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Georgian Symbolism: Context and Influence

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Georgian Symbolism: Context and Influence International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature E-ISSN: 2200-3452 & P-ISSN: 2200-3592 www.ijalel.aiac.org.au Georgian Symbolism: Context and Influence Tatia Oboladze* Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia Corresponding Author: Tatia Oboladze, E-mail: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history In the 1910s in the Georgian literary area the first Symbolist group TsisperiQantsebi (The Blue Received: November 18, 2017 Horns) comes into being, with a clearly defined purpose and aesthetic position, which implied Accepted: January 27, 2018 renewing the Georgian literature and including it into the Western context. Desiring to expand Published: March 01, 2018 the thought area and to modernize Georgian literature, Georgian Symbolists rested on the Volume: 7 Issue: 2 philosophical and worldview principles of French Symbolism. Georgian Symbolism appears Advance access: February 2018 as an original invariant generated from the French Symbolist aesthetics, which is unequivocally national. Conflicts of interest: None Funding: None Key words: Georgian Symbolism, Georgian Modernism, The Blue Horns In 1916, when European, namely French Symbolism in also by their public activities performed an enormous role fact was a completed project, the first Symbolist literary in the process of Europeanization of Georgian literature and group Tsisperi Qantsebi (The Blue Horns)1 came into being transformation of Georgia into a cultural centre, in general. in Georgia. Young poets united to achieve a common objec- The socio-political and cultural context of France of the tive, which implied restoring the artificially broken connec- 19th c. and Georgia of the early 20th c. were totally different. tion of Georgian literature with the Western area. Desiring In particular, the socio-political changes which followed the to re-conceptualize the national identity and to modernize French Revolution of 1789 became a starting point of a new Georgian literature, Tsisperqantselebi rested on the philo- age and a model of subsequent revolutions not only in France sophical and worldview principles of French Symbolism. but also in the entire Western area. As regards Georgia, from Symbolism considerably determined the direction of further 1802 it found itself within the Russian Empire. In the 1910s development of world literature and every trend taking shape (1918-1921) Georgia obtained independence for a few years, within Modernism was formed to a certain extent taking into but from 1921 was forced to become one of the members account exactly the aesthetic position of Symbolism. Thus, of the Soviet Socialist Republic. As a result of the change the fact that Tsisperqantselebi took interest in Symbolism in of the social formation, in parallel with the revolutions and order to renew Georgian literature appears to be quite easy to World War I, Georgia faced the necessity of re-conceptual- understand. Main goal of the paper is to overcome the opin- izing the national identity. If in the 19th-c. French literature ion dominating in the Soviet and Post - Soviet criticism that the tendencies of Romanticism and Realism (with certain Georgian symbolism is artificial, anti-national phenomenon variations) co-existed and it was distinguished by paradoxes, and imitation of French or Russian symbolist schools. striving towards continuous formal novelties, the beginning It should be noted that Symbolism in Georgian litera- of the 20th c. is the period of stagnation of Georgian culture. ture is, on the one hand, related with the name of Galaktion Although in the work of individual authors (A.Abasheli, Tabidze, in whose work the Symbolist tendencies were re- S.Shanshiashvili etc.) the aesthetic signs of modernism are vealed the most clearly, and on the other one, with the order observable, on the whole, literature was predominated by of 13 poets Tsisperi Qantsebi. The object of our present in- epigonism2. Thus, despite the different cultural atmosphere, terest is to define the role of Tsisperqantselebi in Georgian Symbolism both is France and in Georgia was preceded by a literature and to study their work, as: 1. in Georgian literature political, social, cultural or worldview crisis; precisely crisis the foundation of the order of Tsisperi Qantsebi was the first is one of the defining factors for formation of the Symbolist precedent to create an organized literary school with well-de- trend. fined objective and aesthetic position; 2. Tsisperqantselebi From the viewpoint of the study of the history of the issue, not only by their creative work and theoretical thought, but it is interesting that at the beginning of the 20th c. the appear- Published by Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD. Copyright (c) the author(s). This is an open access article under CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.2p.110 Georgian Symbolism: Context and Influence 111 ance of the journal Tsisperi Qantsebi3 caused a sharp, mostly situation of that time (implying revolutionary turbulence, negative reaction. Although Tsisperqantselebi were defend- repressions of the reaction period, changes having occurred ed by merited public figures (K.Abashidze, Ar.Jorjadze and in human consciousness, scientific and technological prog- Gr. Robakidze), the shocking behavior of the young poets, ress, and outbreak of World War I) and taking into account complete negation of the literary tradition, utter criticism of Georgian epigonous literature of the 1910s. Georgian Sym- great authorities4 proved to be unacceptable for the major- bolism appears as an original invariant generated from the ity of the Georgian society. Later on, Soviet criticism pro- European Symbolist aesthetics, a different model of French claimed the work of Tsisperqantselebi as an “anti-popular”, Symbolism, which taking into consideration national objec- negative phenomenon. After the establishing of the Soviet tives, does not immediately rest on French Symbolism, but union, Socialist Realism was formed as the only acceptable on a specific interpretation of this primary source (Balaki- literary discourse. “Literature, as one of the most significant an 1977: 9). In the Manifesto of Tsisperqantselebi we read: ideological levers for the new authorities, soon became the “There is no danger in the fact that Symbolism finds its way proscenium of political and social “commissions”: some au- into our country from abroad…When the people borrow thors obeyed this tendency with pleasure, some – under com- something from others, they pass it through their furnace, by pulsion, and only a small part dared to put up resistance.” means of national apperception adopt what agrees with their (Ratiani 2013-2014: 156). Tsisperqantselebi too obeyed national peculiarity, what has a close relation with them” under compulsion the current Soviet situation, the majori- (Tabidze 1916:126). ty of them, however, fell victim to repressions; in 1937 the It should also necessarily be noted that the ideological founder of the group Paolo Iashvili committed suicide at the and aesthetic position of Tsisperqantselebi was not firm, that Writers’ House; the main ideologists of the group Titsian is why Georgian scholar Lali Avaliani notes: “The scrupu- Tabidze and Nikolo Mitsishvili were shot in the same year; lous study of the group indicates that it is not right to identify Grigol Robakidze, recognized as the maestro by Tsisperqa- “The Blue Order”with “Georgian Symbolism”. Its eclecti- ntselebi, emigrated to save his life, whereas others obeyed cism (deviation towards Futurism and Dadaism), absence of the new reality against their will. In the conditions of the consecutive ideological-aesthetic system and abundance of Soviet totalitarian rule, although Georgian Symbolism failed mutually exclusive viewpoints, sometimes opposing Sym- to be manifested fully, its existence, as an original model, is bolism, offers sufficient grounds to consider “Georgian Sym- beyond doubt. bolism” only as a conventional term”. (Avaliani 2012:13). In our view, desiring to expand the thought area and to Indeed, characteristic features of various Avant-garde trends, modernize Georgian literature, Georgian Symbolists rest- namely, Futurism and Dadaism, are clearly demonstrated in ed on philosophical and worldview principles of French the work and manifestos of Georgian Symbolists. A clear Symbolism. By their manifestos, critical articles and work example is the Manifesto of Tsisperqantselebi. Thus, Paolo Tsisperqantselebi not only defined the place and role of Iashvili writes: “We glorify the beauty of destruction, reject Georgian Symbolism in the global cultural area, but also the past…We wish Georgia to turn into an infinite, dreaming indicated clearly the Western landmarks of Georgian liter- city, in which the noise of animated streets will replace the ature. They deliberately refused the marginal status, and af- emerald of flowering valleys”. (Iashvili 1916:108). Despite ter Paris announced as an art centre Tbilisi. In the process the eclecticism of the work of Tsisperqantselebi we think of forming their creative and worldview position Georgian that at the initial stage of the existence of the group their Symbolists chose as the main authorities “the big four” – work was defined by Symbolist aesthetics. We fully share Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, Stéphane Mallarmé the following viewpoint of Georgian literary critic Bela Tsi- and Paul Verlaine. By mentioning their names and texts,
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