The multifaceted trends in Russian literature at the beginning of the 20th century replaced each other almost every five years. Some remained invisible, but there are those who, in just two years of existence, managed to attract the attention of society and remain in history forever.
Acmeism comes from the Greek "akme", which means "maturity", "top". This is a literary movement of the early 20th century, opposing itself to symbolism. Nikolai Gumilyov and Sergei Gorodetsky stand at the origins of Acmeism in Russian poetry, whose articles published in 1913 in the Apollo magazine told the general public about the main ideas of this trend (“The Legacy of Symbolism and Acmeism” and “Some Trends in Modern Poetry”) …
Symbolism gravitated towards ambiguous images, multitudes of metaphors and "super-reality." Acmeism, on the other hand, presented clear and clear images, "earthly" poetry with complete indifference to contemporary problems. A realistic view of the world was reflected in the works of Acmeists, and the nebulousness familiar to symbolism was replaced by precise verbal images. The representatives of Acmeism put culture at the head of their values, architecture and painting served as a reference point in their work.
In fact, Acmeists are a small group of like-minded and really talented poets, united into one society (which the Symbolists could not do). The official organ of the Acmeists was the "Workshop of Poets", whose meetings were held according to the type of the traditional, but hostile to them, "Academy of Poetry". The most active participants in the movement, who left a rich poetic heritage, were six people: Nikolai Gumilyov, Sergei Gorodetsky, Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam, Mikhail Zenkevich and Vladimir Narbut. But even with such a modest composition, their directions stood out during the course. "Pure" acmeism was represented by Gumilev, Akhmatova and Mandelstam, while Gorodetsky, Narbut and Zenkevich worked in the naturalistic wing.
The poetic trend "Acmeism" existed for only 2 years (1913-1914), disintegrating after the split. The "Workshop of Poets" was closed, but later it was reopened several times (up to the death of N. Gumilyov). In addition to the works of poets-acmeists, the current left behind ten issues of the magazine "Hyperborey" (editor M. Lozinsky).
The marginal trend of Acmeism alarmed the poetic elite of the Silver Age; it had no analogues in the West, for which it was repeatedly reproached by opponents. A bright outbreak of acmeism left a great legacy and was a fruitful period in Russian literature.