinian masters,

Panther furs - I liked their spots -

And what was previously incomprehensible,

Contempt for the world and fatigue of dreams.

Gumilyov spoke about his hunting exploits in Africa in an essay that will be included in the last volume of our Collected Works, along with other Gumilyov's prose. “Iambic pentameters” is one of the most personal and autobiographical poems of Gumilyov, who until then struck with his “objectivity, his “impersonality” in verse. The lines full of bitterness in these “Iambas” are clearly addressed to A. A. Akhmatova and reveal time in their relationship a deep and irreparable crack:

I know life has failed... and you,

You, for whom I sought in the Levant

The imperishable purple of royal robes,

I lost you like Damayanti

Once lost crazy Nal.

Bones flew up, ringing like steel,

Bones fell - and there was sadness.

You said thoughtfully, sternly:

"I believed, I loved too much,

And I'm leaving, not believing, not loving,

And before the face of the All-seeing God,

Perhaps destroying yourself

Forever I renounce you."

I did not dare to kiss your hair,

Not even to squeeze cold, thin hands.

I was ugly to myself, like a spider,

I was frightened and tormented by every sound.

And you left in a simple and dark dress,

Similar to the ancient Crucifix.

In July 1914, when the shot of Gabriel Princip was fired in distant Sarajevo, and then the fire of war engulfed all of Europe, a tragic era began. poet Gumilyov slave seal

A patriotic impulse then swept over the entire Russian society. But perhaps the only one among any prominent Russian writers, Gumilyov responded to the war that had befallen the country effectively, and almost immediately (August 24) signed up as a volunteer. He himself, in a later version of the Iambic Pentameter already mentioned, said it best:

And in the roar of the human crowd,

In the roar of passing guns,

In the silent call of the battle trumpet

I suddenly heard the song of my destiny

And ran where the people ran,

Dutifully repeating: wake up, wake up.

The soldiers sang loudly, and the words

They were indistinct, their heart caught:

- "Hurry forward! The grave is the grave!

Fresh grass will be our bed,

And the canopy is green foliage,

An ally is the Arkhangelsk force. "-

So sweetly this song flowed, beckoning,

That I went and accepted me

And they gave me a rifle and a horse,

And a field full of mighty enemies,

Buzzing menacingly bombs and melodious bullets,

And the sky in lightning and red clouds.

And the soul is burned with happiness

Since then; full of fun

And clarity, and wisdom, about God

She talks to the stars

The voice of God hears in military alarm

And God calls his roads.

In several of Gumilyov's poems about the war, included in the collection "Kolchan" (1916) - perhaps the best in all "military" poetry in Russian literature: not only romantic-patriotic, but also Gumilyov's deeply religious perception of the war was affected.

In January 1918 Gumilev left Paris and moved to London. Gumilyov left London in April 1918.

In the same year, he divorced A. A. Akhmatova, and the following year he married Anna Nikolaevna Engelhardt, the daughter of an Orientalist professor, whom S. K. Makovsky described as "a pretty, but mentally insignificant girl." In 1920, the Gumilevs, according to A. A. Gumileva, had a daughter, Elena.

In 1918, shortly after returning to Russia, he conceived the idea of republishing some of his pre-revolutionary poetry collections: new, revised editions of Romantic Flowers and Pearls appeared; were announced, but "Alien Sky" and "Quiver" did not come out. In the same year, Gumilev's sixth collection of poems, The Bonfire, was published, containing poems from 1916-1917, as well as the African poem Mick and the already mentioned Porcelain Pavilion.

There is no reason to think that Gumilyov returned to Russia in the spring of 1918 with the conscious intention of investing in the counter-revolutionary struggle, but there is every reason to believe that if he had been in Russia at the end of 1917, he would have found himself in the ranks of the White Movement.

Gumilyov was arrested on August 3, 1921 (he was found guilty of participating in a conspiracy in which he did not participate, he was simply acquainted with one of the leaders of the conspiracy, N.I. Lazarevsky), four days before the death of A.A. .block. Both V. F. Khodasevich and G. V. Ivanov in their memoirs say that some provocateur played a role in Gumilyov's death. Gumilyov was found guilty and shot.

In the memoirs of Gumilyov, a phrase from his letter to his wife from prison was quoted more than once: "Don't worry about me. I'm healthy, I write poetry and play chess." It was also mentioned that in prison before his death Gumilev read Homer and the Gospel. The poems written by Gumilyov in prison have not reached us. They were probably confiscated by the Cheka and maybe - who knows? - preserved in the archives of this sinister institution. And Gumilyov is the first great poet in the history of Russian literature, whose burial place is not even known. As Irina Odoevtseva said in her poem about him:

And not on his grave

No hill, no cross, nothing.

2. Analysis of Gumilev's work

Gumilyov's poetry different periods his creative life is very different. Sometimes he categorically denies the Symbolists, and sometimes he is so close to their work that it is difficult to guess that all these wonderful poems belong to one poet. Here we recall the words of the insightful A. Blok: “The writer is a perennial plant... the soul of the writer expands in periods, and his creation is only the external results of the underground growth of the soul. Therefore, the path of development can only appear straight in perspective, while following the writer along all stages of the path, you do not feel this straightness and steadiness, due to stops and distortions.

These words of Blok, a poet highly valued by Gumilyov, and at the same time his main opponent in critical articles, are most suitable for describing Gumilyov's creative path. Thus, the early Gumilyov gravitated toward the poetry of the senior symbolists Balmont and Bryusov, was fond of Kipling's romance, and at the same time turned to foreign classics: W. Shakespeare, F. Rabelais, F. Villon, T. Gautier and even Nekrasov's epic-monumental works . Later, he moved away from the romantic decorativeness of exotic lyrics and the lush brightness of images to a clearer and more rigorous form of versification, which became the basis of the acmeist movement. He was strict and inexorable towards young poets, the first to declare versification a science and a craft that needs to be learned in the same way as music and painting are taught. Talent, pure inspiration, in his understanding, had to have a perfect apparatus for versification, and he stubbornly and sternly taught the young mastery. The poems of the acmeist period, which made up the collection "The Seventh Heaven", confirm such a sober, analytical, scientific approach of Gumilyov to the phenomena of poetry. The main provisions of the new theory are outlined by him in the article “The Legacy of Symbolism and Acmeism”. The “new direction” was given two names: acmeism and adamism(from Greek - “a courageously firm and clear outlook on life”). Gumilyov considered their main achievement to be the recognition of the "intrinsic value of each phenomenon", the displacement of the cult of the "unknown" by "childishly wise, painfully sweet feeling of one's own ignorance." Also of this period is the writing of Gumilyov's serious critical work "Letters on Russian Poetry", published later in 1923.

This book of exclusively poetic criticism occupies a special place in the history of Russian critical thought. The articles and reviews included in it were written by a great poet and passionate theoretician of verse, a man of impeccable poetic ear and precise taste. Possessing an unconditional gift of foresight, Gumilyov the critic outlines in his works the paths for the development of Russian poetry, and today we can see how accurate and far-sighted he was in his assessments. He expressed his understanding of poetry at the very beginning of his program article Anatomy of a Poem, which opens the collection Letters on Russian Poetry. “Among the numerous formulas that determine the essence of poetry, two stand out,” wrote N. Gumilyov, “proposed by poets who ponder the secrets of their craft. They say: "Poetry is the best words in the best order" and "Poetry is what is created and therefore does not need to be remade." Both of these formulas are based on a particularly vivid sense of the laws by which words affect our consciousness. A poet is one who "takes into account all the laws that govern the complex of words he has taken." It is this position that underlies the enormous work that Gumilyov did with young poets after the revolution, persistently teaching them the technique of verse, the secrets of that craft, without which, in his opinion, real poetry is impossible. Gumilyov wanted to write a theory of poetry, this book was not destined to be born, and his attitude to the "holy craft" of poetry is concentrated in several articles and reviews that made up the Letters on Russian Poetry.

But over the years, Gumilyov's poetry has changed somewhat, although the foundation remains solid. In the collections of the military era, distant echoes of Blok's Russia, surrounded by rivers, and even Andrei Bely's "Ashes" suddenly appear in it. This trend continues in post-revolutionary creativity. It is amazing, but in the poems of the "Pillar of Fire" Gumilyov, as it were, extended his hand to the rejected and theoretically denounced symbolism. The poet seems to be immersed in a mystical element, in his poems fiction is intricately intertwined with reality, the poetic image becomes multidimensional, ambiguous. This is already a new romanticism, the lyric-philosophical content of which differs significantly from the romanticism of the famous "Captains", acmeistic "beautiful clarity" and concreteness.

3. Analysis of the poem "Captains"

This poem belongs to one of the first collections of Gumilyov, when "the muse of wanderings has not yet left him." In this poem, he glorifies the courage, strength and valor of the "discoverers of new lands", this image in him combines the captain of the navy and the Spanish pirate. His captains are people who lived at the time when America was discovered, so the image of the captain resembles the heroes of the then novels.

Many features of his early work are very clearly manifested here: exoticism, a riot of colors: “gold from lace”, “... pinkish ... cuffs”; A set of feelings, love for lush interior and exterior decoration, rigor of form.

Courage is emphasized lyrical hero who is trying to find his happiness beyond the line of being.

Gumilyov in this poem acts as a romantic poet, much here is idealized and exaggerated.

We liked this poem very much for its exoticism, and we especially liked the lyrical hero, reminiscent of an adventurer.

4. Analysis of the poem "Slave"

The poem was written by Gumilyov under the impression he received while traveling in Africa through Abyssinia. Gumilyov was struck by the situation of the indigenous inhabitants of this country, slavery still existed in it, and it was the situation of the oppressed Negroes that served as the reason for writing this poem. Therefore, the theme here is: the oppressed and the oppressors.

A feature of the poem is that the narration is conducted from the faces of lyrical heroes - slaves. They speak of their oppressed misery:

We have to clean his things.

We must guard his mules,

And in the evening there is corned beef,

that got spoiled during the day.

As if in opposition to them, another lyrical hero becomes - a “European”, a slave owner:

He sits under the shade of a palm tree,

Wrapping your face in a veil of earth,

He puts a bottle of whiskey next to him,

And whips foaming slaves.

He is mockingly called brave, because his strength, courage lies only in a sharp saber and a “lashing whip” and “long-range weapon”. Through the words of the slaves, it is felt that Gumilyov condemns, despise this arrogant, soulless, evil coward who can feel stronger only by oppressing the powerless.

The almost complete absence of epithets can also be attributed to the features of the poem. And since the story is being told on behalf of the oppressed, in my opinion, the author wanted to emphasize by this that the slaves cannot feel anything except anger and strong hatred for the “European”, which at the end of the poem turns into a threat:

He [a European] has a delicate body

It will be sweet to pierce him with a knife.

This is the essence of the poem. Gumilyov says that the humiliations that the indigenous people were subjected to will not go unnoticed and, sooner or later, they will take revenge on the uninvited guests from Europe and regain their freedom.

Conclusion

Nikolai Gumilyov was a far from ordinary personality with an amazing and at the same time tragic fate. There is no doubt about his talent as a poet and literary critic. His life was full of severe trials, which he coped with valor: several suicide attempts in his youth, unhappy love, almost a duel, participation in the world war. But it ended at the age of 35, and who knows what brilliant works Gumilyov could still create. An excellent artist, he left an interesting and significant legacy, and had an undoubted influence on the development of Russian poetry. His students and followers, along with high romanticism, are characterized by the utmost accuracy of poetic form, so appreciated by Gumilyov himself, one of the best Russian poets of the early 20th century.

Lliterature

1) G. Mesnyaev "Renaissance" 1981-82 "In the iron shell."

2) “Gumilyov Nikolay Stepanovich. Poems and poems”, VK Luknitskaya.

3) “Russian literature of the XX century”. L.A. Smirnova, A.M. Turkov, A.M. Marchenko and others.

4) Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary.

5) "Tagantsev business". V. Khizhnyak. (“Evening Moscow”).

6) http://ref.repetiruem.ru/referat/nikolajj-stepanovich-gumilev2

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Nikolai Gumilyov. Biography

By the autumn of 1903, the family returned to Tsarskoye Selo. There, the future poet finishes his studies at the gymnasium, the director of which was Annensky. The turning point in Kolya's life was his acquaintance with the works of the Symbolists, and in the same 1903, the future poet met the schoolgirl Gorenko (later Akhmatova). After graduating from the gymnasium, in 1906, Nikolai, who would be very filled with events in subsequent years, leaves for Paris. In France, he attends lectures and gets acquainted with representatives of the literary and artistic environment.

Life after graduating from high school

The collection "The Way of the Conquistadors" became the first printed collection, which was released by Gumilev Nikolai. The poet's work in the early stages was in some way a "collection of early experiences", in which, nevertheless, its own intonation was already found, the image of a courageous, lyrical hero, a lonely conqueror, was traced. While subsequently in France, he makes an attempt to publish the Sirius magazine. In the issues (the first three), the poet is published under the pseudonym Anatoly Grant and under his own name - Nikolai Gumilyov. The biography of the poet in subsequent years is of particular interest. It should be said that, while in Paris, he sent correspondence to various publications: the newspapers Rus, Early Morning, and the magazine Libra.

mature period

In 1908, his second collection was published, the works in which were dedicated to Gorenko ("Romantic Poems"). With him began a mature period in the work of the poet. Bryusov, who praised the author, stated, not without pleasure, that he was not mistaken in the forecasts. "Romantic poems" became more interesting in their form, beautiful and elegant. By the spring of 1908, Gumilyov returned to his homeland. In Russia, he makes acquaintances with representatives of the literary world of St. Petersburg, begins to act as a constant critic in the newspaper Rech. Later, Gumilyov began to print his works in it.

After a trip to the East

The first trip to Egypt took place in the autumn of 1908. After that, Gumilyov entered the law faculty at the capital's university, and subsequently transferred to the historical and philological. Since 1909, he began active work as one of the organizers of the Apollo magazine. In this edition, until 1917, the poet will publish translations and poems, as well as keep one of the headings. Quite brightly Gumilev in his reviews covers the first decade of the 20th century. At the end of 1909, he leaves for a few months in Abyssinia, and on his return from there he publishes the book "Pearls".

Life since 1911

In the autumn of 1911, the "Poets' Workshop" was formed, which manifested its own autonomy from symbolism, creating its own aesthetic program. Gumilyov's "Prodigal Son" was considered the first acmeist poem. It was included in the 1912 collection Alien Sky. By that time, the reputation of a "sindic", "master", one of the most significant of them, had already firmly established itself behind the writer. In 1913, Gumilev went to Africa for six months. At the beginning of World War I, the poet volunteers for the front. In 1915, "Notes of a Cavalryman" and the collection "Quiver" were published. In the same period, his printed works "Gondla", "Child of Allah" were published. However, his patriotic impulses soon pass, and in one of his private letters he admits that for him art is higher than Africa and war. In 1918, Gumilyov sought to be sent as part of an expeditionary force, but was delayed in London and Paris until spring. Returning to Russia in the same year, the writer begins work as a translator, preparing the Gilgamesh epic, English verses and for World Literature. The Pillar of Fire was the last book published by Nikolai Gumilyov. The poet's biography ended with his arrest and execution in 1921.

Brief description of the works

Gumilyov entered Russian literature as a student of the symbolist poet Valery Bryusov. However, it should be noted that this poet was, among other things, the director of one of the gymnasiums (in Tsarskoye Selo), in which Gumilyov studied. The main theme of his works was the idea of courageous overcoming. Gumilyov's hero is a strong-willed, brave man. Over time, however, his poetry becomes less exotic. At the same time, the author's predilection for an unusual and strong personality remains. Gumilyov believes that this kind of people are not intended for everyday, everyday life. And he considers himself the same. Quite a lot and often reflecting on his own death, the author invariably presents it in an aura of heroism:

And I will not die in bed
With a notary and a doctor,
And in some wild crack,
Drowned in thick ivy.

Love and Philosophy in Late Poems

Gumilev devoted a lot of his works to feelings. His heroine in love lyrics takes on completely different forms. She can be a princess from a fairy tale, the legendary beloved of the famous Dante, a fantastic Egyptian queen. A separate line runs through his work poems to Akhmatova. Quite uneven, complex relationships were associated with her, worthy of a novel plot in themselves ("She", "From the Lair of the Serpent", "The Tamer of Beasts", etc.). Gumilyov's late poetry reflects the author's predilection for philosophical themes. At that time, living in terrible and hungry Petrograd, the poet was active in creating studios for young authors, being for them in some way an idol and teacher. At that time, some of his best works came out from Gumilyov's pen, permeated with arguments about the fate of Russia, human life, destiny ("Lost Tram", "The Sixth Sense", "Memory", "My Readers" and others).

The term "acmeism" and the name of N. Gumilyov are inextricably linked. He was the only one who fully embodied the ideological program of this literary trend. The appearance of acmeists was a kind of protest against the "depreciation" of the word. "Rose" has ceased to be a symbol of the Mother of God, the Eternal Feminine, has become an absolutely earthly flower. "Being", "eternity", "Sophia" - these words left the poetic lexicon.

Here is a description of a giraffe from Gumilev's poem:

Graceful harmony and bliss is given to him,

And his skin is decorated with a magic pattern,

With whom only the moon dares to equal,

Crushing and swaying on the moisture of wide lakes.

Here the giraffe appears not in a symbolic, but in its true form. And the emotions that the image of the animal evokes are alive, not bookish.

Acmeists won. It was N. Gumilyov's victory. The creator of a bright and original literary movement - acmeism - he won the sympathy of readers not only with the power of artistic talent, originality and perfection of poetic revelations, but also with a fanatical love for travel and wanderings, which became an integral part of his life and work. The Muse of Far Wanderings, sung by him in many verses, became the poet's guide in the impenetrable jungle Central Africa, in the fire-breathing sands of the Sahara, in the upper reaches and mouth of the high-water Nile, in the gloomy mountains of Abyssinia and the exotic forests of Madagascar ... The ancient cities of Europe, the Middle East, the Mediterranean Sea ...

And that's all life! Whirling, singing,

Seas, deserts, cities,

flickering reflection

Lost forever.

A real work of poetic art, Gumilyov recited in the article “The Heritage of Symbolism and Acmeism”, must be perfect, honed like a razor blade. Is it achievable? Is it possible to turn theoretical calculations into the reality of poetry? This is achievable, Gumilyov argued, if the poet becomes a hero who chooses difficult and dangerous path. It only remained to confirm this with life. And he did it. Timid by nature, physically weak, he ordered himself to become strong and resolute, go on long and risky journeys, become a lion and rhinoceros hunter, volunteer for the front in the imperialist war and receive two soldier Georges for bravery and, finally, finding himself in an investigative cell of the Petrograd Gubchek, to declare to the investigator about his “monarchism” instead of making an attempt to justify himself and save his life. A dreamy lyricist, he eradicated love and thoughtfulness from his heart, got rid of sadness and confusion, and in the crucible of passions forged a strong, ringing, like a Damascus saber, voice that destroys human fear and humility, paving the way for human pride and courage. The heroes of his poems are discoverers of new lands and filibusters, wanderers, medieval knights, hunters of African animals and fearless captains ... Real and mythical heroes who lived many centuries ago and contemporaries who decided to achieve North Pole, - they all became assistants to the poet, who dreamed of making his readers the heroes of "a strong, cheerful and evil planet."

I teach them how not to be afraid

Don't be afraid and do what needs to be done.

It should be noted that already in the early work of the poet, the main (exclusively "Gumilyov") features were outlined, which, in one way or another, changing and improving, passed through all his collections and ultimately made up the unique image of his poetics. What are these traits? Undoubtedly, the romantic spirit of most of his works, which determined the choice of a certain system of artistic means: figurative structure, composition, plot, poetic speech. Contempt for the world of monetary interests, petty-bourgeois well-being, spiritual inactivity, rejection of bourgeois morality prompted the poet to create heroes in contrast with his contemporaries, heroes inspired by bold ideas, but basically noble, seized by a violent passion for change, discovery, struggle, triumphant victory over the outside world, even if that victory came at the cost of their lives.

Like a conquistador in an iron shell,

I'm on my way and I'm walking merrily

Then resting in a joyful garden,

That leaning towards abysses and abysses.

Let death come, I call any!

I will fight her to the end

And maybe a dead man's hand

I'll get a blue lily.

The second characteristic feature of Gumilyov's poetry is the refinement, filigree form, sophistication of rhymes, harmony and euphony of sound repetitions, sublimity and nobility of poetic intonation. “Starting with The Path of the Conquistadors and ending with The Pillar of Fire,” noted the literary critic E. F. Toilerbakh, “the poet invariably followed the same path: to the perfection of form, to the magic of the word, to the despotic mastery of verse.” In the poem "To the Poet" Gumilyov expressed his attitude to the poetic form and the requirements for the poet's craft:

Let your verse be flexible, but elastic,

Like the poplar of a verdant valley,

Like the chest of the earth, where the plow was driven,

Like a girl who didn't know a man.

Take care of confident severity:

Your verse should neither flutter nor beat.

Although the muse has light steps,

She is a goddess, not a dancer.

Third feature The poet's creativity is his passion for the exotic, interest in the African and Asian continents, in the mythology and folklore of the tribes inhabiting them, in the bright and lush vegetation, unusual animals. The bright, colorful world of Gumilev's poems does not evoke complex associations, but it always pleases the reader with its originality. Shots in a duel killed Pushkin and Lermontov, pierced by a bullet, Mayakovsky's heart stopped bubbling, insane cruelty cut short the life of N. Gumilyov ...

How many poets has Russia lost prematurely! How to resurrect them? How to revive? Our touch to their poems, our memory of them can truly become living water. Only then will the "gardens of the soul" of the dead poets blossom and surprise us with their beauty and nobility.

The gardens of my soul are always patterned,

In them the winds are so fresh and quiet,

They have golden sand and black marble,

Deep, transparent pools.

The plants in them, like dreams, are extraordinary.

Let the sirocco rage in the desert

The gardens of my soul are always patterned.

Report on the poet of the "Silver Age".

Pupil 11 "B" class

Alekseenko Nikolay.

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov.

Report plan:

Time image.
Definition of a literary trend.
Creative biography of Gumilyov.
analysis of his work.
Conclusion.

Thank you for your attention!

School # 1278, class. 11 "B".

Acmeism. Nikolai Gumilyov.

The following books were used in the preparation of this report:

1. “Gumilev Nikolai Stepanovich. Poems and Poems".

The author of the preface is V.P. Enisherlov, the author of the biographical sketch is V.K. Luknitskaya.
2. "Russian literature of the XX century." L.A. Smirnova, A.M. Turkov, A.M. Marchenko and others.
3. Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary.
4. "Tagantsev business". V. Khizhnyak. (“Evening Moscow”).

The literature of the 20th century developed in an atmosphere of wars, revolutions, and then the formation of a new post-revolutionary reality. All this could not but affect the artistic searches of the authors of that time. The social cataclysms of the beginning of our century strengthened the desire of philosophers and writers to understand the meaning of life and art, to explain the upheavals that befell Russia.
Therefore, it is not surprising that any area of literature of the early 20th century is striking in the unusualness and diversity of the author's attitudes, forms, and structures.
Artistic searches have acquired a rare intensity and completely new directions. For each Master, the glory of the discoverer of some new previously inaccessible direction or method in literature was firmly established.

Modernists of the Silver Age.

Literary movements opposed to realism were called modernist.

Modernists (French - “newest”, “modern”) denied social values and tried to create a poetic culture that promotes the spiritual improvement of mankind. Each author presented it in his own way, as a result of which several currents were formed in modernist literature. The main ones were: symbolism, acmeism and futurism. There were also word artists who were not organizationally associated with these literary groups, but internally gravitated towards the experience of one or another (M. Voloshin,
M. Tsvetaeva and others).

The development of modernism had its own, very intense history. In a sharp controversy, one trend was replaced by another. Disputes often flared up between members of each of the associations. Thus, the bright originality of creative individuals was manifested. The artistic accomplishments of the participants in the movement have forever remained with us and for us.

The period of creativity of the main representatives of modernism is usually called
"Silver Age" by analogy with the "golden" XIX century in Russian literature.
Indeed, never before has there been such a multitude and variety of talented authors. Conventionally, the beginning of the "Silver Age" is considered to be
1892, when the ideologist and oldest member of the symbolist movement Dmitry
Merezhkovsky read the report "On the Causes of the Decline and New Trends in Modern Russian Literature." So for the first time the modernists declared themselves.
The actual end of the Silver Age came with the October Revolution.
In the first years after it, some searches were still possible among individual poets, but with the resolution “On the Party’s Policy in the Field of Literature” in 1925, all of them stopped, and only proletarian literature and only the method of socialist realism were recognized as the only possible ones.

One of the most famous trends in modernist literature was acmeism. The association of acmeists put forward its own aesthetic program of interaction with the world, its own idea of harmony, which it sought to bring into life. From the Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary:

“Acmeism (from the Greek akme - the highest degree of something, blooming power), a trend in Russian poetry of the 1910s (S. Gorodetsky, M. Kuzmin, early N.
Gumilyov, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam); proclaimed the liberation of poetry from symbolist impulses to the “ideal”, from the ambiguity and fluidity of images, complicated metaphor, a return to the material world, the subject, the elements of “nature”, the exact meaning of the word. However, the “earthly” poetry of the acmeists is characterized by modernist motifs, a tendency to aestheticism, intimacy, or to poeticization of the feelings of primitive man.”

The idea of such a new direction in literature was first expressed by
Mikhail Kuzmin (1872-1936) in his article "On beautiful clarity" (1910). It outlined all the main postulates of future acmeists. Actually, the acmeist movement arose in 1913 on the basis of the author's association "Poets' Workshop", which included Nikolai Gumilyov, Sergey
Gorodetsky (1884-1967), Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966) and Osip Mandelstam (1891-
1938). The first manifestos of acmeism appeared in the magazine "Apollo"
(modernist literary magazine of the turn of the century) in January. In his article
“The legacy of symbolism and acmeism” Gumilyov subjected the symbolists to strong criticism; Sergei Gorodetsky, in his article “Some Trends in Modern Russian Literature,” spoke out even more sharply, declaring the catastrophe of symbolism. Nevertheless, many acmeists still gravitated towards poetry.
Balmont, Bryusov or Blok, although Innokenty was considered their Teacher
Annensky and Mikhail Kuzmin. And although the acmeists, as an association, did not last long, only 2 years, they undoubtedly made a huge contribution to Russian literature.

Biography of Nikolai Gumilyov.

One of the leading acmeist poets was Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov. In reality, his work was much wider and more varied, and his life was unusually interesting, although it ended tragically.

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov was born on April 3 (old style) 1886 in Kronstadt, where his father worked as a military doctor. Soon his father retired, and the family moved to Tsarskoye Selo. Poems and stories
Gumilyov began to write very early, and for the first time in print, his poem appeared in the newspaper "Tiflis Leaf" in Tiflis, where the family settled in
1900. Three years later, Gumilyov returned to Tsarskoye Selo and entered
The 7th grade of the Nikolaev gymnasium, the director of which was the wonderful poet and teacher I.F. Annensky, who had a great influence on his student.
Gumilyov studied, especially in the exact sciences, poorly, he early realized himself as a poet and set success in literature for himself as his only goal. After graduating from the gymnasium, he left for Paris, having managed to release the first collection “The Way
Conquistadors". He apparently considered this book of youthful poems unsuccessful and never republished it.

In Paris, Gumilyov attended lectures at the Sorbonne on French literature, studied painting and published three issues of the Sirius magazine, where he published his works, as well as poems by the Tsarskoye Selo poetess Anna Gorenko (the future famous Anna Akhmatova), who soon became his wife.

In 1908, Gumilyov's second book, Romantic Flowers, was published in Paris. Demanding V. Bryusov, who severely assessed the first collection of the poet, in his review of “Romantic Flowers” pointed out the prospect of the young author’s path: “Perhaps, continuing to work with the persistence as now, he will be able to go much further than we have planned possibilities that we do not suspect.”

Arriving in Russia, Gumilyov becomes close to Vyach. Ivanov, under whose leadership the so-called "Academy of Verse" was created. Gumilev became one of the initiators of her organization. In the Apollo magazine founded by S. Makovsky, he began to constantly publish his Letters on Russian Poetry, collected in 1923 by G. Ivanov in a separate collection published in Petrograd.

In 1910, Gumilyov married A.A. Gorenko, and in the autumn of this year he went to Abyssinia for the first time, having made a difficult and dangerous journey.

“I have been to Abyssinia three times and in total I have spent almost two years in this country. I made my last trip as the leader of an expedition sent by the Russian Academy of Sciences, ”wrote in
"Records of Abyssinia" by Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov.

One can only admire the love of the Russian poet, traveler, for the great, its people and culture. Until now, a good memory of N. Gumilyov has been preserved in Ethiopia. Gumilyov's African poems, included in the collection “Tent” prepared by him, and the dry, precise prose of the diary are a tribute to his love for
Africa.

Gumilyov's third book "Pearls" (1910) brought him wide popularity. It was dedicated to V. Bryusov, whom the author called a teacher.
Noting the romanticism of the poems included in the collection, Bryusov himself wrote:
“...Obviously, his verse also got stronger. Gumilyov is slowly but surely moving towards full mastery in the field of form. Almost all of his poems are written in beautifully thoughtful and refined-sounding verse.”

And Vyach. Ivanov, it was in "Pearls" that he saw the points of divergence between Gumilyov and
Bryusov and predicted a different path for the young poet. It is characteristic that it is precisely with the liberation from the influence of Bryusov that the search for their place in Russian poetry of the beginning of the century is connected with such different poets as Blok and Gumilyov.

Many of the poems of "Pearls" are popular, but, of course, the famous ballad "Captains" is the most popular. A fresh breeze of real art fills the sails of the “Captains”, which are certainly associated with the romantic tradition.
Kipling and Stephenson. N. Gumilyov called his poetry the Muse of the Far
Wanderings. Until the end of his days, he remained faithful to this theme, and with all the variety of themes and the philosophical depth of late Gumilyov's poetry, it casts a very special romantic reflection on his work.

The controversy around symbolism that flared up in 1910 revealed a deep crisis in this literary trend. As a reaction to symbolism, a new literary trend, created by N. Gumilyov and S. Gorodetsky, arose - acmeism, the forerunner of which was the literary association Workshop of Poets.
The organizational meeting of the Workshop, which was attended by A. Blok, took place at the apartment of S. Gorodetsky on October 20, 1911.

Acmeists, opposing themselves not only to the Symbolists, but also to the Futurists, organizationally took shape around the Guild of Poets, publishing a small magazine called Hyperborea.

On the shield of the acmeists it was inscribed - "clarity, simplicity, affirmation of the reality of life." Acmeists rejected the "obligatory mysticism" of the Symbolists.
“Among the Acmeists,” S. Gorodetsky wrote in the Apollon magazine, “the rose again became good in itself, with its petals, smell and color, and not with its conceivable similarities with mystical love or anything else.”

The First World War broke the usual rhythm of life. Nikolai Gumilyov went to the front as a volunteer. His courage and contempt for death were legendary. Rare awards for an ensign - two soldier's "George" - serve as the best confirmation of his military exploits. The collection “Quiver” reflects the themes of the war:

And bloody weeks

Dazzling and light

Above me, shrapnel is torn,

The blades of the birds take off faster.

It's copper hitting copper

I, the bearer of a great thought,

I can't, I can't die.

Like thunder hammers

Or the waters of angry seas,

Golden heart of Russia

Beats rhythmically in my chest.

Speaking about Gumilyov's military lyrics, one cannot help but remember the psychological characteristics of his personality. Gumilyov was called the poet-warrior for a reason. A contemporary of the poet wrote: “He accepted the war with modern simplicity, with straightforward fervor. He was perhaps one of those few people in Russia whose soul the war found in the greatest combat readiness. But Gumilyov saw and realized the horror of the war, showed it in prose and poetry, and some romanticization of the battle, the feat was a feature of Gumilyov - a poet and a person with a pronounced, rare, courageous, chivalrous beginning both in poetry and in life.

In “Kolchan”, a new theme for Gumilyov begins to be born - “about
Russia". Completely new motives sound here - Andrey's creations and genius
Rublev and a bloody bunch of mountain ash, ice drift on the Neva and Ancient Russia. He gradually expands and deepens his themes, and in some poems he even achieves frightening insight, as if predicting his own fate:

He stands before a fiery mountain,

A short old man.

A calm look seems submissive

From the blinking of reddish eyelids.

All his comrades fell asleep,

Only he does not sleep alone yet:

He is all busy casting a bullet,

That will separate me from the earth.

The October Revolution caught Gumilyov abroad, where he was sent in May 1917. He lived in London and Paris, studied oriental literature, translated, worked on the drama "The Poisoned Tunic".
In May 1918 he returned to revolutionary Petrograd. He was captured by the then tense literary atmosphere. N. Gumilyov together with A. Blok,
M. Lozinsky, K. Chukovsky and other major writers work in the created
A.M. Gorky publishing house “World Literature”. In 1918, the sixth collection of N. Gumilyov "The Bonfire" and a collection of translations of oriental poetry were published.
"Porcelain Pavilion".

The last lifetime collections of poems by N. Gumilyov were published in 1921
- this is the "Tent" (African verses) and the "Pillar of Fire". In this collection we see a new, “top” Gumilyov, whose refined poetic art of the leader of acmeism was enriched with the simplicity of high wisdom, pure colors, and the masterful use of intricately intertwined prosaic-everyday and fantastic details to create a multidimensional, deeply symbolic artistic image:

I was walking down an unfamiliar street

And suddenly I heard a crow's voice,

And lute chimes, and distant thunders,

A tram was flying in front of me.

How I jumped on his bandwagon

It was a mystery to me

In the air a fiery track

He left even in the light of day.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Where I am? So languid and so anxious

My heart beats in response:

You see the station where you can

Buy a ticket to the India of the Spirit?

The completely politically illiterate Gumilyov had his own “theory” about what should, remaining under any convictions, honestly and conscientiously serve his Motherland, regardless of what kind of power exists in it.
Therefore, he recognized Soviet power, believed that he was obliged to be loyal in all respects, despite the fact that he was in difficult personal conditions of existence, and that the country was in a state of ruin. But life
N.S. Gumilev tragically ended in August 1921. For many years it was officially stated that the poet was shot for participating in the counter-revolutionary, so-called Tagantsev conspiracy. But in fact, his fault consisted only in not reporting to the authorities that he was offered to join a conspiratorial organization, which, by the way, is also subject to doubt.

The "Tagantsev case" caused a wide negative resonance. The world community could not agree with such a verdict. Alexey Tolstoy wrote later: “I do not know the details of his murder, but, knowing Gumilyov, I know that standing at the wall he did not even give the executioners a look of confusion and fear. Dreamer, romantic, patriot, harsh teacher, poet. His gloomy shadow, indignantly, flew away from ... his passionately beloved Motherland ... Light to your soul.
Glory to your name."

Analysis of Gumilev's work.

Gumilyov's poetry in different periods of his creative life is very different. Sometimes he categorically denies the Symbolists, and sometimes he is so close to their work that it is difficult to guess that all these wonderful poems belong to one poet. Here we recall the words of the insightful A. Blok: “The writer is a perennial plant... the soul of the writer expands in periods, and his creation is only the external results of the underground growth of the soul. Therefore, the path of development can only appear straight in perspective, while following the writer along all stages of the path, you do not feel this straightness and steadiness, due to stops and distortions.

These words of Blok, a poet highly valued by Gumilyov, and at the same time his main opponent in critical articles, are most suitable for describing Gumilyov's creative path. Thus, the early Gumilyov gravitated toward the poetry of the senior symbolists Balmont and Bryusov, was fond of Kipling's romance, and at the same time turned to foreign classics: W. Shakespeare, F. Rabelais, F. Villon,
T. Gauthier and even to the epic-monumental works of Nekrasov. Later, he moved away from the romantic decorativeness of exotic lyrics and the lush brightness of images to a clearer and more rigorous form of versification, which became the basis of the acmeist movement. He was strict and inexorable towards young poets, the first to declare versification a science and a craft that needs to be learned in the same way as music and painting are taught. Talent, pure inspiration, in his understanding, had to have a perfect apparatus for versification, and he stubbornly and sternly taught the young mastery. The poems of the acmeist period, which made up the collection "The Seventh Heaven", confirm such a sober, analytical, scientific approach of Gumilyov to the phenomena of poetry. The main provisions of the new theory are outlined by him in the article “The Legacy of Symbolism and Acmeism”. The “new direction” was given two names: acmeism and adamism (from Greek - “a courageously firm and clear outlook on life”). Gumilyov considered their main achievement to be the recognition of the "intrinsic value of each phenomenon", the displacement of the cult of the "unknown" by "childishly wise, painfully sweet feeling of one's own ignorance." Also of this period is the writing of Gumilyov's serious critical work "Letters on Russian Poetry", published later in 1923.

This book of exclusively poetic criticism occupies a special place in the history of Russian critical thought. The articles and reviews included in it were written by a great poet and passionate theoretician of verse, a man of impeccable poetic ear and precise taste. Possessing an unconditional gift of foresight, Gumilyov the critic outlines in his works the paths for the development of Russian poetry, and today we can see how accurate and far-sighted he was in his assessments. He expressed his understanding of poetry at the very beginning of his program article.
"Anatomy of a Poem", which opens the collection "Letters on Russian Poetry".
“Among the numerous formulas that determine the essence of poetry, two stand out,” wrote N. Gumilyov, “proposed by poets who ponder the secrets of their craft. They say: "Poetry is the best words in the best order" and
"Poetry is what is created and, therefore, does not need to be remade."
Both of these formulas are based on a particularly vivid sense of the laws by which words affect our consciousness. A poet is one who "takes into account all the laws that govern the complex of words he has taken." It is precisely this position that underlies the enormous work that, after the revolution, was carried out by
Gumilyov with young poets, persistently teaching them the technique of verse, the secrets of that craft, without which, in his opinion, real poetry is impossible. Gumilyov wanted to write a theory of poetry, this book was not destined to be born, and his attitude to the "holy craft" of poetry is concentrated in several articles and reviews that made up the Letters on Russian Poetry.

Conclusion.

Nikolai Gumilyov was a far from ordinary personality with an amazing and at the same time tragic fate. There is no doubt about his talent as a poet and literary critic. His life was full of severe trials, which he coped with valor: several suicide attempts in his youth, unhappy love, almost a duel, participation in the world war.
But it ended at the age of 35, and who knows what brilliant works Gumilyov could still create. An excellent artist, he left an interesting and significant legacy, and had an undoubted influence on the development of Russian poetry. His students and followers, along with high romanticism, are characterized by the utmost accuracy of poetic form, so appreciated by Gumilyov himself, one of the best Russian poets of the early 20th century.

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In October 1911, a new literary association "Workshop of Poets" was founded, headed by N.S. Gumilyov and S.M. Gorodetsky. The name of the circle indicated the attitude of the participants to poetry as a purely professional field of activity. The "workshop" was a school of formal craftsmanship, indifferent to the peculiarities of the worldview of the participants.

The work of an outstanding poet, one of the founders of the "Poets' Workshop" became an example of overcoming the aesthetic doctrine of acmeism.

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov was born on April 3, 1886 in Kronstadt in the family of a naval doctor. Earlier, the future poet spent his childhood in Tsarskoe Selo, where his parents moved after his father's dismissal from military service. There he studied at the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium, the director of which was I.F. Annensky. At this time, Nikolai's friendship is established, first with Andrei Gorenko, and then with his sister Anna, the future poetess Akhmatova, to whom he begins to dedicate his lyrical poems.

Gumilyov began to write poetry at the age of twelve and placed his first story in the gymnasium handwritten journal. When his family moved to the Caucasus in 1900, he enthusiastically wrote poetry about Georgia and early love. Gumilyov's first poem, published in the Tiflis newspaper (1902), is romantic in nature and depicts a lyrical hero rushing from "cities into the desert", who is attracted by restless "people with a fiery soul" and with a "thirst for good" ("I ran into the forest from the cities...).

Gumilyov began his journey in literature at the time of the heyday of symbolist poetry. It is not surprising that in his early lyrics there is a very palpable dependence on symbolism. It is interesting that the future acmeist in his work did not follow the chronologically closest generation of young symbolists, but was guided by the poetic practice of older symbolists, primarily K.D. Balmont and V.Ya. Bryusov. From the first in Gumilyov's early poems - the decorativeness of landscapes and the general craving for catchy external effects, with the second, the novice poet was brought together by an apology for a strong personality, reliance on solid qualities of character.

However, even against the background of Bryusov's lyrical heroics, the position of the early Gumilyov was distinguished by special energy. For his lyrical hero there is no abyss between reality and dream: Gumilyov affirms the priority of bold dreams, free fantasy. His early lyrics are devoid of tragic notes, moreover, Gumilyov is characterized by restraint in the manifestation of any emotions: at that time he assessed a purely personal, confessional tone as neurasthenia. The lyrical experience in his poetic world is certainly objectified, the mood is conveyed by visual images, ordered into a harmonious, “picturesque” composition.

Gumilyov and the poets of his generation trusted much more sensory perception, primarily visual. The evolution of the early Gumilyov is the gradual consolidation of precisely this stylistic quality: the use of the visual properties of the image, the rehabilitation of a single thing, important not only as a sign of spiritual movements or metaphysical insights, but also (and sometimes in the first place) as a colorful component of the overall scenery.

In 1905, in St. Petersburg, Gumilyov published the first collection of poems, The Path of the Conquistadors. This youthful collection perfectly reflected the romantic mood and the emerging heroic character of the author: the book was dedicated to brave and strong heroes, cheerfully walking towards dangers, "leaning towards abysses and abysses." The poet glorifies a strong-willed personality, expresses his dream of a feat and heroism. He finds for himself a kind of poetic mask - a conquistador, a bold conqueror of distant lands ("Sonnet"). The author considered this poem programmatic. In it, he likens himself to the ancient conquerors, mastering new earthly spaces: "Like a conquistador in an iron shell, / I set out on a journey ...". The poem glorifies the courageous duel with death and the relentless movement towards the intended goal. Written in the form of a sonnet, it is interesting in glorifying bold risk, courage, overcoming obstacles. At the same time, Gumilyov's hero is devoid of gloomy seriousness, formidable concentration: he walks "merrily", "laughing" adversity, resting "in a joyful garden."

But another theme is also revealed in the poem, its other plan is revealed in it. Gumilyov referred to the "conquistadors" and the conquerors, "filling the treasury of poetry with gold bars and diamond tiaras." The poem speaks, therefore, of the discovery of new poetic continents, of courage in mastering new themes, forms, and aesthetic principles.

The collection was noticed by the most prominent symbolist poet V. Bryusov, who published a review of the first experience of the novice author in his journal Scales. This review, which inspired the young man, became the reason for the beginning of an active correspondence of poets, and Gumilyov's further growth was largely determined by the influence of V. Bryusov, whom the young author called his teacher.

In 1906, Gumilyov graduated from the gymnasium and then spent about three years in Paris, where he publishes the Sirius magazine, writes a number of short stories (Princess Zara, The Golden Knight, Stradivarius Violin) and publishes a collection of poems Romantic Flowers ( 1908). The collection contains poems dedicated to Cairo sailors and children, Lake Chad, rhino, jaguar, giraffe. But what is especially important, the poet learns to portray these heroes of his lyrics objectively, voluminously, convexly (“Hyena”, “Giraffe”). V. Bryusov highly appreciates the collection that Gumilyov "definitely draws his images."

Upon his return to Russia (1908), Gumilyov entered St. Petersburg University, actively collaborated in newspaper and magazine periodicals, founded the "Academy of Verse" for young poets. In 1909-1913 he made three trips to Africa. In 1910 he married A.A. Gorenko.

Gumilyov continued his poetic development in the next collection, The Pearl (1910), dedicated to V. Bryusov. This is also a book of romantic poetry. Enhancing the picturesqueness of poetry, Gumilyov often repels from works of fine art (“Portrait of a Man”, “Beatrice”), prompting him to be descriptive. Literary plots (“Don Juan”), motifs of symbolist poems (Balmont, Bryusov) become another source of imagery.

It is impossible not to note in the collection the greater elasticity of the verse, the refinement of poetic thought, which will later be felt in The Captains. Gumilyov timidly outlined the paths that would lead him to the collections Alien Sky and Bonfire.

In the early 1910s Gumilyov became the founder of a new literary trend - acmeism. The principles of acmeism were largely the result of Gumilyov's theoretical understanding of his own poetic practice. The key categories in acmeism were the categories of autonomy, balance, concreteness. "Place of action" of the lyrical works of acmeists - earthly life, the source of eventfulness is the activity of the person himself. The lyrical hero of the acmeist period of Gumilyov's work is not a passive contemplator of life's mysteries, but the organizer and discoverer of earthly beauty.

From the lush rhetoric and decorative flamboyance of the first collections, Gumilyov gradually moves on to epigrammatic rigor and clarity, to a balance of lyricism and epic descriptiveness.

For 1911 - 1912 the period of organizational unity and creative flourishing of acmeism came. Gumilev published at that time his most "acmeistic" collection of poems - "Alien Sky" (1912). Moderation of expression, verbal discipline, balance of feeling and image, content and form are felt here. The book includes poems of the poet, published in 1910-1911 in Apollo.

I must say that romantic motives are still noticeable in the collection. In the book as a whole, the acmeistic features of N. Gumilyov's poetry were clearly affected: vivid depiction, narrative, inclination to reveal the objective world, weakening of the musical and emotional principles, impassivity, expressiveness of descriptions, the multiplicity of faces of the lyrical hero, a clear view of the world, adamistic worldview, classical rigor of style, balance of volumes, precision of detail. In order to support and strengthen the acmeist tendency of his collection, N. Gumilyov included in it translations of five poems by Theophile Gautier. The book also includes the cycle "Abyssinian Songs", which shows how Gumilyov's approach to the transfer of the exotic world has changed significantly. The poems "The Discovery of America" and "The Prodigal Son", as well as the one-act play "Don Juan in Egypt" stand apart in the collection.

In the collection, one can feel the author's obvious departure from the Russian theme. However, Gumilyov devoted one of the sections of the book to his compatriot Anna Akhmatova, who in 1910 became the poet's wife. To the seventeen poems of this section, one more can be added - "From the Lair of the Serpent", with which the first part of the collection ends.

The Alien Sky collection received many positive responses, making the name of its author widely known and earning him a reputation as a master.

One of the main characteristics of Gumilyov's work can be called the cult of courageous risk, which was embodied in his works of many genres. These are essays about a trip to Africa (1913-1914), "African Diary" (1913), stories "African Hunt" (1916) and "Forest Devil" (1917).

With the outbreak of World War I, the poet volunteered for the Lancers Regiment, and was awarded two St. George Crosses for participation in hostilities. The poet spoke about his participation in the battles in the Notes of a Cavalryman (1915-1916).

Life-affirming pathos lives on in the new collection of poems Quiver (1916), published at the height of the First World War.

In the collection "Bonfire" (1918), which includes poems created in 1916-1917, the poet continues to explore the layers of world culture. This time he turns to ancient art, creating a hymn to Nike of Samothrace, located in the Louvre, presenting her "with outstretched arms." In the same book of poems, Gumilyov recreates Norway in his imagination, correlating its people and landscapes with the images of Ibsen and Grieg; Sweden and its "confused, discordant Stockholm". But here the Russian theme also matures. Many features of this collection can be found in the poem "Autumn". Naturally, among the poems about native expanses, rowan autumn, “meadows smelling of honey” of childhood, there are lines about the art of monks and the insights of Andrei Rublev, his icons and frescoes.

The revolutionary events in Russia found N. Gumilyov in France. From there he moved to England, to London, where he worked on the story "Merry Brothers". During this period, he approaches the issues of literature in a new way, believing that Russian writers have already overcome the period of rhetorical poetry, and now the time has come for verbal economy, simplicity, clarity and reliability.

Returning in 1918 through Scandinavia to Petrograd, Gumilyov energetically joined the then turbulent literary life, from which he had been cut off by the war for a long time. He openly spoke about his monarchical predilections and did not seem to notice the dramatic changes in the country. He had a hard time with the collapse of the first family, but the most intense creative work helped him heal his emotional wound. The poet publishes a new poem - "Mick" - on an African theme, re-publishes early collections of poems, works enthusiastically at the publishing house "World Literature", where Gorky was attracted and where he is in charge of the French department; he organizes several publishing houses himself, recreates the "Poets' Workshop", manages its branch - the "Sounding Shell"; creates the Petrograd branch of the Union of Poets, becoming its chairman.

The last three years of the poet's life (1918-1921) were unusually fruitful in creative terms. Gumilyov translates a lot, speaks at evenings reading his poems, theoretically comprehends the practice of acmeism, publishes the collection “Tent” in Sevastopol, again devoted to the African theme (this was the last book published during the author’s lifetime), creates “The Poem of the Beginning” (1919-1921 ), in which he refers to the philosophical and cosmogonic theme.

The poet is also preparing a new significant collection of poems, The Pillar of Fire, for publication. It includes works created over three recent years the life of the poet, mainly of a philosophical nature ("Memory", "Soul and Body", "The Sixth Sense", etc.). The name of the collection, dedicated to Gumilyov's second wife Anna Nikolaevna Engelhardt, goes back to the biblical imagery, the Old Testament "Book of Nehemiah".

Among the best poems of the new book is "The Lost Tram", the most famous and at the same time complex and mysterious work.

Gumilyov’s prediction of “his” unusual death is striking:

"And I will not die in bed,

With a notary and a doctor,

And in some wild crack,

Drowned in thick ivy…”

confirmed.

On August 3, 1921, he was arrested by the Cheka, accused of participating in the counter-revolutionary Tagantsev conspiracy, and on August 24 he was shot along with sixty others involved in this case. However, no documentary evidence of this participation was found in the surviving materials of the investigation.

After the death of the poet, his lyrical collection "To the Blue Star" (1923), the book of Gumilev's prose "The Shadow from the Palm Tree" (1922), and much later - collections of his poems, plays and stories, books about him and his work.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Gumilyov made a huge contribution to the development of Russian poetry. His traditions were continued by N. Tikhonov, E. Bagritsky, V. Rozhdestvensky, V. Sayanov, B. Kornilov, A. Dementiev.