Acmeism, or the Guild of Poets, was a transient poetic school, which emerged in 1912 in Russia under the leadership of

Nikolay Gumilev Nikolay Stepanovich Gumilyov ( rus, Никола́й Степа́нович Гумилёв, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ɡʊmʲɪˈlʲɵf, a=Nikolay Styepanovich Gumilyov.ru.vorb.oga; April 15 NS 1886 – August 26, 1921) was a poe ...

and

Sergei Gorodetsky Sergey Mitrofanovich Gorodetsky (; – June 8, 1967) was a poet who lived in the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union. He was one of the founders (together with Nikolay Gumilev) of "Guild of Poets" (). He was born in Saint Petersburg, and d ...

. Their ideals were compactness of form and clarity of expression. The term was coined after the Greek word άκμη (''ákmē''), i.e., "the best age of man". The acmeist mood was first announced by

Mikhail Kuzmin Mikhail Alekseevich Kuzmin (russian: Михаи́л Алексе́евич Кузми́н) ( – March 1, 1936) was a Russian poet, musician and novelist, a prominent contributor to the Silver Age of Russian Poetry. Biography Born into a noble fam ...

in his 1910 essay "Concerning Beautiful Clarity". The acmeists contrasted the ideal of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

nian clarity (hence the name of their journal, ''

Apollon Apollon may refer to: * Apollo, ancient Greek god of light, healing and poetry * Apollon (Formula One), Formula One constructor * Apollon Kalamarias, Greek football club * Apollon Athens, a Greek football club from Athens * Apollon Limassol B.C., ...

'') to "

Dionysian The Apollonian and the Dionysian are philosophical and literary concepts represented by a duality between the figures of Apollo and Dionysus from Greek mythology. Its popularization is widely attributed to the work ''The Birth of Tragedy'' by Fri ...

frenzy" propagated by the

Russian symbolist Russian symbolism was an intellectual and artistic movement predominant at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It arose separately from European symbolism, emphasizing mysticism and ostranenie. Literature Influences Primary ...

poets like Bely and Vyacheslav Ivanov. To the Symbolists' preoccupation with "intimations through symbols" they preferred "direct expression through images". In his later manifesto "The Morning of Acmeism" (1913),

Osip Mandelstam Osip Emilyevich Mandelstam ( rus, Осип Эмильевич Мандельштам, p=ˈosʲɪp ɨˈmʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mənʲdʲɪlʲˈʂtam; – 27 December 1938) was a Russian and Soviet poet. He was one of the foremost members of the Acm ...

defined the movement as "a yearning for

world culture Cross-cultural studies, sometimes called holocultural studies or comparative studies, is a specialization in anthropology and sister sciences such as sociology, psychology, economics, political science that uses field data from many societies thr ...

". As a " neo-classical form of

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

", which essentialized "poetic craft and cultural continuity", the Guild of Poets placed

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

Innokentiy Annensky Innokenty Fyodorovich Annensky ( rus, Инноке́нтий Фёдорович А́нненский, p=ɪnɐˈkʲenʲtʲɪj ˈfʲɵdərəvʲɪtɕ ˈanʲɪnskʲɪj, a=Innokyentiy Fyodorovich Annyenskiy.ru.vorb.oga; (1 September Old_Style_and_New ...

, and the

Parnassian poets Parnassianism (or Parnassism) was a French literary style that began during the positivist period of the 19th century, occurring after romanticism and prior to symbolism. The style was influenced by the author Théophile Gautier as well as by th ...

among their predecessors. Major poets in this school include

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; uk, А́нна Андрі́ївна Горе́нко, Ánna Andríyivn ...

, and

Georgiy Ivanov Georgy Vladimirovich Ivanov (russian: Гео́ргий Влади́мирович Ива́нов; in Puki Estate, Seda Volost, Kovno Governorate – 26 August 1958 in Hyères, Var, France) was a leading poet and essayist of the Russian emigrati ...

. The group originally met in The Stray Dog Cafe, St. Petersburg, then a celebrated meeting place for artists and writers. Mandelstam's collection of poems ''Stone'' (1912) is considered the movement's finest accomplishment. Amongst the major acmeist poets, each interpreted acmeism in a different stylistic light, from Akhmatova's intimate poems on topics of love and relationships to Gumilev's narrative verse.

References

Russian poetry Literary movements Russian literary movements 1910 introductions 20th-century literature 20th-century Russian literature {{lit-mov-stub

See also

References