What is the originality of Lermontov's work

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

Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov is considered one of the founders of the golden age of Russian literature. Chekhov and Tolstoy studied from his books, Bunin and Akhmatova were inspired by his poems. Mastery of the word captivates the reader even today, setting the highest standard for anyone who thinks of himself as a Russian writer.

A hero of his time

Lermontov is a poet of the era of the most powerful literary development and the most severe political reaction. His rich heritage and major literary works of life fit into one decade of the nineteenth century. The thirties are a time of anxious forebodings, joyless reflections on the future, denials and regrets. At this time, there is still a reaction to the defeat of the Decembrist revolutionaries who spoke in 1825.

Society is rushing about in search of an answer to the question of what to do, not fully accepting the harsh reality of the new military order. Nicholas the first introduces the thirdsecret police department, every word is censored, the names of aristocrats are stigmatized. All these realities are totally denied by the youth. Maximalism and denial become part of the new philosophy that young Mikhail embarks on.

The duality of literature

Literature asserts realism, which feeds the originality of Lermontov's work. Russian realism was surprisingly supplemented by its antonym - romanticism. And it was the young master of the word who managed to combine these two directions in a unique way, creating masterpieces in poetry, drama, prose.

Birth of a poetic character

Poetry in Lermontov's work is divided by researchers into two stages: youthful and mature years. The artistic image of the lyrical hero has clearly expressed individual character traits of the inner romantic, surrounded by the outside world.

While Mikhail was inspired by Byron's work, his characters turned out to be more idealized. Later, he finds his way, in which there is a tragic love line and no friendship. Life is presented in the form of reflections in solitude. This motif distinguishes him from Pushkin.

At the very center of the conflict lies the black year of Russia, which goes against the romantic views of the hero. Thus, harsh reality begins to control the subtle inner lyrical world. It is in this confrontation that the tragic originality of M. Yu. Lermontov's work is born. And over the years, this conflict only increases. This should give the lyrics pessimism and skepticism, which is observed in the work of other classics,for example, Baratynsky. However, Lermontov's "inner man" continues its movement and development, striving for high values. This is another distinguishing feature of the poet.

Loneliness in the work of Lermontov is a way to restore balance in your soul. The ideals of the lyrical hero seem unnatural to the author himself, he speaks of a “strange love” for his homeland, says that he was not created for people. The lyricist doesn't just find people's misunderstanding, he seems to be specifically looking for it.

The path of a poet who lives outside of social comforts was described by Pushkin. But the theme of poetry in Lermontov's work introduces a dialogue with the "inner man" into Russian lyrics. This concept was introduced by Belinsky as a synonym for the lyrical hero. His presence is an innovative feature of the future symbolism, because the image of a poetic character is transformed into a symbol over time.

Internal Imagism

It is with artistic metaphors that the nature of Lermontov's poem begins. Suffice it to recall the "Sail" of 1832. The author uses the same technique in the poems "Cliff", "Clouds of Heaven", "In the Wild North" and so on.

Lermontov's life and work are permeated with motives of conflicts of freedom and will, eternal memory and oblivion, deceit and love, cynicism and peace, earth and sky. All topics are interconnected and intertwined with one another, which creates a multifaceted artistic style of the author.

Belinsky described the poet's lyrics as pretentious because of the questions posed in it about the rights of the individual, fate and morality. However, the critic notes thatthese topics are immortal and always in demand.

The peculiarity of the language

The originality of Lermontov's language can best be understood by examining his works. In the poem "Sail" - this is an expression of sadness, sadness, the expectation of a storm in the meaning of struggle. At the same time, it is not clear what exactly this struggle is going on for, it remains unclear what it should lead to.

The words “Alas! He is not looking for happiness” occupy the strongest final position of the verb of motion. “And he doesn’t run from happiness,” is one of the semantic centers of the work. It turns out that the struggle and anxiety of the spirit are the companions of the desire for an unattainable ideal, the rejection of what has been achieved.

"Sail" is a kind of drawing of the author's artistic world, on the example of which one can see the originality of Lermontov's work. Romantic opposition to a personality that has forever lost its harmonic integrity.

For example, the double negation in the lines "No, it's not you that I love so passionately", which speaks of intense feelings and the search for an opportunity to relieve love tension. The originality of Lermontov's work is a way to raise the personality above the inconsistency of life, and not plunge it into the conflict, as it might seem at first glance. Even the irreconcilable struggle of life and death in his creations elevates the spirit of man above circumstances.

Rebellious soul of the "inner man"

The poetic language of the lyrics expresses the rebellious inner world of the hero. “Death of a Poet”, “Three Palms”, “Cossack Lullaby”, “Hero of Our Time” - this is a pathetic tension and restlessness. Whereinin all lines amazing clarity and clarity of expression. This, again, confirms the duality of the poet's values.

A huge number of contradictory meanings are united in a laconic three-part organization of three quatrains and in the poem "Sail". The quatrains form a triad, the second stanza contrasts with the first, but the third regains consonance.

The slender three-part form allows you to resolve contradictions very harmoniously, at least outwardly. The internal antithesis is connected, and tension and isolation with a single external border.

Mathematical accuracy of verses

Pechorin's monologue from "Princess Mary" reveals the conflict between the individual and society, resulting in internal contradictions. Pechorin's speech demonstrates numerous antitheses and perfectly well-built rhymes. Lermontov emphasizes the clarity of quatrains with punctuation, where dashes and colons alternate.

This form draws attention to the constraint of the character by internal boundaries, reveals unstoppable spiritual energy and powerful movement.

Thinking about the originality of Lermontov's work allows us to draw one more conclusion about the features of his lyrical language. The inventiveness of a painter in a word is a skill with which he can describe both the human inner world and natural life with various phenomena.

At the same time, the theme of loneliness lies at the heart of his entire poetic heritage. The word "one" is the most significant word in the author's language. Inside the hero is always concentrated a hugethe energy accumulated as a result of the denial of ordinary life with its petty passions, the disunity of the people. Loneliness in the work of Lermontov is filled with an unstoppable desire to achieve the ideal, the unity of life, world integrity and harmony.

Music of the word

The style of the master is very musical, and his prose has the intonation of sounds expressed in rhythmically organized speech. It was he who first developed a three-syllable meter, which was not possible before on such a scale to his predecessors, even Pushkin.

Poetry in Lermontov's work is full of various repetitions, rhythmic accents, internal rhythmic-syntactic interruptions and strict symmetries that clearly follow each other. Huge tensions result in ruthless reflections-confessions when a new conclusion is opposed to the original direct meaning. For example, lines about life, which, when "coldly examined", turns into an empty and stupid joke.

Today, loneliness in the work of Lermontov is studied in particular detail. The work of any kind of the author is subjected to serious artistic consideration. The romantic line in the poet's work is expressed by complex combinations of various genres and styles of speech. About the characters in A Hero of Our Time, Belinsky writes that the author was able to poetically express, even in Maxim Maksimych's simple, rough language, the picturesqueness of events. This gave a comic and touching look at the character's life.

Folk dialect as the highest rank of poetry

The life and work of Lermontov are closely connected with folklore. To the folka collection of 1840 addressed to the way of life. "A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov" recreated the style of Russian folk poetry. In The Field of Borodino, the soldier's romantic tirades later turned into popular speech in Borodino. Here, again, the unique originality of the rebellious nature of the author is superimposed on the lips of the characters. Here again Lermontov denies the present tense, expresses himself in his strange love for the Fatherland. Folk dialect in the intonations of the poet is elevated to the highest rank of poetry.

The originality of Lermontov's work made an undeniable contribution to the development of the artistic language. The critic V. Vinogradov explained this by the fact that the poet selected original stylistic means from Russian and Western European lyrics. At the junction of different cultures, he gave birth to new forms of literary expression, which continues Pushkin's traditions.

Learn Lermontov

Lermontov's language has a strong influence on subsequent Russian writers. Nekrasov, Blok, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov drew inspiration from it. Anton Pavlovich once said that Lermontov's language should be studied like in schools in order to learn how to write. From his point of view, there is no better language. The works left by Mikhail Yuryevich are a real mastery of the word.

Chosen or Misunderstood?

The author's works, whether prose or poem, fill the spiritual search for truth, thirst for activity, idealization of images of love and beauty. The inner man strives to be truly born, to become a personality, to be establishedlike a person. To do this, he is ready to embrace the whole world, to enclose the whole Universe with its stars in his chest. He seeks to connect with nature and "ordinary people", but he sees a different destiny for himself, relating to the elect, thereby alienating himself from society even more.

Loneliness in the work of Lermontov

Composing in the spirit of "the world-chased wanderer" in the younger lyrics for the poet, loneliness is described as a reward. In later years, it is rather a burden, boredom, which in the end give a note of tragedy. His works convey the feelings of the only person in the whole wide world.

This is how a hero appears, questioning such havens for the human soul as love, friendship, humility. Lermontov's hero is acutely experiencing his disorder. He misses balls surrounded by a motley crowd, he seems to be feeling around insensitive people “with the decency of pulled masks.”

In order to remove this oppression of soullessness, the character is increasingly transferred to childhood experiences. Lermontov has a desire, like a child, to challenge the world, to tear off the masks from the laity, to expose the crowd.

Loneliness forms an inner emptiness. Disappointment in society, in principle, the emotion of sadness and decadence is characteristic of the youth of the thirties. The political ban on the fulfillment of true desires for the transformation of the social system is transferred to private life. There is no hope of finding true happiness, love, friendship, self-realization. The famous "Sail", which is forever alone in the endless sea, is a vivid example of the feelings of the young generation of that time.

Human ties are fragile, and love is inseparable - this is what "Cliff", "In the wild north…", "Leaf" say about it.

After the Decembrist uprising, a powerful political reaction begins in the country. Reality seems to the generation of the thirties perverted, conflicting, hostile. This division between ideals and reality cannot be resolved peacefully, it cannot be reconciled. The solution to the confrontation is possible only as a result of the death of one of the parties.

Such a social climate has a detrimental effect on Lermontov-man, but revives the poet, promising him a tragic fate. The only thing that people continue to be interested in is the rights of the individual. Therefore, in a more mature period, the motives of Lermontov's work are increasingly aimed at criticizing the structure of society, exposing specific and acute problems. He desires to "boldly throw an iron verse" and does it all the time.

Death of a poet

Lermontov reproaches the generation of aimlessness, internal emptiness, mourns the fate of Russia, at the same time fills his works with contempt and hatred for her. The work of M. Yu. Lermontov is a rebellion against the existing order of things.

In the poem on Pushkin's death, the poet conveys a complex cocktail of conflicting feelings in his soul. There is grief, and admiration, and indignation. Pushkin in the work confronts the crowd, the third character is the poet mourning the genius, stigmatizing the public. Lermontov blames the world for the murder of Pushkin, it was society that directed the killer's hand. And again, Mikhail endows his hero, Pushkin, with loneliness, opposition to the whole world.

“The Death of a Poet” is a tribute to poetic genius, and besides, it is a bridge, a junction in history, where the continuity of skill and spirituality is formed. Lermontov's work is a continuation of the history of a whole generation, adopted from Pushkin. This is the voice of the youth, reflecting on the future of the country, its difficult state, the path and themselves. Pushkin was the sun of our nation, but they could not or did not want to save him.

This is the image of a genius among the pygmies who are unable to forgive, appreciate and protest, upholding their values. Lermontov's works were born at the intersection of emotions and rationality. A clear, intense thought beats in a ball of feelings and contradictions. There is a separation of the meanings of the concepts of a poet and a person, but a poet and poetry are united. Lermontov's work occupies a special place in Russian literature, representing a deep and rich material of reflections on the state, the world, time and personality in it.

The attitude of the maestro himself to poetry is expressed in the discord between the artist and the world. Refined art finds itself locked in the iron age of progress.

The mission of the poet

A poet for Lermontov is a prophet ridiculed by the crowd. He reflects on this in the works "Prophet" and "Poet". This is a continuation of the theme of the meaning of poetry in a society where the lyrics are often used for entertainment, instead of using their real divine gift, to fulfill their destiny. The poet comes into this world with God's command, which he brings to people.

A lyricist should tell a person the truth, expose, reveal beauty and love. According to Lermontov, people despise the prophet. This feeling hereturns to the crowd with the help of his poems. Thus, the lyrics turns in the poet's work from a hobby into a mission. Like any messiah, he is lonely, rejected and misunderstood.

Roots of contradictions

The life and work of M. Lermontov are full of contradictions. He was born in a family where there are constant clashes between loved ones. Mother and father, grandmother, who are at war with each other. The death of the mother and the break with the father in early childhood is another variant of the struggle, where a calm childhood could not stand against the hard reality. Misha's grandfather, who shot himself at the New Year's ball, according to his grandmother, was also full of internal conflicts.

And now, at the age of 15, the immortal "Demon" and "Spaniards" are already born, and a year later the famous "Masquerade". It seems that such feelings as painful doubts, gloomy forebodings, the expectation of a fatal end, the thirst for oblivion, were characteristic of the entire family of the poet.

Only rarely in the works of the singer of the soul do joy and hope sound. The writer described his life with two poems. These are "What's the point of living" and "What I wasn't born for."

The feeling of his own elitism, being chosen makes the poet select masterpieces from masterpieces for the public. Bryusov perfectly characterized Mikhail Yuryevich, calling the poet an unsolved creator. Bryusov saw the artistic originality of Lermontov's work in the creation of clear, as if "forged" poems.

The figure of Lermontov is still a mystery. The life and death of a lyricist is a mystery, but his contribution to Russian literature is invaluable.