Poems of Poets

The 19th century was a time of flourish for Russian poetry, its Golden Age. This era gifted the world with the wonderful works of A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov. And although, according to the sixth critic of that time, V.G. Belinsky, "after Pushkin and Lermontov, it is difficult to be not only remarkable but also any kind of poet," Russian classical poetry still developed.
In the second half of the 19th century, poets were conditionally divided into poets of "pure art," who developed romantic traditions, and poets of "civic lyricism," who developed the realistic tradition. The main criterion for this division was the understanding of the poet's and poetry's purpose. The aim of "civic poetry" was to "remind the mob that the people are suffering" (N.L. Nekrasov). Poets of "pure art" distanced themselves from reality, mostly addressing eternal philosophical and universal human themes. They believed that art should be independent of power and the people, that its purpose is to create a beautiful poetic world. Among the poets of "pure art" were F.I. Tyutchev, A.A. Fet, A.N. Maikov, A.K. Tolstoy. Despite disagreements, poets from different directions were united by their devotion to the ideals of beauty and truth, goodness, and love for their homeland. None of the poets of "pure art" denied the principles of justice, and the poets of "civic lyricism" reflected the subtlest movements of the soul of the lyrical hero in their works, which seemed unusual for them. The works of Russian lyricists from the second half of the 19th century are characterized by incredible musicality, many of them have become romances that are still popular today. As M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin noted, the romances of A.A. Fet are "sung by almost all of Russia." But these words can also be applied to the works of A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, A.N. Plescheev, F.I. Tyutchev.
For younger school age.
4th edition.