Baptism in the Works of Russian Poets of the Silver Age: From Ritual to Symbol Introduction: Religious Symbol in the Age of Religious Quests The theme of Baptism (Epiphany) in the poetry of the Silver Age (turn of the 19th-20th centuries) ceases to be exclusively confessional and turns into a powerful, multifaceted cultural and philosophical symbol. This was a time of intense spiritual searches, the synthesis of Christianity with paganism, mysticism, and aestheticism. The ritual of water baptism, the appearance of Christ to the people, and the purification by water became metaphors for expressing key ideas of the era: creative transfiguration, spiritual rebirth, encounter with the otherworldly, and tragic epochal rift. Alexander Blok: Baptism as a Premonition of Catastrophe and PurificationFor Alexander Blok, the central figure of the era, the theme of Baptism is deeply personal and eschatological. In his world, the ritual lacks domestic coziness; it is a mystery at the threshold of the apocalypse. “Verbochki” (1906): At first glance, this is a bright, almost folkloric depiction of pre-holiday hustle and bustle. However, in the end, a troubling, prophetic image arises: “Tomorrow I will rise first / For the holy day / … / Look, how the sun rises, / The heavens sink into the abyss”. “The abyss of the heavens” is both the baptismal hole (iordan) and a metaphor for the impending historical break. Baptism here is a point of transition, where the joy of the ritual borders on mystical horror. The cycle “Terrible World” and late lyrics: The image of the cold and ice of the baptismal water becomes a symbol of spiritual numbness, “stiffness”, binding Blok in the “terrible world” of vulgarity. In the poem “To Muse” there are lines: “And such attracts with force, / That I am ready to affirm for gossip, / That you brought angels to seduce me at night”. The seduction by angels is a complex, almost blasphemous metaphor, calling into question the purity of any “Epiphany”. For Blok, ... Read more