The most famous works are, as a rule, those that are considered the best, they are included in the school curriculum and recommended for reading to every layman.
In the article we will provide a list of the works of such a great Russian poet as Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov. Few people know that he was also a great artist, his love of art was discovered from childhood.
Lermontov’s poems remain in demand to this day - the poet touched on the topic of love in them, wrote about the Caucasus, nature, the homeland, as well as poems for children.
From the article you will learn the most famous works of Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov - if some of the list have not been read before - be sure to take a little time to read and read.
10. In the north, wild stands alone ...
- Year of writing: 1814;
- genre: elegy.
Poem "In the north, wild stands alone ..." schoolchildren study in the 6th grade. The writer told him about his spiritual experiences - he dreamed of a soul mate, wrote about loneliness, disturbing every person. Lermontov embodied his experiences in nature, taking palm trees and pine trees for images.
The reader gets to know the pine right away - she stands alone in the North, and her only consolation is the dream. A dream carries a pine tree to the warm lands where a lone palm tree lives.
Pine and palm trees suffer, each from different things - pine from the northern cold, and palm from the hot climate. The northern tree takes the palm tree for its soul mate, but, unfortunately, there is no way to reach it ... The only way is to enjoy scraps of dreams.
9. The cliff
- Year of writing: 1841;
- genre: landscape and philosophical lyrics.
"Cliff" was written a few weeks before the death of the author - Lermontov died in June 1841 at the age of 26 years in a duel with N.S. Martynov.
The poet has repeatedly returned in his works to the theme of loneliness, and the poem "The Cliff" is also devoted to it. He says that you can meet someone who will cause awe, only for a short moment - the rest of the time a person has to stay in the “desert”.
Interesting fact: the image of the “desert” is not accidentally used by the author in his works, because it is a symbol of renunciation and loneliness.
The meaning of the poem is that a person cannot always be happy - this happens only by chance, fleetingly. The theme of loneliness is very clearly present especially in the last lines, perhaps the cliff recalls his youth, being already an old man.
8. Sail
- Year of writing: 1832;
- genre: lyrical short story.
The poem describes a sail - it floats alone on the sea. Loneliness was very important for Lermontov - he took him for freedom.
"Sail" It represents a troubled hero, who has suffered a lot of difficulties, in the poem there are such words as “threw”, “seeks” - this can be explained by a rushing soul.
The hero of the work, perhaps, is trying to find harmony within himself, and is experiencing bitterness from any loss. A lone sail sailing in the sea attracts him because he is as lonely as he is.
7. Song about the merchant Kalashnikov
- Year of writing: 1837;
- genre: poem.
"Song about the merchant Kalashnikov" - This is a poem about the duality of good and evil. Despite the fact that the main characters of the poem (the merchant Kalashnikov and the oprichnik Kiribeevich) are both handsome, strong and young, they are very different from each other.
Alena Dmitrievna (the wife of the merchant) caused a quarrel between them, Kiribeevich tried to take his wife away from him. There was a duel at the royal court, Kiribeevich was killed by a merchant.
The tsar ordered Kalashnikov to be executed, but he acted with dignity, defending the honor of his family. The merchant Kalashnikov was not afraid of either royal anger or a guardian.
6. The death of the poet
- Year of writing: 1837;
- genre: lyrical monologue.
In his poem "Death of poet" Lermontov writes that society is guilty of the death of the poet. He wrote it after the death of Pushkin (he died in a duel in 1837 at the age of 37), which shocked Lermontov to the core.
In a fit of despair, the poet wrote a poem in which he expressed his disagreement with the policies of his state, as well as with senior officials who justified the murderer of Pushkin, the French military leader Dantes.
In The Death of a Poet, it is written about Pushkin’s unjust and early departure, Lermontov condemns those who were arrogant and ridiculed a talented poet.
5. The demon
- Year of writing: 1839;
- genre: poem.
"Daemon" - One of the best poems in Russian literature, read in one breath. She is full of philosophical thoughts about good and evil, the impossibility of love.
In "Demon" there are many references to mythological motives. If you briefly deduce the idea that the author wanted to convey to the reader, the poem says that it is worth giving in to temptations and doubting how the devil, without thinking, will seduce the human soul and lead him along the path of evil.
But fortitude, appeal to the Lord can protect a person from the tricks of the devil.
Interesting fact: illustrations for Lermontov’s poem “Demon” were painted by Russian symbolist artist Mikhail Vrubel.
4. Mtsyri
- Year of writing: 1839;
- genre: romantic poem.
The theme can be defined as the story of a young novice who fled from the monastery. IN Mtsyri the revolt of the protagonist is clearly traced against the everyday life existing in the monastery, to further tragedy - death.
Lermontov revealed the theme of the struggle for his freedom, misunderstanding of the environment, as well as the theme of love - for his family and homeland.
The meaning of the poem is to call for struggle, defending its freedom. “Mtsyri” is a kind of ideal for revolutionaries - an independent and proud young man wants to be free, and it doesn’t matter that his life will have to pay for his dream.
Interesting fact: the monastery in modern criticism is seen as a symbol of the prison of the human spirit, where it is not so easy to get out. And having run away, Mtsyri has nowhere to return, he does not find happiness, and the natural world has long been alien to him ...
3. Caucasian captive
- Year of writing: 1828;
- genre: Russian classics.
The fate of the poet Mikhail Yurievich was formed in such a way that the Caucasus left the most vivid childhood memories in it. In 1825, he visited there, after which he transferred his admiration for nature on paper - he painted watercolor landscapes.
In the famous poem "Prisoner of the Caucasus" one can find the author’s keen interest in the life and customs of Caucasian highlanders. The captive acts as a romantic hero, but there are no signs of disappointment in him. The hero is longing for his homeland and needs the support of friends.
The Circassian girl, being an outcast prisoner, does not take revenge on him, but helps to escape. This makes her noble and proves that her thoughts are pure. But the denouement is very dramatic - both heroes die.
2. The hero of our time
- Year of writing: 1841;
- genre: social romance that includes several genres.
It is not known exactly when the novel was started "Hero of our time", the author worked on it for a long time. He wanted to create a work that would surprise his contemporaries.
Lermontov read "Eugene Onegin" by Alexander Pushkin, after which he was inspired to create a novel. The main theme of the work is an extra person.
Pechorin sees more than others, he is smarter, prudent, colder, more cynical than everyone else, but this is his misfortune. Others may be less intelligent and far-sighted, but they live: love, worry, suffer ...
The meaning of the work is that you can be educated and smart, but lose the essence of your existence.
For reference: Lermontov’s famous work teaches readers to purposefully go towards their goals.
1. Borodino
- Year of writing: 1837;
- genre: poem.
The poem of the author Borodino dedicated to the Battle of Borodino (the largest battle of the Patriotic War of 1812, between the Russian and French armies; the Russian confronted Napoleon's army).
Lermontov conceived his poem as a gift to veterans and all of Russia on the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino.
Sketches of the future poem ripened in the poet as a child - he closely communicated with the brother of grandmother Elizabeth Alekseevna, Athanasius Stolypin, who was a participant in the battle of Borodino, and willingly listened to his stories.