Cinema of pre-revolutionary decade in mirror of symbolistic criticism and poetry

The article reviews the problem of the artistic reception of cinematography by the writers of the Silver Age in criticism and poetry. Since the receptive tradition of the Symbolists had a significant impact on all Russian literature that addressed the theme of cinema, the article pays special attention to the consideration of the image of the "Great Mute" in the Symbolists' lyrics on the example of poems by A. Blok, V. Bryusov, F. Sologub, G. Ivanov and G. Chulkov. The content of the article is of interest in connection with the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, and it was based on the theses of the speech at the round table "Revolution and Literature: A Vision Through the Century" (November 7, 2017, philological faculty of Moscow State University). As a result of the research, it was concluded that before the revolution an attitude to the cinema was more like a mystical and technogenic interpretation of the Symbolists and it was perceived as an otherworldly feature, terrifying and at the same time fascinating realm of dreams and deceit; but soon the "Great Mute" became the emblem of a modern democratic urban culture, designed to make a revolution in the art system. The Great October Revolution opened not only a new page in history, but also significantly influenced the situation of cinema and literature.