Russian Poets of the Silver Age

The Silver Age is a figurative name in the history of Russian poetry at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century. It was "one of the most refined epochs in the history of Russian culture, an era of creative upsurge and philosophy." This is what the Russian philosopher N.A. Berdyaev wrote, who gave this name to this period of culture and art. The first decades of the 20th century were a complex and terrible page in the history of Russia – an era of wars and revolutions. "The Russian souls were seized by premonitions of impending catastrophes. The poets saw not only dawns but also something horrifying, looming over Russia and the world..." The poetry of the Silver Age absorbed ancient mythology, biblical history, and the rich experience of European and world literature; it is closely connected with Russian folklore, its songs, laments, legends, and ditties. The book includes poems and verses by Russian poets of the Silver Age from various poetic directions and movements: I. Annensky, K. V. V. Fofanov, D. Merezhkovsky, K. Balmont, V. Bryusov, A. Blok, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelshtam, M. Tsvetaeva, and others.