THE AESTHETIC CONCEPTION OF GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE

Abstract

The article examines the poetic and aesthetic vision of Guillaume Apollinaire, focusing on his collection Alcools (1913) in the context of the European avant-garde and the origins of Surrealism.

Drawing on Baudelaire’s famous idea that one must “always be drunk,” the author shows that for Apollinaire intoxication symbolizes inspiration, love, and creativity, helping human beings overcome the burden of everyday life. Closely associated with Picasso and other avant-garde artists, Apollinaire developed an innovative poetic language that blended tradition and modernity. One of its most distinctive features was the rejection of punctuation, which enhanced the freedom, fluidity, and ambiguity of his verse.

Mythological and Christian themes play a central role in his poetry. Apollinaire reinterprets ancient, Celtic, and biblical stories, creating a personal mythology for the modern individual. Images of Christ, suffering, sacrifice, and hope give his work a profound spiritual dimension.

The main features of his aesthetics are: inspiration as a form of liberation, poetic innovation, the renewal of myth, and the use of Christian symbolism. His poetry brings together modernism and tradition, myth and modernity, the sacred and the everyday.