Elena Guro and the holy fool as prophet, performer, and poet

Elena Guro is best known for her association with the Russian futurist writers Khlebnikov, Mayakovsky, Kryuchonykh, and the Burlyuk brothers. With her husband Mikhail Matyushin she formed a publishing house called The Crane (Zhuravl') and printed several works by these writers, including A Hatchery of Judges I and II. But I suggest that Guro's work is highly original and should be examined beyond its association with futurism. In an attempt to unlock the seemingly impenetrable oeuvre of the poet and artist Elena Guro (1877--1913), this dissertation identifies a recurrent element that offers an interpretive pathway: a hero figure who, though he appears in several guises, is always fundamentally a holy fool. Guro represents her holy fool/hero as a prophet, a performer, and most importantly for Guro, as a poet.; The first section of this work explores Guro's hero in his prophetic manifestation. He is a meek and humble figure, characterized by a child-like innocence or foolishness. But the holy fool sees what others do not. He is a prophet. I will consider Guro's holy fool as a prophet in her short prose piece "Bulanka," in her poem "The Poor Knight," and in her play "Autumnal Dream."; The second section of this study addresses Guro's holy fool as a performer. She borrows from the tradition of the balagan and, like Alexander Blok and many other writers, and depicts her hero as a silly puppet in her poems "Boredom," "A Child's Little Hurdy-Gurdy," "Lunar," and in her play "Poor Harlequin." But as a holy fool, Guro's hero in fact mirrors the sins of those who watch his spectacle, offering the spectator a chance for spiritual salvation. Guro explores the symbiotic relationship between the holy fool and his audience. This has spiritual significance but also demonstrates the importance of the audience for the artist, as is particularly evident in Guro's short prose piece "Songs of the City." Out of Guro's meditations on both the creation and reception of art emerges her most profound image: the holy fool as a poet.; The third and final section of this work considers Guro's holy fool as a poet. Her hero still embodies the characteristics of the prophet and the performer but now he is also a creator. Guro often shows the struggle and even the failure of the poet, as I will consider with her two short prose pieces "So Goes Life" and "Vasia." But she also indicates that the duty of the poet is a divine mission, a gift received at birth. This is most apparent in her longest prose work, The Poor Knight. For Guro childhood is the natural state of the poet because innocence allows for imagination and creativity. Only by maintaining innocence, like that of a holy fool, can one fulfill the calling of the poet. And only by keeping the figure of the holy fool squarely in one's critical sight can one fulfill the calling of the poet's reader.