Themes of Lermontov’s poems have always been diverse, but the lyrics took a special place in the work of the great Russian classic. Mikhail Yuryevich, as a teenager, always dreamed of going to a ball, to shine in secular society, but when his dream finally came true, he realized how hypocritical all the people around him were hypocritical. The man quickly cooled to receptions, grandiloquent conversations that were pointless and radically different from the surrounding reality.
The analysis “How often a motley crowd is surrounded” by Lermontov allows us to understand how difficult it was for the poet to be among
two-faced people who put on friendly masks, but who have no heart, pity, and conscience. Mikhail Yuryevich himself did not know how to conduct small talk, he never spoke compliments to women, and when it was necessary to maintain a conversation on etiquette, he became too sarcastic and abrupt. Therefore, Lermontov was called a rude and ill-mannered man who despised etiquette.
The poem "How often a motley crowd is surrounded" was written in January 1840, just at that time the writer received a vacation and came for a few weeks to stay in Moscow. At this time, one after the other, winter balls were held, although Mikhail Yuryevich did not want to attend social events, but he could not ignore them. The analysis “How often a motley crowd is surrounded” by Lermontov allows us to understand how alien to the people around him are the author. He is in the midst of the hustle and bustle of variegatedly dressed ladies and gentlemen who conduct small conversations, and he is immersed in thoughts of the days irrevocably past.
Mikhail Lermontov kept in his memory the memories of his childhood, when he was still happy. Thoughts carry the poet to the village of Mikhailovskoye, where he lived with his parents. He is dear to that period of a carefree childhood, when his mother was alive, and he could spend hours wandering around the garden with a destroyed greenhouse, tedding the fallen yellow leaves and living in a high noble house. The analysis of “How often a motley crowd is surrounded” by Lermontov shows how different is the idealistic picture drawn by the author’s imagination from the reality in which he is surrounded by images of soulless people, “a whisper of hardened speeches” is heard.
At social events, Mikhail Yurievich preferred to retire to a secluded place and indulge in dreams there. He personified his dreams with a mysterious stranger, he himself came up with her image and found him so charming that he could sit out for hours without noticing the fuss and noise of the crowd rushing around. The analysis of “How often a motley crowd is surrounded” by Lermontov allows us to understand how difficult it was for the poet to restrain her feelings and cover her impulses with an insensible mask.
Sooner or later, the minutes of Mikhail’s solitude ended, and one of those present interrupted his dreams with meaningless chatter. At the moment of returning to the real world of manhood and lies, he really wanted to throw something sharp into the eyes of the hypocrites, to douse them with anger and bitterness, to spoil the fun. The poem "How often it is surrounded by a motley crowd" ideally characterizes the unpredictable and contradictory inner world of the poet, because it combines both romance and aggression.