Motive of loneliness in Lermontov's lyrics. The theme of loneliness in the lyrics of M.Yu. Lermontov

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The motive of loneliness in Lermontov's lyrics runs like a refrain through all his works. First of all, this is due to the biography of the poet, which left an imprint on his worldview. He lost his mother early, relations with his father did not work out. The only close person was the grandmother - Elizaveta Arsenyeva, who did not have a soul in little Misha. Already in childhood, Lermontov realized that he was different from those around him. Throughout his short life, the poet was alone. The motive of loneliness in the lyrics of M. Yu. Lermontov is not only the theme of his work, but also a state of mind.

A poet from a completely different era

So called the poet Belinsky, comparing with A. S. Pushkin. Already in the early lyrics of Lermontov, the leading motives of his work appear: poetic chosenness, which entails a lonely existence. But he understands that he is unable to change anything, so he voluntarily accepts a kind of exile. II’m used to loneliness,”the lyrical hero, who is so similar to Lermontov himself, admits.

The time in which he lived and worked also influenced the character of the poet. The war with Napoleon, the uprising of the Decembrists - these events were deposited in the memory not only of Lermontov, but of all his contemporaries. So, in the poem "Duma" the poet comes to the conclusion that pessimistic moods are characteristic of the whole generation. The lyrical hero is a tired, surrounded by a crowd, but a lonely person. He is worried about the inaction, the indifference of people to public life.

The motive of loneliness in the lyrics of M. Yu. Lermontov (material "Sail")

The poet wrote the famous "Sail" at the age of seventeen. The ground for him was the personal experiences of the young Lermontov. Due to a conflict with a professor, the poet had to leave Moscow University and, at the insistence of his grandmother, move to St. Petersburg to enter the cadet school. The poet's feelings about the future formed the basis of the poem. The images of the sea, storms, sails accompany the motifs of grief and loneliness in Lermontov's lyrics, especially in his early works. The lyrical hero can be described as rebellious and lonely. This is exactly what the poet himself was like, all his life “looking for storms.”

One in the crowd

Smart and educated Lermontov was hard to get along with people. He saw his dissimilarity to others in childhood. According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, he was a direct, caustic, secretive person, so he was often disliked and even hated. Lermontov suffered greatly from the inability to be understood.

So, in the poem “How often, surrounded by a motley crowd …” he draws a society of soulless people deprived of human warmth. A false, limited crowd oppresses the lyrical hero, he understands that he does not belong here. Dreamily he draws the image of his beloved. Unfortunately, he realizes that this is all a hoax, and he is still alone.

The motive of loneliness in Lermontov's lyrics also sounds in the work "I go out alone on the road …", which he wrote three months before his death. In it, the poet philosophically sums up his life, reflects on death. “Waiting for what? / Do I regret anything? - the lyrical hero asks himself. He dreams of falling asleep sweetly under the oak, enjoying the singing of his beloved.

The poet also foresees his imminent tragic death in the poem "Prophet", written a few weeks before his death. Lermontov does not leave the feeling of grief, he is full of despair, he does not believe in the recognition of descendants, the value of his work. He compares himself to a prophet who is destined to be persecuted and misunderstood by those around him.

Love suffering reflected in the poet's lyrics

It is known that Lermontov was unlucky in love. The poet's strongest affection, the image of which remained to live on the pages of works and in the lines of poems - the charming Varenka Lopukhina - became someone else's wife. Difficult relationships connected them until the death of the poet, the news of which finally broke Varvara. She survived her beloved by only ten years. It was the features of Lopukhina that he was looking for in other women.

Another muse of the poet -Ekaterina Sushkova - only played with his feelings, however, like Natalya Ivanova, who cheated on him. It is not surprising that the theme of loneliness in the lyrics of M. Yu. Lermontov is especially evident in love poems.

"We were accidentally brought together by fate" - the first work addressed to Varenka Lopukhina. Already in it the motive of separation, the impossibility of happiness and mutual love sounds. In the poem "The Beggar", the motive of loneliness in Lermontov's lyrics is caused by unrequited feelings. The work was written in 1830 and is related to the early work of the poet. In the poem, Lermontov compares himself to a beggar who, instead of alms, was given stones in his hand. Such was the relationship of the poet with Ekaterina Sushkova, which formed the basis of the work.

The cycle of poems dedicated to Natasha Ivanova is a story of unrequited love and bitter disappointment. “I am not worthy, perhaps / of Your love,” the author addresses her. “No, I don’t love you so passionately …” - the poet writes shortly before his death. To whom this poem is dedicated has not been fully established.

Loneliness or freedom?

Motives of loneliness, longing for freedom in the lyrics of M. Yu. Lermontov are central in the poem "Clouds". It was written in 1840, on the eve of the poet's second exile to the Caucasus. The images of clouds, waves and clouds symbolize the freedom that the lyrical hero lacks so much. He compares himself to clouds, ironically calls them "exiles". Freedom and loneliness in the poet's work cannot exist without each other. So,in the poem "Desire" the hero longs for temporary freedom, and in "The Prisoner" it becomes the only goal.

It's lonely in the wild north…

Lermontov never translated, but in the winter of 1841, shortly before his death, he made several translations of a poem by the German poet Heinrich Heine, which were included in the "Lyric Cycle". We know this work as "In the wild north stands alone …". It especially clearly felt the motive of loneliness in the lyrics of Lermontov. We know that because of the difficult nature of the poet, they did not understand and did not accept. And he so wanted warmth, the support of a loved one.

The image of a pine growing in the far north personifies the thoughts and moods of Lermontov himself. In a lonely tree, the poet recognized himself. However, he did not lose hope of meeting a true friend - in the poem, his prototype was a palm tree growing in the south and as lonely as a pine tree.

Instead of a conclusion

The theme of loneliness in the lyrics of M. Yu. Lermontov came to replace the bright poetry of A. S. Pushkin. The poet struggled all his life with the outside world and suffered deeply from the fact that he was not understood. Emotional experiences are reflected in his work, permeated with melancholy and sorrow.

Love in Pushkin is a bright, inspiring feeling, while in Lermontov it is inseparable from sadness and pain. So, the writer and critic Dmitry Merezhkovsky called Alexander Sergeevich a daylight, and Mikhail Yuryevich a night luminary.our poetry.

Lermontov's thoughts and views were new and incomprehensible to Russia, so it was difficult for him to find like-minded people. He was sent into exile twice, and his poems were severely censored. But, despite all this, the poet fought, directly expressed his feelings and thoughts, while consciously dooming himself to loneliness.