The combination of the names Pushkin and Lermontov is very familiar to all readers who love and know Russian literature. Meanwhile, these are quite different poets. Themes and motives of Lermontovâs lyrics are peculiar and inimitable to talk about the similarity of these creators. Each poet remains in his work an individual personality.
One of the most famous works
The poetic biography of Mikhail Yuryevich began at the moment when Alexander Sergeyevich was gone. Literally a few days after the death of a genius, in the tragic January of one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven, leaflets with Lermontovâs poem, entitled "On the Death of a Poet", began to go around in his hands. This date was the starting point in the poetic biography of Mikhail Yuryevich.
In the forty-first year, he himself dies in a duel. Thus, his literary path turned out to be tragically small. This is just a little over four years. And how disproportionate this period is to the significance of this creator in Russian literature.
Lermontov wrote many poems, but a very small part of them became known to the reader during his lifetime. There were reasons for this. The fact is that Mikhail Yuryevich did not belong to the literary circle. This poet has stood apart all his life.
Craving for creativity, but not for fame
He studied at the Moscow University noble guesthouse, then for some time at the university and, having moved to St. Petersburg, entered the school of guards ensigns and cavalry cadets. All these institutions were the center of literary communication.
But for some time Lermontov did not even think about making a career in this field, despite the fact that during this period he writes with enthusiasm and passion. Hundreds of poems, poems and dramas were created, which Mikhail Yuryevich did not even try to publish.
The multifaceted and talented poet and prose writer
Mikhail Yurievich was a very gifted person. Many of his paintings and wonderful drawings have been preserved. He was gifted and musically. He played brilliantly on the piano, violin, flute, sang delightful romances and even composed music himself. And many of Lermontovâs lyrics often reflect his talents as an artist and musician.
Considering the fanciful network of sketches made by the poetâs pen on the pages of the manuscript, one can see images haunting him. These drawings, like all the themes and motives of Lermontovâs lyrics, show how the earthly and the heavenly, the angelic and the demonic, the sacred and the vicious, collide. In this world, the shocked soul of the creator seeks the harmony of happiness, but does not find it. And humanly, Mikhail Yurievich was deeply unhappy.
Change of eras and the main motives of the lyrics of Lermontov
Times of one thousand eight hundred and thirty years were associated with the departure from romanticism. Such poetry is a thing of the past, and Mikhail Yuryevich, as a creator, appeared in the wrong era. The romantic trends of Lermontovâs lyrics were perceived as outdated. One era was replaced by another.
At this difficult time, readers learned about the work of this poet. His poems were perceived differently. There were reasons for this. Mikhail Yuryevich, not only in life, but in the works of a man who adheres to extreme, radical beliefs. Take, for example, The Death of a Poet. The image of the martyr painted in it belongs to the hero, who has no chance to survive on this earth. A poet who is called to an uncompromising struggle with the whole world.
But this is not so. By the middle of his work, Alexander Sergeevich was trying to pay attention not to the extremes, but to find a middle ground. The themes of Lermontovâs lyrics express dissatisfaction with oneself and the world, hopeless sorrow, flight, struggle and the impossibility of harmony. And the main tone of Pushkinâs works is âbright sorrowâ.
The torment of the creative person
The main characteristic of Lermontovâs lyrics is the element of negation, which is present in almost all the works of Mikhail Yurievich. Before the reader, an image of a person constantly arises who does not agree to any harmony or half-hearted decisions, casts doubt on absolutely all the foundations of being.
The fate of a generation in Lermontovâs lyrics occupies a significant place. Works with such a motive are filled with special torment. The anxiety of the protagonist is eternal. And the poet transfers all these sensations of his persecuted lonely person, for whom there is no and cannot be in life any positive goal, to all modern offspring.
Here it is necessary to recall the verse "Duma", which describes the generation that failed to attach itself to the real case. The work "And boring and sad." In the center is a man who would be happy to give his neighbor a hand, but he is lonely, and the reasons for this loneliness lie in the state of peace, which he is from the point of view of the hero. This is how the fate of a generation is expressed in the lyrics of Lermontov. Life is full of confusion, loneliness and exile.
The difference between two generations of creators
The spirit of the Lermontov generation was very different from the Pushkin one. Between them there was a Decembrist uprising, which occurred in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-fifth. After its defeat, a completely different atmosphere reigned. People belonging to the previous opposition disappeared, a new one appeared, the postulates of which were reflected in the work of Mikhail Yuryevich.
This was also young people, mostly guards, who were very freedom-loving, but not hoping for any immediate good transformations. These are oppositionists of a different type - reflecting heroes. And the fate of a generation in the lyrics of Lermontov is revealed precisely with the help of such images. For example, the well-known Pechorin. This is a hero who defends himself all the time, he does not see harmony in the world, but seeks it and longs for it passionately.
Fighting false feelings and hating attitude to lies
But, in addition to the epoch-making and national, the fate of a generation in Lermontovâs lyrics has an eternal and universal significance. And in one of Mikhail Yuryevichâs poems, there are such words: âThere is a sense of truth in a personâs heart, a seed holy forever ...â. If you think about what this great poet and prose writer is dear to Russian literature, then, of course, this is what he was able to convey to the new generation a sense of truth.
A passionate thirst for truth, hatred of all falsehood, a painful feeling of loneliness, skepticism corroding the soul and at the same time an insane desire for life, harmony, were uniquely reflected in the characters and fates of the heroes of the poet and prose writer. Any themes of Lermontovâs lyrics are full of images that, during their lifetime, strive to embody the whole world in their consciousness, to cross the line between life and death.
Images in famous works
The hero of the drama "Masquerade" longs for spiritual freedom and human participation. But unlimited disbelief in life and people turns him into a killer. It ruins him. The main image of the poem "Mtsyri" also perishes, ready paradise and eternity to exchange for freedom.
Is Hero of Our Time the first socio-psychological novel in Russian prose? Arguing about freedom as the main value, Pechorin asks himself: "Why do I cherish it so much?" He seeks answers, invading the lives of other people, sowing death and suffering around him. Dooms itself to tragic loneliness and cold bitterness.
The fatalist intentionally tempts fate and remains alive. But this is only a temporary delay. A "Song about the merchant Kalashnikov"? The hero of this poem by his death affirms the honor and dignity of man. Turning to the folk sources of poetry, Lermontov passionately sought answers to the cardinal questions of life and death.
Everything related to the memory of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov is an invaluable asset not only of Russian, but of the entire world culture. The memory of a genius will never die in the souls of posterity. It serves as an inexhaustible source of inspiration, faith in life and love for the native land.