M.Yu. Lermontov "Three palm trees": analysis of the poem

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

Mikhail Lermontov wrote Three Palms in 1838. The work is a poetic parable with a deep philosophical meaning. There are no lyrical heroes here, the poet revived nature itself, endowed it with the ability to think and feel. Mikhail Yuryevich very often wrote poems about the world around him. He loved nature and was kind to her, this work is an attempt to reach people's hearts and make them be kinder.

Content of the poem

Lermontov's verse "Three palm trees" tells about three palm trees growing in the Arabian desert. A cold stream flows between the trees, turning the lifeless world into a beautiful oasis, a piece of paradise, which at any time of the day or night is ready to shelter the wanderer and quench his thirst. Everything would be fine, but palm trees are bored alone, they want to be useful to someone, and they grow in a place where no human has set foot. Only theyturned to God with a request to help them fulfill their destiny, as a caravan of merchants appears on the horizon.

Palms are happy to meet people, nodding their shaggy tops, but the beauty of the surrounding places is indifferent to them. Merchants took full jugs of cold water, and trees were cut down to make a fire. The once blooming oasis turned into a handful of ash overnight, which was soon dispelled by the wind. The caravan left, and only a lonely and defenseless stream remained in the desert, drying up under the hot rays of the sun and carried by flying sand.

"Be careful what you wish for - sometimes it comes true"

Lermontov "Three palm trees" wrote to reveal the nature of the relationship between man and nature. People very rarely appreciate what the world around them gives them, they are cruel and heartless, they think only about their own benefit. Guided by a momentary whim, a person, without hesitation, is able to destroy the fragile planet on which he himself lives. An analysis of Lermontov's poem "Three Palm Trees" shows that the author wanted to make people think about their behavior. Nature cannot defend itself, but it is capable of revenge.

From a philosophical point of view, the poem contains religious themes. The poet is convinced that you can ask the Creator for whatever your heart desires, but will the end result satisfy you? Everyone has their own destiny, life goes on as it is destined from above, but if a person refuses to put up with it and begs for something, then such a rush can lead to fatal consequences - this is what the reader is aboutwarns Lermontov.

Three palm trees are prototypes of people who are characterized by pride. The heroines do not understand that they are not puppeteers, but only puppets in the hands of others. Often we strive for some cherished goal, we try to speed up events, by all means we try to translate desires into reality. But in the end, the result brings not pleasure, but disappointment, the goal set does not meet expectations at all. Lermontov wrote “Three Palms” in order to repent of his sins, to understand the motives of his own actions and to warn other people from striving to get what does not belong to them by right. Sometimes dreams do come true, turning not into joyful events, but into disaster.