Prayer as a genre in Lermontov's lyrics. Creativity Lermontov. The originality of Lermontov's lyrics

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

Already in the past year, 2014, the literary world celebrated the 200th anniversary of the great Russian poet and prose writer - Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. He is certainly an iconic figure in Russian literature. His rich work, created in a short life, had a considerable influence on other famous Russian poets and writers of both the 19th and 20th centuries. Here we will consider the main motives in the work of Lermontov, and also talk about the originality of the poet's lyrics.

On the origin of the Lermontov family and the upbringing of the poet

Before we begin to consider the work of Mikhail Yurievich, it is necessary to write a few sentences about where the poet came from in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century with such an unusual surname for the then Russian ear. So, in all likelihood, Lermontov's ancestors came from Scotland and traced their origins to Thomas Lermontov, the legendary Celtic bard who lived in Scotland in the 13th century. Looking ahead, we point out one interesting detail: the great English poet George Byron, so respected by Lermontov, also considered himself a descendant of Thomas Lermontov, due to the fact that one of Byron's ancestors was married to a woman from the Lermontov family. So, at the beginning of the 17th century, one of the representatives of this surname was taken into Russian captivity, entered the military service, converted to Orthodoxy and became the ancestor of the Russian surname Lermontov. However, it is worth noting that Mikhail Yurievich himself initially associated his last name with Francisco Gomez Lerma, a Spanish statesman of the 16th century. This is reflected in the drama The Spaniards written by Lermontov. But the poet devoted lines from the poem "Desire" to his Scottish roots. Lermontov's childhood passed in the Tarkhany estate of the Penza province. The poet was brought up mainly by his grandmother, Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva, who loved her grandson to madness. Little Misha was not distinguished by good he alth and was ill with scrofula. Due to his poor he alth and this illness, Misha could not spend his childhood the way many of his peers spent it, and therefore his own imagination became the main "toy" for him. But none of those around and relatives even noticed either the inner state of the poet, or his dreams and wanderings around "his own, other worlds." It was then that Misha felt in himself those very loneliness, gloom and - on the part of other people - misunderstanding that would accompany him throughout the rest of his life.

Lermontov's literary heritage

CreativeLermontov's path, like his life, was very short, but extremely productive. All of his conscious literary activity - from the very first student attempts at writing to writing the pinnacle of his prose, the novel "A Hero of Our Time" - lasted a little over twelve years. And during this time, the poet Lermontov managed to write more than four hundred poems, about thirty poems and six dramas, and the prose writer Lermontov also wrote three novels. Researchers usually divide all the writer's work into two periods: early and mature. The boundary between these periods is usually the second half of 1835 and the first half of 1836. But let's keep in mind that throughout his entire career, Lermontov remained faithful to his ideas, literary and life principles, which were formed at the very initial stage of his formation as a poet, as a person. The decisive role in the creative development of Mikhail Yurievich was played by two great poets: Pushkin and Byron. Characteristic for Byron's poems, the attraction to romantic individualism, to the depiction of the deepest spiritual passions, to lyrical expression, to the type of hero who is in conflict with the people around him, and sometimes with the whole society, is manifested especially clearly in the poet's early lyrics. But the poet Lermontov still overcomes Byron’s influence on his work, which he writes about in his verse “No, I am not Byron, I am different …”, while Pushkin was and remained for him an invariable literary landmark throughout his life. And if initially Lermontov directly imitated Pushkin, then already in the mature period of hiscreativity, he consistently began to develop Pushkin's ideas and traditions, sometimes as if entering into some kind of creative polemic with him. In his later work, Lermontov, we see, was completely disappointed in life, he already ceases to portray his inner world as something exceptional, but, on the contrary, begins to move on to ordinary feelings. However, he did not manage to resolve his eternal question, which tormented his soul from his youth. Or not in time.

Lermontov's lyrics

Lermontov's work cannot be imagined without his lyrics. We have all read his poems. Lyrica M. Yu. Lermontov is largely autobiographical: she relies on the sincere emotional experiences of the poet, due to the events of his personal life and torment. However, it is worth noting that this autobiography is not just from the real life of the poet, but the most literary, that is, creatively transformed and interpreted by Lermontov himself through the prism of his perception of the world and himself. The subject of Mikhail Yuryevich's poems is unusually wide. The main motives of Lermontov's lyrics are philosophical, patriotic, love, religious. He wrote about friendship, about nature, about the search for the meaning of life. And when you read these verses, an amazing feeling involuntarily arises - a bright feeling of the deepest sorrow and sadness … But what a bright feeling it is! And now we will dwell on these motives in more detail and show what is the originality of Lermontov's lyrics.

Loneliness and the search for the meaning of life

Lermontov's lyrics, poetryhis, especially the early ones, are almost all permeated with the experience of sad loneliness. Already the first poems show a mood of denial and despondency. Although already quite quickly these moods, where the poet himself is seen in the face of the lyrical hero, change to an open monologue, and in it we are already talking about people who do not care about talent and the inner world of the human soul. In the "Monologue" Lermontov no longer speaks about a person, but about people, that is, in fact, the personal "I" is inferior to the broader "we". This is how the image of an empty generation, spoiled by this world, is formed. The image of the "cup of life" is very common for the "early" Lermontov; it reaches its culmination in the poem of the same name "The Cup of Life". And it was not in vain that the poet himself spoke of himself as an eternally suffering person. The image of eternal wanderers gives the key and clue to the entire poem "Clouds", since the fate of the clouds described by the poet becomes close to the fate of the poet himself. Like Lermontov himself, the clouds have to leave their native land. But the trick is that no one drives these same clouds, they become wanderers of their own free will. This opposition of two worldviews, that is, freedom that frees a person from his attachments, from love, from other people, is denied. Yes, I am free in suffering and persecution, and my choice, but I am not free because I suffer, because my own ideals, principles and Motherland are not forgotten.

Political motives in Lermontov's work

Lermontov's lyrics, poetry isthe poet's testament to posterity. And he bequeathed to serve the best human ideals, embodying them in eternal works of art. Many of Lermontov's poems entered the hearts of compatriots precisely during the days of national Russian mourning, for example, in the days of the death of the genius Pushkin, when the country mourned, having lost its best poet. The author of the verse "On the Death of a Poet" shocked Pushkin's friends and confused his enemies, thereby arousing hatred in the latter. The enemies of Pushkin, the poetic genius, also became the enemies of Lermontov. And such a struggle of Russian poetry with its enemies, stranglers and oppressors of the beloved Motherland continued through the efforts of Lermontov. And no matter how difficult this struggle may be, the victory still remains with Russian literature - one of the greatest world literatures. Before Lermontov, there was practically no case for a poet to simply “throw” poems so strong and frank in the face of the government that they instantly caused a certain resonance in society: excitement and anxiety. Such was Lermontov's poem "On the Death of a Poet" and several others. This poem sounded not only as a voice of anger and sorrow, but above all - retribution. It reflects the tragedy of an advanced thinking personality in Russia in the first half of the 19th century.

The theme of love in Lermontov's lyrics

The originality of Lermontov's lyrics is emphasized in his poems about love. In Lermontov's love lyrics, sadness almost always sounds, penetrating the entire verse. In the early period of the poet's work, we can hardly find bright, joyful emotions in his love lyrics. And this distinguishes him from Pushkin. ATLermontov's poems of the early period are primarily about unrequited love, about female infidelity, when a woman cannot appreciate the sublime feelings of the poet, her friend. However, in poetry, Lermontov often finds the strength in himself, based on his own moral principles, to abandon personal happiness and claims in favor of the woman he loves. The female images depicted in Lermontov's poems are serious and charming. Even in the smallest love poem, the poet put all his cordiality, all his feelings for his beloved. These are poems that, without a doubt, were born and were caused solely by love. Love objective, Christian, "correct", not selfish, despite the strongest annoyance, expressed in sharp rhyming lines. However, Lermontov was not a melancholic, he was a tragic poet… Although he was exceptionally demanding of people and life, looking at everything from the height of an indisputable genius talent. But every year the poet's faith in friendship and love only grew stronger. He searched and even found what he could call "soulmate". In the late lyrics of the poet, the theme of unrequited, lonely love is less and less common, Mikhail Yuryevich increasingly begins to write about the possibility and necessity of mutual understanding between people who are close in spirit; more and more often he writes about devotion and fidelity. Love lyrics by M. Yu. Lermontov of recent years is almost free from the hopeless mental anguish that so often tormented the poet before. He became different. To love and be friends, as the “late” Lermontov believed, means to wish good to your neighbor, to forgive all minor insults.

Philosophical poems of the poet

Philosophical motives in Lermontov's lyrics, as well as all his work, in perception and emotions, are mostly tragic. But this is by no means the fault of the poet himself, but he simply saw the world around him, his life filled with injustice and suffering. He is constantly looking, but almost always does not find harmony in life and an outlet for his passions. The rebellious and ardent heart of the poet is constantly striving for freedom from this "dungeon" of his life. In our unjust world, according to Lermontov's philosophical lyrics, only evil, indifference, inactivity, opportunism can coexist. All these topics concern Lermontov especially in the poem “Monologue” we have already mentioned. There we see his heavy, bitter reflections about his own destiny, his destiny, about the meaning of life, about the soul. Philosophical motifs in Lermontov's lyrics are subordinated to the idea that the poet in this world does not find real freedom, sincerity of feelings, genuine storms and unrest in the souls and hearts of other people so necessary for his soul, but finds indifference instead of those storms. Lermontov, talking about his own life, in which an indelible eternal longing prevails, seeks to become like a blue wave noisily rolling its waters, then a white sail rushing into the distance in search of storms and passions. But he does not find this either in his native land or in foreign lands. Mikhail Yuryevich ironically realizes all the tragic transience of earthly life. A person lives and seeks happiness, but dies without finding it on earth. But in some verses we see that Lermontov is nothe also believes in happiness after death, in the afterlife, in which he, being an Orthodox Christian, unconditionally believed. That is why in many of his philosophical poems we can easily find skeptical lines. For Lermontov, life is a constant struggle, a continuous confrontation between two principles, a desire for goodness and light, for God. The literary quintessence of his concept of the world and man is one of the most famous poems - "Sail".

Prayer as a special genre in Lermontov's poetry

Let's consider another layer of the poet's poems. The theme of prayer in Lermontov's lyrics plays a significant, if not more, role. Let's consider in more detail. Prayer in Lermontov's lyrics, perhaps, can even identify a special kind of "genre". Mikhail Yuryevich, brought up in Orthodoxy, has several poems that have the name "Prayer". The poem "Gratitude" is similar in theme to them. However, the attitude of the poet himself to God is contradictory. Prayer as a genre in Lermontov's lyrics is constantly evolving. From 1829 to 1832, Lermontov's "prayers" were built, one might say, according to a certain principle familiar to everyone, and the lyrical "I" really calls out to God and asks Him for protection and help, referring to faith with hope, as well as sympathy. But if we take a later period, then we can observe in the poet's prayer verses already a certain resistance to the will of the Almighty, supported by irony, audacity and sometimes requests for death. By the way, itis partially visible in the early verses, at least in "Do not blame me, Omnipotent …". Such a turn in the lyrics can be associated with the stormy and rebellious nature of Lermontov, the differences in his behavior and mood, as both the poet's acquaintances and biographers say. Perhaps no one else - neither before nor after Lermontov - if we study Russian poetry, we will not find such "prayer" verses as those of Mikhail Yuryevich, but, which is very important, prayer as a genre in Lermontov's lyrics almost necessarily has a character some mystery. The most striking poem is "Do not blame me, Almighty …", where the poet most accurately and accurately describes his personality, which is born for creativity. But he wrote it at the age of 15. The poet's feeling and awareness of the gift given to him is so precise and understandable in this vivid verse, and the words to God are so sincere and original that even an inexperienced reader feels it right away. Lermontov exposes the inconsistency of his soul, and of human nature in general. On the one hand, she is firmly riveted to this earthly gloom and suffering, and on the other hand, she aspires to God and understands the highest cherished values. Prayer as a genre in Lermontov's lyrics often begins with a kind of repentant appeal to the Almighty, who can both accuse and punish. But simultaneously with this repentance in the stanzas of the mentioned verse, the reader also feels how the notes of self-justification, forbidden for any prayer, slip through. In the rapid change of states, there is an inner "I" of a person, opposed to the will of God, and from this confrontation,repentance and murmuring, the feeling of anxiety grows, the connection between man and God is broken. Prayer as a genre in Lermontov's lyrics is a verse where the request for forgiveness is usually muted by the justification of one's unbridled passions and deeds.

Lermontov's lyrics in the school curriculum

In our time, Lermontov's lyrics are actively studied according to the compulsory program in literature lessons, from elementary to graduate grades. First of all, poems are studied, in which the main motives of Lermontov's lyrics are clearly traced. Schoolchildren in elementary school get acquainted with the work of Mikhail Yuryevich, and only in the senior classes are studied the "adult" lyrics of Lermontov (grade 10). Tenth-graders do not just study individual of his poems, but determine the main motives of Lermontov's poetry as a whole, learn to understand poetic texts.

Prose M. Yu. Lermontov

And in Lermontov's prose, the attitude towards introspection found a fruitful embodiment, where it was transformed into the experience of creating a generalized psychological portrait of the "hero of his time", absorbing the features of the entire generation and at the same time retaining both his individual face and extraordinaryness own nature. Lermontov's prose grows on romantic soil, but the romantic principles in it are functionally changed and reassigned to the tasks of realistic writing.

Lermontov's creativity is a great value for every person. Thanks to him, each of us thinks about the philosophical problems presented in novels and dramas. And Lermontov's poems, at least one or two, are probably known by heart by every person.