I. Life and creation

Vladimir Vladi Mirovic Mayakovski (1893— 1930) is the founder of proletarian poetry in the Soviet Union.

Mayakovski was born in Bagaji village, Kutais province. His father, a Russian forestry official, has democratic thoughts and has a certain ideological influence on his son. In middle school, influenced by the 1905 revolution, Mayakovski took an active part in strikes and demonstrations, and began to read the works of Marx and Engels. 1906 After my father died, my family moved to Moscow. Under the influence of some revolutionary college students, Mayakovski joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party on 1908 and became its propagandist. He actively engaged in underground activities, was arrested three times, read a lot of literary works in prison, and tried to write poems. 19 10 was caught in a dilemma after being released from prison. He wants to write, thinking that he has a correct world outlook, but he lacks artistic experience. He wanted to study, so he interrupted the work of the party. 19 1 1 year, he entered the school of painting, met futurists and accepted some harmful influences from them. 19 12, together with the futurist poet Bruck and others, published the first book of poetry of Russian futurists, A Slap in the Face for Social Interest, including Mayakovski's Night and Morning. These works and the tragedy Vladimir Bayakovsky (1912-1913) expose the ugly phenomenon of capitalist society and protest against slavery and oppression by the methods used by anarchists and futurists who have no sense of loyalty. The language of these works is difficult to understand, and the artistic image is also very vague.

After the outbreak of the World War 19 14, under the influence of the revolutionary situation and the Bolshevik Party, Mayakovski changed from a general humanitarian stance against war to a radical democratic stance. The poem War and the World (19 16) reveals the anti-people nature of the imperialist war and points out that the cause of the war is the existence of the capitalist system. The long poem Cloud in Pants (19 15) more strongly embodies the theme of exposing and protesting against the bourgeoisie. In the preface of the second edition of this long poem, the poet wrote: "Down with your love, down with your art, down with your system, down with your religion-these are the four slogans in four chapters." In his long poems, the poet accused the capitalist system of bringing endless pain and disaster to the people, called on the people to struggle and firmly believed that the revolution was coming:

Where people's nearsighted eyes can't see,

Led by the hungry people,

19 16,

Come with the crown of revolution.

The poet greeted this revolution with full enthusiasm;

for you

I'm going to rip out my heart,

Step on it,

Make it bigger!

I want to give my heart,

As a flag.

Mayakovski claimed that this long poem was a programmatic work of his early creation.

After the poet met Gorky for the first time in the summer of 19 15, he was constantly helped by Gorky in many ways. Influenced and inspired by Gorky, he wrote the long poem Man (1916-1917). 19 17 after the February revolution broke out, the poet stood firmly on the side of workers, peasants and soldiers and strongly opposed the provisional government to continue the imperialist war. He predicted that the bourgeoisie would inevitably collapse:

You eat pineapple, chew grouse,

Your end has come, bourgeois!

Looking at the poet's early creation before the October Revolution, although influenced by futurism, "Mayakovski's fundamental views on life and art are incompatible with futurism and full of hostility". Poets are essentially on the side of the proletariat.

The poet's attitude towards the October Revolution is clear and firm. "To attend or not to attend? For me, there is no such problem. This is my revolution. To work at the Smolney Institute. I did everything I should do. " In the days of fierce revolutionary struggle, on the one hand, he actively and enthusiastically carried out propaganda and agitation work, on the other hand, he also wrote many short poems serving the revolutionary struggle.

Under the Soviet regime, Mayakovski's talents were fully developed and brought into play. After the October Revolution, he carried out a wide range of activities. He attended the artists' conference and organized the publication of left-wing writers' works. Recite your own revolutionary poems among workers, Red Army soldiers and revolutionary youth. When enemies at home and abroad gave crazy curses and shouts to the new workers and peasants regime, he wrote a revolutionary ode. In "To the Army of Art" (19 18), the poet strongly conveyed the Bolshevik Party's hopes and demands for artists, and called on artists to throw away "those cliches that the older generation can never sing" and join the ranks of mass struggle, "and lift the piano into the street". In "The Second Order to the Art Army" (192 1), the poet called out more loudly for "the baritone who sings Romeo and Juliet's arias repeatedly with good nutrition", "the pride of Russia hiding in the studio and still painting flowers and naked women" and "the futurist, visionary and Akmeist trapped in a rhythmic spider web". When the imperialists intervened in the Soviet Union, the poet wrote the famous March to the Left (19 18), calling on the people to take up arms and defend the regime of workers and peasants to the death, showing the revolutionary heroism that "the commune must never be conquered". The end of this poem effectively sings:

Stand up and go forward!

Look, countless flags are flying all over the sky!

Who turns right there?

Left!

Left!

Left!

On the occasion of celebrating the first anniversary of the October Revolution, Mayakovski wrote the play Religious Humor (19 18). This is the first script that reflects the October Revolution. It reveals the revolutionary content of the struggle between the old and the new world through the myths and legends in the Bible, and enthusiastically praises the victory of the working people. So after the performance, it was warmly welcomed by workers, peasants and soldiers. The theme of the struggle between the old and the new world is also vividly reflected in the long poem1.500 million (1920).

From 19 19 to 1922, Mayakovski worked in the Russian telegraph office (hereinafter referred to as "rasta" and later renamed as "tass news agency"), co-chaired the art department with the painter Chelemnih, and published a poetic political propaganda bulletin-"Window of rasta" (also known as. These posters with short poems reflect major social problems and revolutionary struggles in time, and have played a great role in publicity and education for the people. The basic theme of the "Window of Rasta" is to expose, satirize and attack the enemy and arouse the people's enthusiasm for struggle. Mayakovski himself pointed out that "Window of Rasta" is "the record of the hardest three-year revolutionary struggle conveyed by colorful spots and loud slogans". (I Speak) He devoted all his talents and strength to the "window of Rasta" under extremely hard working conditions. About 1600 posters were published in "Window of Rasta". Nine tenths of the poems were written by Mayakovski (1929) and about 500 paintings were made. These street poems are short and pithy, powerful and easy to be accepted by the masses, as one of them wrote:

Allied weapons, money

The weapon of the white bandit troops-lies.

Menshevik's weapon-Tibetan Dao.

The truth,

Keep your eyes open,

Plus pike—

This is * * * producer's weapon.

The fighting spirit and original artistic style of Window of Rasta were inherited by Soviet artists and also played a great role in the Great Patriotic War. The work Window of Rasta is also of great significance to the development of Mayakovski's thought and creation. Through this work, he deeply understood the essence of the October Revolution and the great significance of Leninism, narrowed the distance with the people, and understood the harm of futurists making up words. This is an important transitional stage for the poet to advance in the direction of socialist realistic poetry creation. The poet once joined the "Lev" literary group in 1923, but soon withdrew from the group.

During the period of new economic policy, the bourgeois elements in society are ready to move, and some opportunists control some departments of government organs. Mayakovski wrote a series of satirical poems to confront these various capitalist remnants and bureaucrats. The satirical poem "Hui Fan" (1922) successfully mocked bureaucrats and businesspeople who were addicted to meetings and red tape, and was highly praised by Lenin. Lenin said: "I am not an admirer of his poetic talent. Admittedly, I fully admit that I am a layman in this respect. But from a political and administrative point of view, I haven't been so happy for a long time. ..... I don't know how the poem was written, but as far as politics is concerned, I can guarantee that it is completely correct. " ①

During the period of national economic recovery, Mayakovski actively participated in various cultural constructions: publishing magazines, writing articles for newspapers and periodicals, participating in various literary debates, and engaging in poetry and drama creation. Starting from 1923, he wrote advertising poems for state-owned enterprises (which he called "commercial agitation poems") to help state-owned enterprises struggle with private enterprises, showing the poet's high enthusiasm for national construction.

The long poem Lenin was published in 1925. This is the most important work of the poet in this period, and it is also a monument on his creative road. Lenin, a long poem, marks the complete victory of the principle of socialist realism in the poet's creation, so this long poem is called the cornerstone of socialist realism in poetry.

In the second half of the 1920s, Mayakovski traveled at home and abroad, and his contact with life increased day by day. With the maturity of the poet's world outlook and creative experience, real life has been increasingly widely and profoundly reflected in his Poetry Storm. Praise for the victory of socialism and newcomers, exposure and satire of the capitalist world and its "civilization" determine the richness and diversity of the poet's later creation. He has written short poems, slogan poems, satirical poems, long poems, comedies, movie scripts, children's books and so on. It can be said that this is a bumper harvest period for his creation. The creation of poets in this period has the following characteristics: open mind, vertical and horizontal brushwork, unrestrained feelings, free flow, novel ideas and rich colors.

Mayakovski went abroad nine times before and after. Traveling abroad made him deeply aware of the darkness and evil of capitalist society. He wrote many poems that exposed capitalist society. Women in Paris (1928) describes the tragic fate of working women in Paris; Syphilis (1926) exposed the decadent lifestyle and "colonial policy" in the United States. I proved (1926) that I condemned the cruelty of American colonialists.

Mayakovski has always been very concerned about the revolutionary struggle of the people of China against feudalism and imperialism. The revolutionary struggle of China people became one of the themes of his poems. In the poem "Get Out of China" (1924), the poet strongly protested the imperialist plot to carve up China. In the poem China in Moscow (1926), the poet firmly believes that the people of China will embark on the socialist road. In the best poem (1927), the poet hailed the victory of the Shanghai workers' uprising. In a letter to China (1929), the poet expressed sympathy and support for the China revolution. Even in the long poem Lenin, it is written that the working people of China and the Soviet people mourn the death of the revolutionary mentor together. These poems show that Mayakovski is also a proletarian internationalist.

The famous lyric poem "Passport of the Soviet Union" (1929) shows the poet's proletarian patriotism and his extremely proud feelings as a citizen of a socialist country. This poem describes an official checking his passport at a foreign border. The official received American and British passports, bowed and smiled obsequiously; After receiving passports from citizens of some small countries, they showed a dismissive expression; Taking the poet's Soviet passport is like taking a hedgehog and a bomb, holding a two-meter-long rattlesnake and being scared to death. The poet announced loudly with infinite pride:

Look,

Envy it,

I am

Soviet

Citizen.

In the second half of the 1920s, Mayakovski also published a series of poems encouraging young people to establish moral quality, calling on young people to study and work hard, exercise hard and be ready to defend the socialist motherland at any time. Among them, World Youth Day, Bookworm or Builder, National Defense March and To Comrade Knight are famous. In addition, Mayakovski has written Bug (1929), Bathhouse (1930), poems for children and many satirical poems in recent years. The most important work in his later period is the long poem "Good! 》。

"good!" (1927) is a heroic epic written by the poet to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, and it is a model of socialist realism. The long poem not only summarizes the achievements and historical experience of the past ten years, but also looks forward to the bright future of capitalism. The long poem *** 19, the first seven chapters show the theme of the October Revolution, and the following chapters show the theme of the socialist motherland and describe the three development stages of the Soviet country. The first chapter can be called preface poem, which shows that this epic is both narrative and lyrical; Chapters 2 to 8 describe the birth of Soviet countries in the bonfire; Chapters 9 to 16 show the consolidation and development of the country until the victory of the civil war; The last three chapters sing the praises of socialist construction and the future of capitalism with passionate and gripping lyrics.

Long poem "Good! The artistic style of this novel is both epic and lyric. A large number of historical events are combined with autobiographical factors, and calm narration is combined with strong lyricism. In the last few chapters, the poet highly summarized the great significance of historical events and showed the revolutionary enthusiasm of the people; The lyric hero "I" represents all the people. "Very good! ""how nice! "Repeated cycles make long poems full of clear emotions and sonorous rhythms. Contrastive expression, highlighting artistic effect. The rhythm and language of long poems show rich colors with the changes of plots and images. Long poem "Good! It marks that the poet's creation has reached a very mature stage and can be called a model of proletarian poetry.

Mayakovski also expressed many incisive views on the social functions of poets and poems. He believes that poetry should reflect the reality, serve the socialist cause and become a powerful weapon in the hands of the proletariat. "Songs and poems are bombs and flags" (Mr. People Actor,1927); "Today's poets' works are caresses and slogans, bayonets and whips." (Talking about poetry with the financial inspector, 1926) He called on the poet to dedicate "rhyme, theme, bass and treble" to the proletariat without reservation and "build bricks and stones for the commune building"; It is also advocated to measure the taste of poetry by the scale of commune, because this is the highest height and the deepest depth (On Proletarian Poets, 1926). He believes that poets should spare no effort to improve the quality of poetry creation in order to fulfill their glorious social mission and scrutinize and temper their poems like radium mining. "Mining one gram of radium requires all-year labor. In order to use a word properly, it takes thousands of tons of language precipitation. " He also believes that poets must arm themselves with Marxist world outlook. Only in this way can they stand high and see far, and can they "blow out bright knowledge from the hazy Mars".

On February 1930 and 1 day, the "Revolutionary Art Front" held the "Twenty Years' Exhibition of Mayakovski's Writing" for poets. At the exhibition, the poet recited the overture of the long poem "Singing at the top of my lungs", which shocked everyone present. Screaming at the top (1930) is a summary of the poet's life's creative path, and it is also the poet's aesthetic declaration. The poet opposes art for art's sake and denies "the poetic art of noble gardens" of "playing mandolin under the wall" He claimed that "I am a cleaner, a water bearer, mobilized and summoned by the revolution" and "I dedicate myself to you, the proletariat of the world, until the last page of the poetry collection." He spurned "heavy bronze statues" and "smooth marble statues" and regarded writing for the proletariat as his greatest happiness and highest glory. He declared: "I want to hold high a hundred poems of our party like a Bolshevik party card."

Mayakovski died in April 1930. The poet's life is a life of glorious fighting; His life's creation is a shining example of art serving the revolution. He is a faithful practitioner of the principle of literary party spirit put forward by Lenin. Fadeev once wrote: "Mayakovski is the only writer and poet who can catch up with the speed and turning point of the revolution with his own pen." . When you read his works volume by volume, you seem to have gone through all the stages of the revolution again ... even when he was not alive, he was alive in his poems. "

Mayakovski's works are powerful weapons in the hands of the "offensive class" and valuable literary heritage of the proletariat. His contribution lies not only in successfully introducing the proletarian revolution and the activities of the * * * production party and its leaders into the field of poetry, but also in expanding the artistic genre and skills of expressing social themes and enriching the vocabulary of poetry. The gradual poetic form created by the poet enhances the expressive force of poetry. Mayakovski's creation has great influence at home and abroad.

Second, Lenin

Before writing the long poem Lenin, the poet had written many poems dedicated to revolutionary mentor Lenin, such as Vladimir ilych (1920), We Don't Believe (1923) and Song of the Youth League (1924), which are all correct. After Lenin's death, the poet studied Lenin's works and memoirs of his contemporaries on the basis of summing up his own creative experience. After half a year's intense work, he finally finished this outstanding new work. The publication of long poems effectively cooperated with the struggle against Trotsky opportunists at that time and made great contributions to the propaganda and defense of Leninism and its cause, so it was warmly welcomed and praised by the revolutionary people.

When creating the image of Lenin, the poet stood on the position of * * * Party spirit, and linked the life and revolutionary activities of the leader with the history of the world revolutionary movement and the Russian people's liberation struggle, thus vividly embodying the theme that Lenin is consistent with the party and Lenin is consistent with the people.

The long poem Lenin includes a preface and three parts. The first part narrates the history of the development of European capitalism and the international revolutionary movement for more than 200 years from the viewpoint of historical materialism, pointing out that the working class and its struggle produced Lenin, indicating that the emergence of Leninism in the world revolutionary movement is the necessity of social development and has international significance:

* * * Productive

Strange shadows

Roaming Europe

He walked away,

But it appears far away. ...

Because of this,

In a remote place in Simbilsk,

It was born.

An ordinary child

Lenin.

The second part of the long poem describes the revolutionary struggle between Lenin and the people led by the Party, and points out the historical role of Lenin. The focus is on how Lenin embodies the will of history and leads the people to victory. Long poems show the revolutionary activities of Lenin and Bolshevik Party through a series of major historical events, and highlight the principles and historical foresight of revolutionary leaders and revolutionary instructors. The long poem begins with Lenin's boyhood oath ("We will certainly win, but we will take another road"), describing the process of Lenin's growth with the class. In his long poems, the poet particularly emphasized the flesh-and-blood ties between Lenin and the people, and between Lenin and the Party, pointing out that Lenin's personal historical role lies in that he embodied the will of the class, pointed out the direction for the people, and led the people to approach the revolutionary destination step by step:

Ignorant class

meet

Lenin,

Because of Lenin's inspiration

Towards the light,

get

The power of the masses

And ideas,

Lenin

There are also classes.

Grow together.

The poet wrote the great and ordinary characteristics of "new masses and new leaders", and at the same time vividly and profoundly wrote the inseparable relationship between Lenin and the party:

The Party and Lenin-

A pair of twin brothers,-

From the perspective of matriarchal history.

Who is more valuable?

We said-Lenin,

We pointed to-

Party,

We say—

Party,

We pointed to-

Lenin.

The poet also showed Lenin's role as a helmsman at the turning point of the revolutionary movement by transforming wartime materialism into a wise leader during the new economic policy period:

Our boat is going to capsize.

……

On the starboard side

carry

Ten million farmers.

The enemy is happy.

Screaming, laughing,

but

Only ilych can do it-

He suddenly

twisted

Steering wheel,

immediately

Turned twenty degrees.

It'll calm down soon,

Even surprising;

farmer

Xiang wharf

The food has arrived.

Lenin is not only the leader of the Soviet people, but also the leader of the people of all nationalities in the world.

All countries stood up,

One by one—

Ilych's hand.

Correct instruction

People of all races—

Black,

White,

Colored—

Everyone is standing here.

* * * under the banner of international production.

The third part of the long poem describes that after the death of the revolutionary leader, the working people all over the world and the Soviet people mourned Lenin's death together, turned grief into strength, and more closely United under the banner of Leninism to express their determination to inherit Lenin's legacy, thus showing the immortality of Leninism and its cause. Poets use metaphors and exaggerations to express that the death of the leader is "a once-in-a-century misfortune", but "the death of ilych has also become the biggest organizational force of capitalism": "400,000 enthusiastic workers laid a wreath of Lenin's first party on Red Square", and "living Lenin" called for "the last struggle".

Lenin, a long poem, is a work with strong ideological and artistic qualities. Standing on the position of socialist party spirit, with deep proletarian feelings, and using the creative method of socialist realism, the poet portrayed typical characters in typical environments through the three lines of Lenin, the people and the party, and shaped the glorious image of Lenin closely related to human destiny in historical development. The long poem gives an artistic summary of Lenin's extremely rich theoretical and practical activities. Through passionate poems and drum-like rhythms, they warmly praised Lenin and Leninism, the party founded by Lenin, the revolutionary mass movement and the flesh-and-blood relationship between revolutionary leaders and working people, and became immortal works in the history of proletarian poetry.