Comparative analysis of poems by Pushkin and Lermontov, Tyutchev and Fet

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The poetry of the classics of Russian literature is the key to understanding oneself, to finding the right answers to the questions posed. Among the poets, one can single out those who in their own work were similar to each other and those who were real antipodes. The first ones help to understand and reveal certain topics more deeply. The latter, thanks to the game built on contrasts, due to the dissimilarity of characters, attitudes, moods, make us ask more and more new questions. Today, this article will offer a comparative analysis of poems by precisely different authors: A. S. Pushkin and M. Yu. Lermontov, as well as F. I. Tyutchev and A. A. Feta.

"Prophet" A. S. Pushkin

In order to reflect the objectively existing differences in the work of Pushkin and Lermontov, it is necessary to consider the direction of their poetic activity separately from each other. This can be helped by the most famous poems of both poets, dedicated to the same topic, where the difference comes through most clearly.

So, the famous "Prophet" by Alexander Sergeevich, beginning with the words "We languish with spiritual thirst, I dragged myself in the gloomy desert …", affects, like the eponymouspoem by Lermontov, the theme of poetry and the place of the poet in the world of people. However, Pushkin's work was written earlier - in 1826 during his exile in Mikhailovskoye, while Mikhail Yuryevich created his own "Prophet" only in 1841.

Alexander Sergeevich's poem is imbued with the idea of the rebirth of an ordinary person into a poet - a kind of mouthpiece of God's voice and his will on earth, sacrificing himself in the name of tireless enlightenment and inspiring humanity to good, right deeds. The metamorphoses of rebirth are painful and unpleasant, but to endure them is the sacred duty of the “prophet”. As an instruction, the lord points out to the main character: “Burn the hearts of people with the verb!”. Here it is, the main purpose of the poet according to Pushkin.

The poem is written in the genre of an ode, in an elevated and solemn style, in order to ex alt the importance of the important mission entrusted to the poet from above. The poetics of the work is characterized by numerous epithets (“spiritual”, “idle”, “prophetic”, “quivering”), metaphors (“burn with the verb”, “shudder of the sky”), comparisons (“I lay like a corpse in the desert”, “like at the frightened eagle ). On the whole, the poem has a certain halo of divinity, an atmosphere of biblical truth, which is also emphasized by numerous Old Slavicisms.

"Prophet" M. Yu. Lermontov

Unlike A. S. Pushkin, the work of Mikhail Yuriev, a comparative analysis with which will be carried out further, has a completely different focus. Here the poet is not a prophet, but an outcast despised by society. He, likein The Prophet, 1826, born to help people, but no longer needed by them. The old people call him a self-satisfied "fool", allegedly naively deciding that it is through his mouth that the Lord speaks, the children bypass him. The young, suffering soul of the poet is lonely, and his fate is tragic. Only nature accepts it, because the creator himself took care of it: among oak forests and fields, under the twinkling brilliance of stars, a poet can meet understanding.

The genre of Lermontov's "Prophet" is a lyrical confession. Written in the same iambic tetrameter as that of Pushkin, here the poem remains as if unsaid, breaks off as if in mid-sentence, as in Alexander Sergeevich, although everything important has already been said.

Now it's time to consider directly the comparative analysis of the "Prophet" by Pushkin and Lermontov. What is the fundamental difference between both works from each other?

Comparative analysis of poems by Pushkin and Lermontov

As can be seen from the above analysis, these poems by Lermontov and Pushkin differ significantly, if not in form, then in genre and content. Although the lyrical hero of both works is a rejected and lonely member of society, Alexander Sergeevich still retains hope to change the situation, as he hears a clear instruction from heaven, sees an angel appearing to him as a messenger, and is strengthened in the knowledge that his work holy.

Comparative analysis of the "Prophet" by Pushkin and Lermontov also revealsthe fact that the lyrical hero from Lermontov's poem, which seems to be a continuation of what Alexander Sergeevich left off, is tragic and even lost. The signs that appear to him in the form of the obedience of nature are indirect and cannot be considered in the context of a direct message from God. This is where the total, absolute loss of connection with the people comes from, which we will not meet with Alexander Sergeevich: Lermontov's poet got confused, lost his guiding star and was forced to wander in the dark.

Thus, a comparative analysis of the "Prophet" by Pushkin and Lermontov proves how fundamentally different were the worldviews of the poets. Their dissimilar views are reflected literally in any of the products of creativity of both authors. At the same time, the writers complement each other very colorfully.

Creativity A. A. Feta

In order to conduct another comparative analysis, one should refer to the activities of Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet. An innovator in poetry, this man today occupies a special place among the classics of Russian literature. Fet's poems are an example of the most refined and subtle lyrics, combining the charm of form and depth of content. The main thing for Afanasy Afanasyevich was the expression of the most insignificant impulses of the soul and emotional state, in connection with which he constantly played with the form, liberating and changing it in different ways to convey all shades of feelings through it. The nature of Fet is humanized as much as possible, which is achieved through multiple personifications: “sobbing” herbs, “widowed azure”, waking up “with every branch” appear before the readerforest.

It is curious that one of the most famous poems by A. A. Feta called "Whisper, timid breathing …" is written completely without the use of verbs, although it would seem that this part of speech is leading in any language. Apparently, Fet decided to ignore or refute this claim and rejected the action. Using only adjectives and nouns, he created a true hymn to nature and love.

Style and poetics F. I. Tyutcheva

Unlike Fet, Tyutchev's poems are deeply philosophical lyrics. They do not have the lightness inherent in the works of Afanasy Afanasyevich, but psychologism is revealed, which is manifested even in the depiction of landscapes. The poet's favorite tricks are antithesis (opposition), as well as the use of numerous verbs and non-union constructions that create dynamism of action and activity of plot development within the work. Tyutchev's poems reveal no less than Fet's attention to a person's personality and the slightest movements of his soul.

Comparative analysis of the poems and styles of Fet and Tyutchev

If we talk about poets in terms of comparison, it should be noted that for Tyutchev, more than for Fet, the manifestation of tragic notes and motives is characteristic. It is likely that this is due to the biography of the writer, who had an experience of great, but sad love for a woman named Elena Aleksandrovna Denisyeva, whose relationship was considered criminal in the eyes of society and was constantly condemned. Poems of the "Denisiev cycle",for example, Silentium!, “Oh, how deadly we love…” and others are the most touching in the poet's work, but at the same time they do not lose hopeless sadness.

On the work of A. A. Feta love also left a serious imprint. Having fallen in love with a girl from a poor family, Fet was poor and could not offer her anything but his feelings. However, soon the girl tragically died. Fet carried the memory of her through his whole life and his own work, but, unlike Tyutchev, these memories aroused bright thoughts and emotions in him, which as a result led to the creation of inspiring, full of life poems, like “I came to you with greetings”, "May night" and others.