Poets of hope and despair : : the Russian symbolists in war and revolution, 1914-1918 / / by Ben Hellman.

• Author: Hellman, Ben, 1949-
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, [2018]
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Series: Russian History and Culture 21.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (377 pages).

In Poets of Hope and Despair: The Russian Symbolists in War and Revolution (1914-1918) , Ben Hellman examines the artistic responses and the philosophical and political attitudes of eight major Russian poets to the First World War and the revolutions of 1917. The historical cataclysms gave rise to apocalyptic premonitions and a thirst for a total spiritual metamorphosis. A major topic of discussion was the role of Russia in this process. Other issues raised were modern Germany, the future of a divided Poland, the occupation of Belgium, and the dilemma of the Russian Jews. In the wake of the military setbacks, hopes were mixed with feelings of fear and despair, all expressed in fictional as well as in nonfictional form.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Symbolism Before the War -- The War: Act I (1914-1915) -- The War: Act II (1915-1917) -- The War: Act III (1917-1918) -- The Symbolist Experience 1914-1918 -- Bibliography -- Index of Names.