Nikolai Gumilev is a famous poet of the Silver Age. His work is distinguished by sublime romanticism, airiness and isolation from cruel reality. Gumilyov believed in the power of the artistic word and in the fact that it is capable of influencing the fate of people.
Biography of the poet
Nikolai Gumilyov was born on April 15, 1886 in Kronstadt. His father Stepan Yakovlevich Gumilev served as a ship's doctor, and after his resignation the whole family moved to St. Petersburg.
Nikolai was a very weak and sickly boy. He suffered from regular headaches and a high sensitivity to loud sounds and strong odors. Due to his unhealthy appearance, the future poet was often attacked and ridiculed by his peers. In order not to put the child's health and vulnerable psyche at additional risk, the parents decided to transfer him to home schooling.
Gumilyov's literary gift woke up in early childhood, he wrote his first poem at the age of six. To improve health, the family lived in Tiflis for three years, and after returning to Tsarskoe Selo, Nikolai resumed his studies at the gymnasium. At that time he was fascinated by Nietzsche and spent all his free time reading his works.
A year before graduating from the gymnasium, the first collection of Gumilyov's poems "The Way of the Conquistadors" was published with the money of his parents.
Poet traveler
In 1906, the young poet left for Paris, where he attended lectures on literary studies at the Sorbonne and became a frequent visitor to museums and art exhibitions. He meets Gillius, Bely, Merezhkovsky and shows them his work.
Passion for travel leads the poet to Egypt. After seeing the sights and spending all the cash, Gumilyov goes hungry for some time and even spends the night on the street. However, these difficulties did not upset him much, and after the trip he wrote a number of poems and stories.
The thirst for new emotions and adventure pushed Gumilyov to explore the Russian North. An interesting fact: with the assistance of the emperor, Gumilev organized an expedition to the Kuzov archipelago. An ancient tomb was found there, inside which an extraordinary "Hyperborean" crest was discovered.
Having met Academician Vasily Radlov, Gumilyov became interested in exploring the black continent and spent several years in Africa. After a trip to Somalia, he wrote the poem "Mick".
During the First World War, Gumilyov went to the front. For the courage shown during the hostilities, he was awarded the rank of officer, in addition, the poet was awarded two St. George's crosses.
After the October Revolution, Gumilev devoted himself entirely to literary creativity. In early 1921, he became chairman of the Petrograd department of the All-Russian Union of Poets, and in August he was arrested and taken into custody. Then, on false accusations, the poet was shot.
Personal life
As for his personal life, the poet was married twice. The most stormy relationship was with the poetess Anna Akhmatova. For a very long time and at first unsuccessfully sought her location, even made several suicide attempts. As a result, they got married, a son, Leo, was born, but the marriage ended in failure and in divorce.
Gumilyov's second wife was a hereditary noblewoman Anna Nikolaevna Engelhardt.
He also had a short-term affair with actress Olga Vysotskaya, which resulted in a son, Orest, whose birth Gumilyov never found out.
Creativity Gumilyov
All of Gumilyov's work depended on his worldview, where the main role was played by the goal of the triumph of the spirit over the body. Throughout his life, the poet deliberately put himself in difficult situations for the reason that only at the moment of heavy losses and the collapse of hopes did he receive genuine inspiration.
One after another his books are published:
- 1905 - The Way of the Conquistadors;
- 1908 - Romantic Flowers;
- 1910 - "Pearls";
- 1912 - "Alien Sky";
- 1916 - The Quiver;
- 1918 - "Bonfire", "Porcelain Pavilion" and the poem "Mick";
- 1921 - "Tent" and "Pillar of Fire".
Gumilyov's literary heritage has survived to this day both in poetry and prose.
In 2007, the famous singer Nikolai Noskov superimposed the text of Gumilyov's poem "Monotonous flicker …" to the music of A. Balchev. The result is a magnificent composition "Romance", on which the video of the same name was shot.
