Anna Akhmatova: life and work. Akhmatova: the main themes of creativity

Anna Akhmatova, whose life and creativity we present to you, is a literary pseudonym, which was signed by her poems AA Gorenko. This poet was born in 1889, on June 11 (23), near Odessa. Her family soon moved to Tsarskoe Selo, where Akhmatova lived until the age of 16. Creativity (briefly) of this poetess will be presented after her biography. Let's get acquainted first with the life of Anna Gorenko.

Young years

Young years were not cloudless for Anna Andreevna. Her parents parted in 1905. Mother took Evpatoria to daughters sick with tuberculosis. Here, for the first time, a "wild girl" encountered the life of rough foreign and dirty cities. She also experienced a love drama, made an attempt to commit suicide.

Training in the Kiev and Tsarskoye Selo gymnasiums

The early youth of this poetess was marked by her studies in the Kiev and Tsarskoye Selo gymnasiums. The last class took place in Kiev. After that the future poetess studied in Kiev jurisprudence, as well as philology in St. Petersburg, at the Higher Women's Courses. In Kiev she learned Latin, which later allowed her to master the Italian language freely, to read in the original Dante. However, Akhmatova to the legal disciplines soon cooled off, so she went to Petersburg, continuing her studies at historical and literary courses.

The first verses and publications

The first poems, in which Derzhavin's influence is still noticeable, were written by a young schoolgirl Gorenko when she was only 11 years old. In 1907, the first publications appeared.

In 1910, from the very beginning, Akhmatova regularly begins to publish in Moscow and St. Petersburg publications. After the creation of the "Poets' Workshop" (in 1911), a literary union, she performs the duties of a secretary in it.

Marriage, a trip to Europe

Anna Andreevna in the period from 1910 to 1918 was married to NS. Gumilev, also a famous Russian poet. With her, she met while studying in the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium. Then Akhmatova made a trip to Paris in 1910-1912, where she became friends with Amedeo Modigliani, an Italian artist who created her portrait. Also at the same time, she visited Italy.

The exterior of Akhmatova

Nikolai Gumilev introduced his wife into the literary and artistic environment, where her name acquired an early importance. Not only Anna Andreevna's poetic manner became popular, but also her appearance. Akhmatova amazed contemporaries with majesty, royalty. She was given signs of attention, like a queen. The appearance of this poetess was inspired not only by A. Modigliani, but also by such artists as K. Petrov-Vodkin, A. Altman, Z. Serebryakova, A. Tyshler, N. Tyrsa, A. Danko (the work of Petrov-Vodkin is presented below) .

The first collection of poems and the birth of his son

In 1912, significant for the poet, occurred in her life, two important events. The first collection of poems by Anna Andreevna is published under the title "Evening", which marked her work. Akhmatova also gave birth to her son, the future historian, Gumilev Lev Nikolayevich - an important event in his personal life.

The poems included in the first collection are plastic according to the images used in them, they are clear on the composition. They forced Russian criticism to say that a new talent arose in poetry. Although the "teachers" of Akhmatova are such symbolic masters as AA Blok and I. Annensky, her poetry was perceived from the very beginning as acmeistic. In fact, together with OE Mandelstam and N. S. Gumilev, the poet at the beginning of 1910 formed the core of this new trend that appeared at the time in poetry.

The next two collections, the decision to stay in Russia

Followed by the first collection and the second book called "Rosary" (in 1914), and three years later, in September 1917, the collection "White Flock" was released, the third in its work. The October revolution did not make the poetess emigrate, although at that time mass emigration started. Russia was abandoned one by one by people close to Akhmatova: A. Lurie, B. Antrep, and also O. Glebova-Studedikina, her friend of youth. However, the poet decided to remain in the "sinful" and "deaf" Russia. The sense of responsibility to his country, the connection with the land of Russian and the language prompted Anna Andreevna to enter into a dialogue with those who decided to leave her. For years, those who left Russia continued to justify their emigration to Akhmatova. With her polemic, in particular, R. Gul, turn to Anna Andreevna V. Frank and G. Adamovich.

A difficult time for Anna Andreevna Akhmatova

At this time, her life changed dramatically, which reflected her creativity. Akhmatova worked in the library at the Agronomical Institute, in the early 1920s she managed to publish two more poems. They were "Plantain", released in 1921, as well as "Anno Domini" (in translation - "In the Year of the Lord," published in 1922). For 18 years after that her works were not published in the press. Different reasons for this existed: on the one hand, this is the execution of NS. Gumilev, the ex-husband, who was accused of participating in a conspiracy against the revolution; On the other - the rejection of the poetess's work by Soviet critics. Anna Andreevna spent many years in this forced silence engaged in the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.

Visiting Optina Desert

Changing his "voice" and "handwriting" Akhmatova associated with the mid-1920s, with a visit in 1922, in May, to Optina Desert and a conversation with the Elder Nectar. Probably, this conversation strongly influenced the poetess. Akhmatova was on the maternal line in kinship with A. Motovilov, who was a worldly novice Serafim Sarovsky. Through the generations she took the idea of redemption, sacrifice.

The Second Marriage

In the fate of Akhmatova, the break was also connected with the personality of V. Shileiko, who became her second husband. He was an Oriental scholar who studied the culture of such ancient countries as Babylon, Assyria, Egypt. Personal life with this helpless in everyday life and a despotic person did not work out, however, the poet attributed the influence of his poetry to the growth of philosophical, restrained notes.

Life and work in the 1940s

A collection called "Of the Six Books" appears in 1940. He returned for a short time to the contemporary literature of that time such a poetess as Anna Akhmatova. Life and creativity of her at this time are quite dramatic. Akhmatova was caught in Leningrad by the Great Patriotic War. She was evacuated from there to Tashkent. However, in 1944 the poet returned to Leningrad. In 1946, subjected to unfair and cruel criticism, she was expelled from the Writers' Union.

Return to Russian literature

After this event, the next decade in the poet's work was marked only by the fact that Anna Akhmatova was engaged in the artistic translation at that time. Creativity of its Soviet power was not interested. LN Gumilev, her son, was serving a sentence in forced labor camps at that time as a political criminal. Return to the Russian literature poetry Akhmatova took place only in the second half of the 1950s. Since 1958, the collections of poetry of this poetess again begin to be published. It was completed in 1962, "Poem without a Hero," which was created over the course of 22 years. Anna Akhmatova died in 1966, on the 5th of March. Buried poetess near St. Petersburg, in Komarovo. The grave is presented below.

Acmeism in the work of Akhmatova

Akhmatova, whose work today is one of the tops of Russian poetry, was later rather cool to her first book of poems, singling out in her only one line: "... drunk with the sound of a voice similar to yours." Mikhail Kuzmin, nevertheless, his preface to this collection ended with the words that we are coming to a young, new poet who has all the data in order to become real. In many ways, the poetics of the Evening predetermined the theoretical program of acmeism, a new trend in literature, to which the poetess Anna Akhmatova is often referred. Its creativity reflects many characteristic features of this trend.

The photograph below was taken in 1925.

Acmeism arose as a reaction to the extreme style of the Symbolists. Thus, for example, the article by VM Zhirmunsky, a well-known literary critic and critic, about the creativity of the representatives of this trend was called as follows: "Overcoming symbolism." Mystic dalas and "purple worlds" were contrasted with life in this world, "here and now." Moral relativism and various forms of new Christianity were replaced by "values by an unshakable rock".

Theme of love in the work of the poetess

Akhmatova came to the literature of the 20th century, its first quarter, with the most traditional theme for world lyrics - the theme of love. However, its solution in the work of this poetess is fundamentally new. Daleki poems by Akhmatova from sentimental female lyrics, presented in the 19th century by such names as Karolina Pavlova, Julia Zhadovskaya, Mirra Lokhvitskaya. They are also far from the "ideal", abstract lyric poetry characteristic of the Symbolist love poetry. In this sense, it relied mainly not on Russian lyrics, but on Akhmatova's prose of the 19th century. Her work was innovative. OE Mandelstam, for example, wrote about the complexity of the Russian novel written in the 19th century by Akhmatov. The work on creativity could be started with this thesis.

In the "evening" appeared in different guises love feelings, but the heroine was invariably rejected, deceived, suffering. K. Chukovsky wrote about her that the first to discover what to be unloved is poetically, namely it is Akhmatova (an essay on her work, "Akhmatova and Mayakovsky" created by the same author, largely contributed to her persecution when the poems of this poetess Not published). In unhappy love, the source of creativity was seen, and not a curse. Three parts of the collection are named respectively "Love", "Deception" and "Muse". Fragile femininity and grace were combined in Akhmatova's lyrics with the courageous acceptance of her suffering. Of the 46 poems included in this collection, almost half was devoted to separation and death. This is not accidental. In the period from 1910 to 1912, the poetess possessed a sense of shortness of time, she anticipated death. By 1912, her two sisters had died of tuberculosis, so Anna Gorenko (Akhmatova, whose life and work we are considering) believed that the same fate would befall her. However, unlike Symbolists, she did not associate separation and death with feelings of despair, longing. These moods gave birth to the experience of the beauty of the world.

They appeared in the collection "Evening" and finally took shape at first in "Chetoks", then in "White Flock" distinctive features of this poet's style.

Motives of Conscience and Memory

Deeply historical is the intimate lyrics of Anna Andreevna. Already in "Chetki" and "Evening" together with the theme of love there are two other main motives - conscience and memory.

"Minutes fatal", which marked the domestic history (beginning in 1914, the First World War), coincided with a difficult period in the life of the poet. She opened tuberculosis in 1915, her family inherited the family.

"Pushkinism" of Akhmatova

The motives of conscience and memory in the "White Flock" are further strengthened, after which they become predominant in her work. The poetic style of this poetess in 1915-1917 is evolving. A growing number of times criticism refers to Akhmatova's original "Pushkinism." Its essence is artistic completeness, accuracy of expression. There is also a "citation layer" with numerous rolls and allusions with both contemporaries and predecessors: OE Mandelstam, BL Pasternak, AA Blok. All the spiritual wealth of the culture of our country stood behind Akhmatova, and she rightly felt herself to be his heir.

The theme of the homeland in the work of Akhmatova, attitude to the revolution

The dramatic events of the life of the poetess could not but be reflected in the work. Akhmatova, whose life and work took place in a difficult period for our country, took the 1917 revolution as a catastrophe. The former country, in her opinion, was no more. The theme of the homeland in the work of Akhmatova is presented, for example, in the collection "Anno Domini". The section opening this collection published in 1922 is called "After all". To the whole book, the line "in those fabulous years ..." by FI Tyutchev was taken by the epigraph. Motherland is no more for the poetess ...

However, for Akhmatova, the revolution is also a payment for the sinful life of the past, retribution. Let the lyrical heroine and did not create evil, she feels that she is involved in the common wine, so Anna Andreevna is ready to share the hard share of her people. Homeland in the work of Akhmatova is obliged to atone for her guilt.

Even the title of the book, translated "In the Year of the Lord," says that the poet perceives his epoch as God's will. The use of historical parallels and biblical motifs becomes one of the ways to comprehend the artistic events taking place in Russia. Akhmatova increasingly appeals to them (for example, the poems "Cleopatra", "Dante", "Bible verses").

In the lyrics of this great poetess "I" at this time turns into "we". Anna Andreevna speaks on behalf of "many". Every hour not only this poet, but also her contemporaries, will be justified by the word of the poet.

These are the main themes of Akhmatova's work, both eternal and characteristic precisely for the era of this poet's life. It is often compared with the other - with Marina Tsvetaeva. Both are today the canons of female lyrics. However, not only has much in common, but in many respects the work of Akhmatova and Tsvetaeva differs. Writing on this subject is often asked to write to schoolchildren. In fact, it is interesting to speculate about why it is almost impossible to confuse the poem written by Akhmatova with the work created by Tsvetaeva. However, this is another topic ...