The development of poetry in the second half of the XIX century. "Russian poetry of the second half of the 19th century"

Literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century played an important role in public life countries. Most modern critics and readers are convinced of this. At that time, reading was not entertainment, but ways of knowing the surrounding reality. For the writer, creativity itself became an important act of civic service to society, since he had a sincere belief in the power of the creative word, in the likelihood that a book could influence the mind and soul of a person so that he would change for the better.

Opposition in literature

As modern researchers note, it was precisely because of this belief in the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century that the civic pathos of the struggle for some idea was born, which could play an important role in transforming the country, sending the whole country along one path or another. The 19th century was the century of maximum development of domestic critical thought. Therefore, the speeches in the press of critics of that time entered the annals of Russian culture.

A well-known confrontation, which emerged in the history of literature in the middle of the 19th century, emerged between Westernizers and Slavophiles. These social movements arose in Russia as early as the 40s of the 19th century. Westerners advocated that the true development of Russia began with the reforms of Peter I, and in the future it is necessary to follow this historical path. At the same time, they treated the entire pre-Petrine Russia with disdain, noting the absence of a culture and history worthy of respect. Slavophiles advocated the independent development of Russia, regardless of the West.

Just at that time, a very radical movement became popular among Westerners, which was based on the teachings of utopians with a socialist bias, in particular, Fourier and Saint-Simon. The most radical wing of this movement saw revolution as the only way to change something in the state.

The Slavophils, in turn, insisted that the history of Russia is no less rich than that of the West. In their opinion, Western civilization suffered from individualism and unbelief, having become disillusioned with spiritual values.

The confrontation between Westernizers and Slavophiles was also observed in Russian literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century, and especially in criticism of Gogol. Westerners considered this writer the founder of the socio-critical trend in Russian literature, and the Slavophiles insisted on the epic completeness of the poem " Dead Souls"and its prophetic pathos. Remember that critical articles played a big role in Russian literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century.

"Naturalists"

In the 1840s, a whole galaxy of writers appeared, rallying around literary critic Belinsky. This group of writers began to be called representatives of the "natural school".

In the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century, they were very popular. Them the protagonist- a representative of the underprivileged class. These are artisans, janitors, beggars, peasants. The writers sought to give them the opportunity to express themselves, to show their customs and way of life, reflecting through them all of Russia from a special angle.

The most popular among them is the genre. It describes different strata of society with scientific rigor. Outstanding representatives of the "natural school" are Nekrasov, Grigorovich, Turgenev, Reshetnikov, Uspensky.

Revolutionary Democrats

By the 1860s, the confrontation between the Westerners and the Slavophils was coming to naught. But disputes between representatives of the intelligentsia continue. Cities, industry are rapidly developing around, history is changing. At this moment, people from various social strata come to the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century. If earlier writing was the lot of the nobility, now merchants, priests, philistines, officials and even peasants take up the pen.

In literature and criticism, the ideas laid down by Belinsky are developed, the authors pose sharp social questions for readers.

Chernyshevsky lays the philosophical foundations in his master's thesis.

"Aesthetic Criticism"

In the 2nd half of the 19th century, the direction of "aesthetic criticism" received special development in literature. Botkin, Druzhinin, Annenkov do not accept didacticism, proclaiming the inherent value of creativity, as well as its detachment from social problems.

"Pure art" should solve exclusively aesthetic problems, representatives of "organic criticism" came to such conclusions. In its principles, developed by Strakhov and Grigoriev, true art became the fruit not only of the mind, but also of the soul of the artist.

soilmen

Soil cultivators gained great popularity during this period. Dostoevsky, Grigoriev, Danilevsky, Strakhov included themselves among them. They developed the ideas in a Slavophilic way, warning at the same time to be too carried away by social ideas, to break away from tradition, reality, history and the people.

They tried to get into life ordinary people, deriving general principles for the maximum organic development of the state. In the magazines Epoch and Vremya, they criticized the rationalism of their opponents, who, in their opinion, were too revolutionary.

Nihilism

One of the features of the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century was nihilism. In it, the soil scientists saw one of the main threats to real reality. Nihilism was very popular among different sections of Russian society. It was expressed in the denial of accepted norms of behavior, cultural values ​​and recognized leaders. At the same time, moral principles were replaced by the concepts of one's own pleasure and benefit.

The most striking work of this trend is Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons", written in 1861. Its protagonist Bazarov denies love, art and compassion. They were admired by Pisarev, who was one of the main ideologists of nihilism.

Genre of the novel

The novel plays an important role in Russian literature of this period. It was in the second half of the 19th century that Leo Tolstoy's epic "War and Peace", Chernyshevsky's political novel "What Is to Be Done?", Dostoevsky's psychological novel "Crime and Punishment", and Saltykov-Shchedrin's social novel "Lord Golovlev" came out.

The most significant was the work of Dostoevsky, reflecting the era.

Poetry

In the 1850s, poetry flourished after a brief oblivion that followed the golden age of Pushkin and Lermontov. Polonsky, Fet, Maikov come to the fore.

In poetry, poets pay increased attention to folk art, history, and everyday life. Understanding becomes important Russian history in the works of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Maykov, May. It is epics, folk legends and old songs that determine the style of the authors.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the work of civil poets became popular. The poems of Minaev, Mikhailov, Kurochkin are associated with revolutionary democratic ideas. The main authority for the poets of this direction is Nikolai Nekrasov.

By the end of the 19th century, peasant poets became popular. Among them are Trefolev, Surikov, Drozhzhin. She continues the traditions of Nekrasov and Koltsov in her work.

Dramaturgy

The second half of the 19th century is the time of the development of national and original dramaturgy. The authors of the plays actively use folklore, pay attention to peasant and merchant life, national history, the language spoken by the people. You can often find works devoted to social and moral issues, in which romanticism is combined with realism. These playwrights include Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Ostrovsky, Sukhovo-Kobylin.

The diversity of styles and artistic forms in dramaturgy led to the emergence at the very end of the century of vivid dramatic works by Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy.

Influence of foreign literature

Foreign literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century has a noticeable influence on Russian writers and poets.

At this time, realistic novels reigned in foreign literature. First of all, these are the works of Balzac ("Shagreen Skin", "Parma Convent", "Eugenia Grande"), Charlotte Bronte ("Jane Eyre"), Thackeray ("Newcomes", "Vanity Fair", "History of Henry Esmond"), Flaubert ("Madame Bovary", "Education of the Senses", "Salambo", "Simple Soul").

In England at that time, Charles Dickens was considered the main writer, his works Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers, The Life and Adventures of Niklas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, Dombey and Son are also read in Russia.

In European poetry, the collection of poems by Charles Baudelaire "Flowers of Evil" becomes a real revelation. These are the works of the famous European symbolist, which caused a whole storm of discontent and indignation in Europe because of a large number obscene lines, the poet was even fined for violating the norms of morality and morality, making the collection of poems one of the most popular in the decade.

Creative, social and artistic interest in literature as a field of art and education originated at the dawn of the 19th century, which is called in Russian classical literature high title- golden age. This literary era was marked by the flourishing of Russian literature. Literature was perceived not only as an area of ​​artistic and folk art, filled with brightness of images, airy eloquence and richness of words, it served as a wise and pure source for cultural and spiritual development, improvement and enrichment of the inner world of people. It shed the light of truth on the existing reality, it was the most powerful engine for the development of society, the introduction of advanced ideas of struggle for the great future of Russia. terrible storm historical events(the abolition of serfdom, bourgeois reforms, the formation of capitalism, difficult wars), which befell the long-suffering Russia during this period, was reflected in the creative works of Russian poets and writers. The validity of their ideas and views largely determined public consciousness of the population of Russia at that time, which is why they gained authority among the common people. The rich heritage of classical literary art was passed down from generation to generation, creating the prerequisites for further development and promotion of Russian literature. Golden peak of Russian poetry second half of XIX century, the work of Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov (1821-1878) towered. His pressing problem poetry were the hardships of the working people. With the saturation of images, the strength, richness and artistry of the word, Nekrasov sought to convey to the educated, materially wealthy reader the meaning and depth of grief, the poverty of the people oppressed by social inequality, to raise the simple Russian peasant to the majestic pedestal of justice. It was this idea that formed the basis of the poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live." The poetic activity of N.A. Nekrasov was not only a profession, it acquired a shade of patriotism, the sacredness of civic duty and vocation to his country. Along with poetic activity, N.A. Nekrasov was engaged in his own publishing activities. Under his leadership, a greater number of periodicals were published, among which the magazines Sovremennik and Otechestvenny Zapiski were especially popular. Literary articles and works of many subsequently famous Russian poets, writers and critics were published on the pages of these magazines for the first time. Thus, the lyrics of the second half of the 19th century are distinguished by a variety of topics, literary trends and large quantity gifted poets.

Many of the talented Russian lyricists (F.I. Tyutchev, A.A. Fet, N.A. Nekrasov, A.K. Tolstoy, A.N. Maikov) began their journey in the late 1830s - early 1840s . It was a time very unfavorable for lyricists and for poetry. After the death of Pushkin and Lermontov, A.I. Herzen, "Russian poetry has become numb". The muteness of Russian poetry was explained different reasons. The main one was the one about which V.G. Belinsky in the article "A Look at Russian Literature of 1843": "After Pushkin and Lermontov, it is difficult to be not only remarkable, but also some kind of poet." An important role was played by another circumstance: prose takes possession of the minds of readers. Readers were waiting for stories and novels, and the editors of magazines, responding to the "spirit" of the era, willingly provided pages of prose, publishing almost no lyric poems.

In the 1850s poets, it would seem, overcame the indifference of readers. It was in this decade that the first collection of F.I. Tyutchev, who attracted everyone's attention: readers finally recognized the brilliant poet who began his creative way back in the 1820s. Two years later, in 1856, a collection of Nekrasov's poems was published, almost instantly sold out. But interest in the poetic word soon fades away, and new books by A.K. Tolstoy, A.N. Maykova, Ya.P. Polonsky, F.I. Tyutcheva, A.A. Fet attract the attention of critics and a few lovers of poetry.

Meanwhile, Russian poetry of the second half of the 19th century lived a very intense life. The originality of aesthetic positions, a special understanding of the purpose of the poet and poetry breed Russian lyricists into different "camps" (according to A.K. Tolstoy). This is “civil poetry”, the purpose of which is “to remind the crowd that the people are in poverty” (N.A. Nekrasov), and “pure poetry”, designed to sing the “ideal side” of life. F. Tyutchev, A. Fet, Ap. Maykova, A.K. Tolstoy, Ya. Polonsky, Ap. Grigoriev. Civic poetry was represented by Nekrasov. Endless discussions between supporters of the two "camps", mutual accusations of pseudo-poetry or indifference to the life of society explain a lot in the atmosphere of the era. But, defending the correctness of only their aesthetic ideas, poets from different “camps” often turned out to be close in their poetic vision of the world, close to the values ​​that they sang. The work of each talented poet served one lofty goal - the affirmation of the ideal of beauty, goodness and truth. All of them, to use Nekrasov's expression, "preached love", understanding it in different ways, but equally seeing in it the highest purpose of man. In addition, the work of every true poet, of course, could not fit into the Procrustean bed of straightforward schemes. So, A.K. Tolstoy, who declared his belonging to the poets of "pure" art, in epics, epigrams and satirical poems, managed to speak very sharply about the problems of contemporary life. ON THE. Nekrasov - deeply and subtly reflected the "internal, mysterious movements of the soul", which the supporters of "pure" art considered one of the main subjects of poetry.

Although the poets of the second half of the 19th century could not overcome the indifference of readers to the lyrics and make them wait anxiously for their poetry collections (as, for example, the new novels of I. Turgenev, I. Goncharov, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy were expected), however, they made them sing their poems. Already in the 1860s. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin said that Fet's romances "are sung by almost all of Russia." But Russia sang not only Feta. The amazing musicality of the works of Russian lyricists attracted the attention of outstanding composers: P.I. Tchaikovsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, M.P. Mussorgsky, S.I. Taneeva, S.V. Rachmaninov, who created musical masterpieces that the Russian people remembered and loved. Among the most famous, popular ones are “Song of a Gypsy” (“My fire in the fog shines”), “The Recluse”, “Challenge” by Ya.P. Polonsky, “Oh, speak at least with me”, “Two guitars, ringing ...” A. Grigoriev, “Among noisy ball”, “That was in early spring ...” A.K. Tolstoy, "Pedlars" N.A. Nekrasov and many, many other poems by Russian poets of the second half of the 19th century.

Time, erasing the acuteness of disputes about the appointment of the poet and poetry, found that for the next generations both "pure" lyricists and "civilian" poets turn out to be equally significant. Reading their works now, we understand: those images that seemed to contemporaries "lyrical audacity" are a gradual but clear emergence of poetic ideas that are preparing the flowering of Russian lyrics. Silver Age. One of these ideas is the dream of “ascending” love, love that transforms both man and the world. But the Nekrasov tradition became no less significant for the poets of the Silver Age - his “cry”, according to K. Balmont, the cry that “there are prisons and hospitals, attics and basements”, that “at this very minute, when we are with you breathe, there are people who are suffocating.” Acute awareness of the imperfection of the world, Nekrasov's "hostile word of denial" organically combined in the lyrics of V. Bryusov and F. Sologub, A. Blok and A. Bely with longing for the Unspeakable, for the ideal, giving rise not to the desire to get away from the imperfect world, but to transform it according to Ideal.

The beginning of the second half of the 19th century was marked in Russia by a powerful social upsurge, which demanded from literature, and above all from poetry, new content and new artistic forms capable of reflecting the complex social contradictions of reality. The end of the nineteenth century was marked by a deep crisis that engulfed the entire European culture, which was the result of disappointment in the previous ideals and a sense of the approaching death of the existing socio-political order.

ended in the 19th century classical period Russian poetry. Mentally embracing its boundless sea, one cannot help but admire the amazing variety of questions and problems that Russian poets touched upon in their works, who sought to preserve and affirm faith in eternal spiritual values, in the imperishability of the universal ideals of Christianity, to recall in their penetratingly deep and emotionally excited poems the highest meaning of life and the high destiny of man, to penetrate the secrets of the human spirit to reveal the unknown and unknown movements of the heart life. And although each of the poets did it in his own way, tried in a special way to reflect and comprehend the world around him, the thoughts and feelings of his contemporaries, but there was one thing in common that made all poets, even very dissimilar ones, related - this is love for the motherland and to his long-suffering people. And in my project I want to convey all the feelings of the poets, their poems about the motherland, nature, and tell a little about them.

F.I. Tyutchev was born on November 23, 1803 in the Ovstug estate of the Oryol province, in a noble family. In 1821 Graduated from the Language Faculty of Moscow University with a Ph.D. Having lived abroad with short breaks for almost 22 years, Tyutchev never lost touch with his homeland.

Is in lordship autumn evenings Touching mysterious charm: The ominous brilliance and variegation of trees, The languid, light rustle of crimson leaves, Foggy and quiet azure Above the sadly orphaned land, And, like a premonition of descending storms, A gusty, cold wind at times, Damage, exhaustion and everything That meek smile of withering, What in a rational being we call the Divine bashfulness of suffering.

Not the flesh, but the spirit has become corrupted in our days, And a man is desperately yearning... He rushes to the light from the shadow of the night And, having found the light, grumbles and rebels We burn and dry up with unbelief, He endures the unbearable today... And he recognizes his death, And he longs for faith ... but does not ask for it ... He will not say forever, with prayer and a tear, As he does not mourn in front of a closed door: “Let me in! -I believe, my God! Come to the aid of my unbelief!” Poem F.I. Tyutchev "Our Century" was written on July 11, 1831. In this poem, the personality of the poet appears camouflaged, is an expression of a generalized personal meaning, in addition, a heap of negatives leads to

I.S. Turgenev was born on October 28, 1818 in Orlov, into a noble family. He was brought up first at home, and then studied in Moscow private boarding schools. In 1833, Turgenev entered Moscow University, but a year later he transferred to St. Petersburg University, from which he graduated with a Ph.D. Turgenev began his career as a poet, during the years. His poems and poems were published in various magazines and were warmly received by critics and readers.

Foggy morning, gray morning, Sad fields covered with snow, Reluctantly you will remember the time of the past, You will also remember the faces long forgotten. You will remember abundant passionate speeches, Looks, so greedily, so timidly caught, First meetings, last meetings, Favorite sounds of a quiet voice. You will remember parting with a strange smile, You will remember a lot of your distant native, Listening to the unceasing murmur of the wheels, Looking thoughtfully into the wide sky. The poem "On the Road" (1843) by the outstanding Russian writer and poet I. S. Turgenev, which was later set to music and became a well-known romance.

The work "The Nest of Nobles" was written by Turgenev in 1859. "The Nest of Nobles" remains one of the bright works of the writer. Despite the collapse of hopes for the personal happiness of the hero, Lavretsky, there remains hope for a brighter future for others. The image of Lisa Kalitina - "Turgenev's girl" - overshadows her entire environment and becomes a symbol of Russia.

Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy was born on August 24, 1817. Petersburg in a noble family. In 1834 he was enrolled as a student in the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He spent several years abroad, and upon his return to Russia he served at the royal court. During the Crimean War, he joined the army, but did not participate in the battles, he fell ill with typhus. Tolstoy began writing poetry as a child, and his first literary experiments were approved by V.A. Zhukovsky.

In the midst of a noisy ball, by chance, In the anxiety of worldly fuss, I saw You, but Your secrets covered my features. Only the eyes looked sadly, And the voice sounded so wondrous, Like the ringing of a distant flute, Like the wave of the sea playing. I liked your thin camp And all your thoughtful look, And your laughter, both sad and sonorous, has been ringing in my heart ever since. In the hours of lonely nights I love, tired, to lie down - I see sad eyes, I hear cheerful speech; And I fall asleep so sadly, And in unknown dreams I sleep ... Whether I love you - I don’t know, But it seems to me that I love!

Not the wind blowing from above, Lisztov touched the moonlit night; You touched my soul - She is anxious, like sheets, She is like a multi-stringed harp. The whirlwind of life tormented her And with a crushing raid, Whistling and howling, tore the strings And covered it with cold snow. Your speech caresses the ear, Your touch is light, Like fluff flying from flowers, Like a breath of May night ...

A.A. Fet was born october- november 1820 In the village of Novoselki, Mtsessky district, Oryol province. Poems began to write very early. While still at university, in 1840. He published the first collection of poems "Lyrical Pantheon", which included mainly imitative works. In the 50s. Fet was actively published in "contemporary", "Notes of the Fatherland" and other magazines. He died in Moscow in 1892.

Some sounds are rushing And cling to my headboard. They are full of languid separation, Trembling with unprecedented love. It would seem, so what? The last gentle caress resounded, The dust ran along the street, The postal carriage disappeared... And only... But the song of parting Unrealizable teases with love, And bright sounds rush And cling to my headboard.

Spruce covered the path with my sleeve. Wind. In the forest alone Noisy, and creepy, and sad, and fun, I don't understand anything. Wind. All around is buzzing and swaying, The leaves are spinning at their feet. Chu, there, in the distance, a subtly calling horn is suddenly heard. Sweet call to me herald copper! Dead sheets to me! It seems that from a distance the poor wanderer Tenderly greets you.

A.A. Grigoriev was born on July 20, 1822 in Moscow, in the family of an official. In 1842 he graduated from the law faculty of Moscow University, then went to St. Petersburg and entered the service, but soon left it and devoted himself literary activity. poems and critical articles began to appear on the pages of St. Petersburg magazines in the second half of the 1940s. main theme Grigoriev's work is the conflict of a romantically inclined personality with the world of mercantilism and life prose.

No, I was not born to beat my forehead, Nor wait patiently in the anteroom, Nor eat at the prince's table, Nor listen with tenderness to nonsense. No, I was not born to be a slave, Even in church at mass It happens badly for me, I confess that, To listen to the august house. And what Marat felt, Sometimes I am able to understand, And if God himself was an aristocrat, I would proudly sing curses to Him ... But on the cross the crucified god Was the son of the crowd and the demagogue.

The poet is a person with a creative soul, He is sick from his experiences, feelings, He is sick from his work, its beauty, Which from the change of generations does not come out of his mouth. He gives us all his dreams, The whole picture of the past, He gives us heroes of excessive beauty. Heroes from changed names. And who would know how much the reader wants to know the whole truth about the heroes of famous works. But we will not be able to turn to the writer, And with sorrow we ask his apologies. A poet is a person with a creative soul. Why did you leave this life so early? I want you to talk to me. Alas, you perished, leaving behind you many of your works. You are a god, you are a king, you are a genius. You are a man with an amazing mind Do not know the conquests before the enemy. Some friends, fans, readers all around. Sleep well my poet. I will idolize you all my life. Everyone remembers you, there is no doubt, And I will never forget about you.

In the second half of the 19th century, there was a surge of Russian lyric poetry. Only the listing of the most famous names of poets says a lot - Apollon Nikolaevich Maikov (1821-1897), Apollon Alexandrovich Grigoriev (1882-1864), Yakov Petrovich Polonsky (1819-1898), Ivan Savich Nikitin (1824-1861), Alexei Nikolaevich Apukhtin ( 1840-1893), Konstantin Konstantinovich Sluchevsky (1837-1904), Semyon Yakovlevich Nadson (1862-1887), Konstantin Mikhailovich Fofanov (1862-1911), Fedor Ivanovich Tyutchev (1803-1873), Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy (1817-1875), Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet (1820-1892), Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov (1821-1877/78).

Unfortunately, the triumph of poetry was short-lived. In Russian literature, prose is developing, especially large epic forms. The triumph of prose turned out to be more durable and is associated with the names of I. Turgenev, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy. And yet the poetry of the second half XIX century had a huge role in the development of Russian literature and culture in general. Poetry was a multifaceted system in which there were various forms of manifestation of the lyrical "I". To understand this "I", and the reader must have an open heart and soul. N.V. Gogol noted: “Reading a lyrical work properly is not a trifle at all.”

It is important to remember that poetry developed in two directions - Pushkin's and Gogol's. Romantics of the 19th century (especially A.S. Pushkin) proclaimed its independence from the authorities and the people, considered the poet a creator who was inspired by God. The program for them was a poem by A.S. Pushkin "The Poet and the Crowd". The slogan is the final words "Not for worldly excitement, / Not for self-interest, not for battles, / We were born for inspiration, / For sweet sounds and prayers." The ideas of the Romantics of the beginning of the century were picked up by the Romantics of the second half of the 19th century and substantiated the theory of "pure art". The main provisions of "pure art" can be formulated as follows: art should not depict reality, play a social role. The purpose of art is to create beautiful, i.e. poetic world. Art should exist for the elite.

The opposite point of view on the art of the civil direction was substantiated by N.V. Gogol in the poem "Dead Souls" (the beginning of the seventh chapter). He compared the creator of "art for art's sake" and the writer-denunciator. The principles of the “civilian” direction in the poetry of the second half of the 19th century are most consistently and vividly implemented in the poetry of N.A. Nekrasov.

Gogol proclaimed and embodied the idea that poetry should serve the people. Nekrasov made the peasant the main character of poetry, and the struggle for his happiness - the pathos of his work. The ideas of "pure art" are the basis of the worldview and artistic system of A.A. Feta. From the point of view of the history of poetry, Pushkin and Gogol's direction enriched the literature, culture, poetry of the 19th century and prepared many phenomena of the cultural life of Russia.

The poets of the second half of the 19th century turned out to be receptive to life, to the spiritual atmosphere of Russian society. They continued and developed the traditions of the Russian poetic school of the 18th - early 19th centuries. At the same time, poets were looking for a new poetic language, original forms his expressions. They were concerned about issues of national identity; ratio of good and evil; death and immortality; spiritual generosity of people. A feature of Russian poetry of the 19th century is the magic of sound and word. I. Nikitin transmits subtle shades colors, shapes and sounds. Landscape lyrics are intensively developing (A. Maikov, "Landscape"; I. Koltsov, "South and North"; K. Sluchevsky, "Oh, do not scold me for the fact that I lived aimlessly ...", etc.).

Song character, folklore, Russian antiquity, the beauties of domestic nature, the originality of the Russian national character became the source of Russian poetry. Alexander Blok called A. Grigoriev's poem "The Gypsy Hungarian Woman" "the only pearls of its kind in Russian poetry." The "guitar" nature of the poem, set to music, made it a popular romance. Many poems by Y. Polonsky, "The Song of a Gypsy" (arranged to music by P.I. Tchaikovsky) became romances and folk songs. Famous romances were A. Apukhtin's poems, set to music, "A Pair of Bays", "Crazy Nights, Sleepless Nights ..."; S.Ya. Nadson "In the shadow of a pensive garden...".

In the second half of the 19th century, Russian poetry gradually moved towards modernism. Such was the movement in world literature, especially in French poetry. Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine - the French symbolists were contemporaries of N. Nekrasov, late A.A. Fet, V. Solovyov. The harbingers of modernism in Russia were primarily F.I. Tyutchev, A.A. Fet.

As the researcher V.S. Babaevsky: “Russian poetry of the 19th century, as a whole, with all its structural and chronological diversity, a manifestation of the spirit of the people, does not fit strictly into the boundaries of the century. The last decade, the 1890s, already belongs in its essence to modernism. We can say that for Russian poetry the 20th century began in 1892. Poetry K.M. Fofanova and S.Ya. Nadson connected two centuries of Russian poetry “golden” and “silver”.