Brjusov und die Zeitgeschichte. Eine Studie zur politischen Lyrik im russischen Symbolismus by Sabina s> Siwczyk-Lammers (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 723 the UK on the other?How similaris the responseof the studentseitherside of the Atlantic?This is not the place to debate such issues, but I was intrigued every so often to come across remarkswhich ostensibly point to differences, rather than similarities. We are told, for example, that 'In classrooms the world over, it has long been the practice to distilthe age of the great Russian novel into Dostoevsky versus Tolstoy' (p. I04). Not in my experience. And then, even more categorically, we learn that when students are asked 'what Raskolnikovstandsfor' they will be able to answer;when, however, the same question is posed of Levin or Anna Karenina, teachers will 'draw a blank' (P. I I2). My instinctstell me the opposite, but it might be worth testing. As Caryl Emerson states, 'Tolstoy probably would not have wished his novels to have been taught at all' (pp. II3-14). Indeed; he would almost certainlyhave regardedventures such as the present volume with the utmost disdain. Still,ifmankindhad followed allthe greatman'spreceptstherewould not have been anyone around to produce and write such books, let alone to reviewthem. Department ofRussian ROGER COCKRELL UniversityofExeter Siwczyk-Lammers,Sabina.Bdusov unddieZeitgeschichte. EineStudie zurpolitischen Lyrik imrussischen Symbolismus . Opera Slavica:Neue Folge,42. Harassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2002. xii + 353 pp. Notes. Appendices. Bibliography .Index. ?54.00 (paperback). INSoviet criticism Briusovis portrayed either as a decadent or a poet of the Revolution; Western scholarship by contrast has focused primarily on his Symbolist aesthetics. Acutely aware of these different critical approaches, Sabina Siwczyk-Lammersdeliberatelyconcentrateson those lyricsthatreflect Briusov'sreaction to contemporary historical events, firstdrawing attention to the publicationhistoryof the individualtextsbefore analysingtheirmetricrhythmicaland symbolicelements. Her aim is to demonstratethat, independently of his Symbolist aesthetical convictions, Briusov showed a constant, active interestin the social and political events of his day. Aftera brief introductorychapter that outlines the aestheticand ideational basis of Symbolism and the role political poetry played in the worksof poets such as Bal'mont or Blok, Siwczyk-Lammersexamines the impact of distinct political events on Briusov's lyrical output. She divides his work into seven separate historical periods, albeit acknowledging a certain overlap, for instance between the war poetry and the poetry on the 19I7 revolutions.The first period, from I899 to I903, treats 'forerunner texts', poems such as 'Kamenshik'or 'Na osuzhdenie Dreifusa',where a socio-politicalengagement is manifest and where specificproblems such as the rise of anti-Semitism are highlighted. Next, Siwczyk-Lammers investigates Briusov's lyrics on the Russo-Japanesewar, chartinghis changing attitudefrom nationalisticfervour to disillusionment. The I905 Revolution received a similarly ambivalent treatment, with poems such as 'Griadushchie gunny' or 'Lik Meduzy' emphasizing the barbaric, destructive power of the Revolution, and lyrics 724 SEER, 82, 3, 2004 such as 'Dovol'nym' criticizing Nikolai II's manifesto of I7 October. Briusov's poetry on the First World War, profoundly influenced by his experiences as a correspondent, also manifests a progression from enthusiasm to bitterness and regret. Whilst Briusov clearly recognized the historical significance of the February Revolution, he continued to regard literature as his main task. However, Siwczyk-Lammers remarks on his move away from poetry towards active participation as an editor, a translator, critic, and organizer of cultural events. The October Revolution sees Briusov in the camp of the new Bolshevik power; his lyrics chart the progress of the revolution and focus particularly on Lenin's role. After 1924, Siwczyk-Lammers finds his poetic output marked both by a certain denial of reality, as manifest in the work of other writers who did not emigrate, as well as a certain 'opportunism or a disguise or even an honest conversion through the social ideal of communist Russia' (p. 267). As this last statement shows, Briusov's political position is complex. At times, a more in-depth analysis of the tension between his Symbolist convictions and his political activism, notably his simultaneous insistence on artistic freedom and the engagement of the poet, would occasionally have been desirable. Siwczyk-Lammers's title promises an investigation of Briusov's lyrics within the context of the Symbolist movement as a whole. Occasionally she does focus on Briusov's relationship with his contemporaries, for instance when she highlights his ongoing literary dialogue with Bal...