April 1840 Lermontov will have to go to the Caucasus - for the second time - because of a duel with the son of the French ambassador. The great poet says goodbye to his friends, bitterly and sadly realizing to him that tomorrow he will leave his homeland ... Then he saw clouds floating over the Neva, and the lines began to be born by themselves. From this point on, the analysis of the poem “Cloud” by Lermontov should begin. Being written as if on occasion, it is nevertheless striking in the depth of psychologism and the magnitude of philosophical generalization.
Lyrical plot and composition
The poem that interests us is built of three stanzas. The first of them opens with a dynamic landscape-mood, which represents the characteristic Lermontov space formed by the axis “sky - earth”. However, the main emotional background in the work is not formed by clouds. An analysis of Lermontov’s poem showed that it is the contrasting sense of loneliness, homelessness with respect to the peaceful sketch that is dominant here. The lyrical hero compares himself with the wandering clouds, and this becomes especially evident in the second stanza, because, in fact, the author’s alter ego in rhetorical questions gives reasons for his exile. Envy, anger, poisonous slander - all this in accrual only emphasizes the complete restlessness, loneliness of the lyrical hero.
But then the similarity that has arisen is completely denied, as the analysis of Lermontov’s poem M. Yu. “Clouds” shows. In the third stanza, the main, conceptually significant is precisely the difference between the lyrical hero and the clouds: the last, outside observers (but not participants) of the vain world of people are absolutely free. They do not have a homeland, which means they cannot be considered genuine exiles. The final chord of the poem is a powerful stream of loneliness and complete lack of freedom, painted in tragic colors.
Lyrical hero
The period when the "Clouds" were written was very difficult for the poet. He felt a tremendous internal discord because he could not control his fate. This is especially felt in the image of the lyrical hero, who experienced tremendous loneliness. In fact, if you study the whole work of the poet as a whole, and not just analyze the poem “Cloud” by Lermontov, you can see that almost the only way out for the lyrical hero was the eternal deliverer - death. Not at all trying to comprehend the complex nature of Mikhail Yuryevich, one can, however, argue that this understanding was gradually reflected in his penchant for dueling. Some contemporaries even claimed that the poet deliberately sought death in order to leave this world in which he was literally suffocating.
Concept level
We continue to consider the "Clouds". M. Lermontov (analysis of the poem clearly showed this) created a poetic image that can be transferred to many representatives of the generation of the 40s with a slight stretch. He did not have events that allowed him to show his heroism (like the battle of Borodino). The war in the Caucasus was such an empty and absurd undertaking that its participants are unlikely to be able to enter the annals of history with dignity. Cold, feelingless clouds are comparable to Pechorin from The Hero of Our Time, who, due to extreme selfishness, puts on psychological experiments on other characters, which in some cases end very tragically (recall Grushnitsky).
However, there is another possible interpretation of the poem, which is somewhat in conflict with the first. The usual, it would seem, landscape sketch was created by the poet to demonstrate the striking discord between man and the harmonious nature that the clouds represent. An analysis of Lermontov’s poem “Three Palm Trees” shows the same thing, emphasizing the consumer's attitude to the world around him. And it will certainly make itself felt, sometimes in very destructive forms.
Means of Expression
Analysis of the poem "Cloud" Lermontov suggests, in addition, the study of means of expression. They are mainly represented by epithets that are metaphorical (“barren cornfields”), and personification: persecuted clouds are compared with homeless wanderers. Of the non-mentioned syntactic figures, anaphora is also found here - a repetition of the union “or” in a series of rhetorical questions in the second stanza, which gives the poetic text more emotionality.
Rhyming system
The analysis of Lermontov’s “Cloud” poem is coming to an end; only the versification system remains unclear. The text is written in four-footed dactyl; rhyme cross. Lermontov uses a few unexpected harmonies (“pearl” - “southern”), but this only testifies to the richness of his poetic language.
Thus, the "Clouds" of Lermontov are one of the many peaks of Russian poetry of the century before last.