Lermontov's “Duma” was written in 1838, while the writer returned from exile. The poem is written in poetic form, widely used at that time by Decembrist poets. In terms of genre, the work, like Death of a Poet, belongs to the elegy satire. Mikhail Yuryevich reproaches his generation for cowardice, inaction and indifference in The Duma. Young people condemn the mistakes of the “fathers” generation, but they themselves do nothing by refusing to fight and not taking part in public life.
The main theme of the poem
Lermontov's “Duma” sends its satire not to the court society, which the poet was angry at before, but to the entire noble intelligentsia of the 30s of the XIX century. The writer characterizes the entire generation to which he belongs; it is not for nothing that he uses the pronoun "we". Mikhail Yuryevich reproaches himself for inaction, equates to helpless and miserable people who have done nothing for posterity. The generation of the 1810-1820s was completely different, freedom-loving Decembrists grew out of it, even if they were mistaken and paid cruelly for it, but at least they tried to change the country for the better.
The poet sincerely regrets that he was not born several decades earlier, because his contemporaries are boring and useless to society. They are not interested in art or poetry, they are not talking about good and evil, they are trying with all their might to remain neutral and not provoke the anger of the authorities, they have withdrawn from public life, having occupied themselves with “futile science”, and Lermontov did not want this at all. The Duma, the theme of which reveals the character of the entire generation of the 1830s, is devoted to the social behavior of a person; it is a cry of the poet’s tormented soul.
Contemplation of the Past, Present, and Future
Lermontov's “Duma” clearly shows how the writer relates to the generation of “fathers,” contemporaries and descendants. Mikhail Yuryevich admires the courage and bravery of the Decembrists, even if they were mistaken, but their heroic deeds left their mark in the history of the country, stirred up the public, laid the foundation for a popular protest against the tyranny of those in power. At the same time, Lermontov’s contemporaries are not mistaken in anything, but they are not doing anything. The poet’s soul is eager for battle, he wants to change something, express his protest, but he doesn’t see like-minded people, and fighting alone is pointless. Lermontov’s “Duma” is a regret for the incompetent time spent.
Civil trial of contemporaries
To make the poem more vivid and more accessible to express his thought, the author used epithets revealing emotions, accurate metaphors, words in a figurative meaning. Each quatrain is a complete thought. The poem by M. Yu. Lermontov “Duma” condemns the intelligentsia of the 1830s, living “the late minds of the fathers”. The Decembrists were burned and severely punished for disobedience, the next generation recognized the struggle as useless and reconciled with the order of things. Educated people do not have firm convictions, goals, principles, attachments, they go the same way, but there is no point in this. Lermontov is very upset by this and reproaches himself for powerlessness and futility.