It is the lyrics in the traditional meaning of this word that personifies the most personal, subjective
kind of literature. And the concept of a “lyrical hero” is a term that was first proposed just in order to describe the phenomenon that arose in the works of Alexander Blok. He first specified this hitherto blurred appearance, making the characters of his poems close in spirit to himself. Now we often use this term as a complete synonym for the author’s image, although this is not entirely true.
The history of the term and its first definition
The history of the concept of “lyrical hero” began on October 9, 1921. On this day, the writer and researcher Tynyanov made a report on the memory of the Bloc. There he says that he mourned the death of Blok-man, and not Blok-poet or publicist. But how do ordinary people know the Block Man? The answer is simple. The poet described himself in verse, his lyrical hero is Alexander Alexandrovich himself. This human appearance cannot be created from one of his works; it consists only of a combination of poems and poems. For example, one can trace such a pattern. In the early verses of Blok, the lyrical hero is a tall image, prince, Hamlet. Then this portrait is complicated by the appearance of a “dark double”. But Tynianov distinguishes one more image - the image of the poet, the “nominator”, a person who composes words in poetry.
The reader, as a rule, getting acquainted with the works of any author, searches in them for familiar heroes, features already known to him, familiar metaphors. And Blok retains in his poems some stamping, so beloved by readers of the melodramatic plot. Therefore, the
image of the lyrical hero remained recognizable, close, beloved for many generations of people, and he always personified the voice of time, era. Sincerity has always bribed the reader. So, we can conclude that in Blok the lyrical hero is a prototype of the poet, but assembled from a variety of traits, sometimes opposite.
What qualities does a lyrical hero have?
At the beginning of the article, it was said that using this term as a complete correspondence to the image of the author is wrong. Why? It should be remembered that the character of the lyrical hero, his actions, intonations are traits created by the author. In some cases, as, for example, with Alexander Blok, Andrei Bely, they coincide with the image of the person who created the work, but nevertheless it is impossible to identify these concepts. A lyrical hero is a character that exists only in a work, created by the author, in some ways artificial, dependent on the ups and downs of the plot. Yes, he has his own feelings, assessments, intonation, but this is also a merit of the author. Those wishing to understand more deeply the poet or writer should analyze several works or turn to other, biographical materials (correspondence, memoirs, etc.). There, of course, the existence of invented lyrical images will already be ruled out, but you will recognize the author from a historical, personal and moral point of view. Sometimes it is necessary to understand the reasons for this or that behavior of the images created by him, because in literature there is a similar concept - “the image of the author”.