마야꼬프스끼 – 그는 하이포마니아인가?

Abstract

Vladimir Mayakovsky (Владимир Маяковский, 1893 - 1930), the Russian poet and playwright, was the first artist to sincerely support the Russian Revolution of 1917. He dreamed of an avantgarde proletarian art and culture, making himself 'the Drummer of the Revolution' and immediately coming to the fore of the movement. He worked hard as a poet, writer and cultural activist and became a leading contemporary artist. This study examines the characteristics of hypomania, found in the psychological background of Vladimir Mayakovsky who lived a challenging and passionate life as an artist and cultural activist. Hypomania is a new concept first put forth by the American Psychiatric Association in 1976 that was found during the study of Manic Depressive disorder. People with hypomania are full of creativity and energy and become ‘successful people’ by happily taking care of many things when they are in the state of hypomania. Faced with major depression, however, they can suffer from bipolar II disorder. This study examines the hypomanic nature of Vladimir Mayakovsky’s life and art and analyzes correlations. From an external point of view, Mayakovsky lived a happy and successful life. From an internal point of view, however, he was a very fragile and unstable person. In the end, he loved his life with great passion. He loved the revolution, art, his work, women, Lilya and even ambient air. This kind of enthusiasm originated in his hypomanic nature, thanks to which he created a glorious legacy as a leading poet, writer, graphic designer and cultural activist in Russia in the 20th century. At the same time, he failed to overcome the negative aspects of hypomania and eventually killed himself (‘completed suicide’ is the most tragic complication of depressive illness); in the end, his hypomanic nature was a double-edged sword to him. It appears that further study of these kinds of cases will yield better understanding of Russian literature and artists.