Lermontov, "The Demon": a summary and analysis of the work

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

One of the geniuses who glorified Russian poetry is rightfully Mikhail Lermontov. "Demon", the summary of which even a schoolboy must know, is considered the best work of the poet. But he began to write this poem when he was only 15 years old! It's amazing how at such a young age one could know so much about love and fiery passion. But the main thing is the skill with which the young writer reveals these feelings to us, the readers. Only real, unsurpassed talent could achieve this.

Already from the first lines it becomes clear why Lermontov called his poem so - "Demon". A brief summary of it can also present this work as a real anthem of all-consuming love, which even infernal creatures are subject to. In the end, we sympathize with thisfallen angel. But the story begins with the fact that we see Lucifer flying above the earth. The peak of Kazbek floats under it like a diamond edge, and now the green valleys of Georgia flash under the wing. But the Demon does not experience anything but boredom and longing. Even evil bored him.

However, his spleen dissipates when he notices a joyful swarming somewhere below. These are preparations for the wedding: Gudal, the local prince, marries his only daughter. According to an old Georgian tradition, the bride, while waiting for the groom, must dance on the roof of the house, covered with carpets. This involuntary allusion with the dance of the biblical Salome is specifically evoked by readers Lermontov. The demon - the summary of the poem still gives us the opportunity to convey some nuances - breaks out of the captivity of indifference. After all, if the Hebrew princess asked for the head of the Forerunner for her dance, then Princess Tamara awakened the passion of a fallen angel with her light movements.

Falling in love with the "Son of Ether" for lack of better ideas, he decided first of all to remove the groom from the stage, hurrying to the bride's house with wedding gifts. At the instigation of the Demon, abreks attack the caravan - robbers who kill the young prince. The faithful horse brings the body to Gudal's yard, wailing and moaning are replaced by songs and cheerful music. Tamara is weeping for her betrothed in her room, when she hears a voice. He promises to console her. But who is speaking these words? Nobody around! But Lermontov does not keep us in the dark for long. Demon (summary, or rather, its retelling does not give usthe opportunity to convey it poetically) rushes to the beloved. On the very first night, the princess has a dream: a young man, beautiful as an angel, descends to her headboard. However, a halo does not shine around his head, and Tamara guesses that this is an “evil spirit.”

She asks her father to send her to a monastery, under the protection of the holy walls. Gudal balks - after all, new profitable suitors are harassing Tamara's hands, but in the end he gives up. However, visions do not leave the princess even in the monastery: through church singing and puffs of incense, she sees the same look, piercing like a dagger blade. Tamara passionately resists her love, tries to pray earnestly, but passion overcomes the strength of her heart. Realizing that she is in love, the novice surrenders. However, realizing that for a moment of intimacy with him, an earthly girl will pay with her life, the fallen angel hesitates, even though he is a Demon. Lermontov, whose summary of the poem we are retelling here, is not a refusal

feels his hero in positive terms.

Human compassion and tenderness suddenly embrace the son of perdition: he is even ready to abandon his original plan to seduce Tamara in order to save her life. But it was too late - passion seized him too. He just can't get away. One night, he appears in the cell of a young recluse already in the form of a material man, made of flesh and blood. But the way to Tamara's bed is blocked by a guardian angel. The demon scornfully explains to him that the earth is his possession, and the cherubim have no right to dispose of it. He confesses his love to Tamara, and she, touched by pity, answers himreciprocity. But the first kiss kills her. While Gudal is burying his daughter in a mountain mausoleum, the reader will learn Tamara's posthumous fate. She has reached paradise, but for her beloved, all paths to Salvation are already closed. But this is only a summary. "Demon" - Lermontov loved this poem of his very much - will always remain a mystery to us.