M. Yu's poem

Purpose: To continue learning the analysis of a literary text.
Tasks:
Educational:
Start studying the poem "Mtsyri"
Determine why Mtsyri is a romantic poem
Recall the main features of romanticism
Learn about the history of the poem
Understand the character of the protagonist of the poem "Mtsyri"
Present the pictures of nature depicted by the poet and comprehend their role in the ideological and artistic content of the poem.
Learn to work with the text of a work of art.
Developing:
Develop thinking, the ability to solve the problem, generalize, draw conclusions.
Educational
Raise interest in the work of M. Yu. Lermontov
To educate students in purposefulness, the desire to understand the true meaning and beauty of life.
To cultivate love for the Motherland, to help to realize the concept that without a homeland there is neither freedom nor happiness for a person.
Type of lesson: problematic lesson, heuristic conversation;
Equipment: the text of the poem.
Ways of analyzing the work: problem-thematic, analysis of genre features, composition, artistic means.
Techniques and methods for studying the material: analytical conversation, expressive reading, partially exploratory.
Sources (literary and scientific and methodological): critical articles by Yu. Mann, V. G. Belinsky, literary and methodological journal "First of September".
Information on the theory of literature: romanticism, romantic hero, poem, lyrical digression, composition, confession.
During the classes.
Greetings. Org.momentIntroductory speech of the teacher.
M. Yu. Lermontov was an unusually gifted man. He played the violin, painted pictures, was known as a good chess player and mathematician, and knew several foreign languages. But above all, Lermontov was a poet. His life was cut short at the age of 27 by a bullet from Nikolai Martynov in July 1841 in a duel in the vicinity of Pyatigorsk.
The life of the poet was not only short, but also deeply tragic. Incomplete 27 years included both the early death of his mother (when the future poet was barely two years old), and a family lawsuit between his father and grandmother, two exiles, two duels, of which the last one ended in a fatal outcome.
M.Yu. Lermontov had to live in a very difficult time. This was the era after the defeat of the Decembrists. And all the main work of M.Yu. Lermontov is 30 years old. This was the period about which A.I. Herzen, one of the contemporaries of M.YuLermontov, wrote: it was necessary to let everything that fell on the heart ripen in silent anger ... it was necessary to have boundless pride in order to hold your head high, having chains on your arms and legs.
In many of Lermontov's poems, reflections about the fate of his contemporaries, about disappointment, about the fact that the best times of Russia have passed.
Hence the craving for the romanticization of the past, for the depiction of strong, proud, courageous people.
The history of the creation of the poem.
As a five-year-old child, M.Yu. Lermontov ended up in the Caucasus. One of his best poems "Mtsyri" is also connected with the Caucasus. The history of its creation is not quite usual.
In 1831, Lermontov conceived the idea of ​​writing "notes of a young monk" of 17 years old, who had lived in a monastery since childhood; apart from the holy books, he did not read anything. From this entry in the poet's diary to the appearance of "Mtsyra" 8 years have passed. During this time, Lermontov returned to the planned plot several times. He embodied his idea in the poem "Mtsyri", written in 1839. (Entry in a notebook)
The emergence of the idea is associated with an episode from the life of M.Yu. Lermontov himself. He didn't make up this story. In 1837, expelled from St. Petersburg for poems on the death of Pushkin, the poet traveled on business along the Georgian Military Highway. Then Lermontov visited the ancient capital of Georgia, the city of Mtskheta. There he met a lonely monk who told him his story. A highlander by birth, he was taken prisoner by General Yermolov as a child. On the way, the boy fell ill, and Yermolov left him in the monastery. For a long time he could not get used to the monastery, he yearned, tried to run away to his homeland. The consequence of such an attempt was a serious illness that almost killed him. He resigned himself to his share and spent his life within the walls of the monastery.
The prototype of the monastery described in the poem was the monastery of Jvari
Staying in the Caucasus revived the idea. M.Yu. Lermontov moved the scene of the poem here, widely used Georgian folklore.
The poem was originally titled Beri or Byri (Georgian for "monk"). But the hero of the poem is not a monk: he is still being trained as a monk. And for such in the Georgian language there is a name - "Mtsyri". And Lermontov changed the name. (Entry in a notebook) Remember that the word Mtsyri is not inclined.
- Today at the lesson we are starting to study the work of Lermontov "Mtsyri".
Teacher: What literary genre does this work belong to?
Student: Poem.
Teacher: What is a poem?
(Entry in a notebook)
A poem (from the Greek “create”, “creation”) is a large lyrical epic work with a branched plot.
The poem is usually referred to as epic works, because. they are dominated by narrative, description of historical events (for example, Pushkin's poem "Poltava").
However, the poem "Mtsyri" is a lyrical epic work, because. talking about the fate of his hero, drawing pictures of life, the poet expresses his own thoughts, feelings, experiences in the poem, most often in the form of lyrical digressions.
A lyrical digression is an extra-plot element of a work: a direct author's reasoning, reflection, statement expressing an attitude to the depicted or having an indirect relationship to it. Teacher: What literary direction did you meet in the last lesson?
Student: Romanticism
Teacher: What are the main features of romanticism?
Student: Romanticism is a literary trend that appeared in Western Europe (England, Germany, France) and flourished in European and Russian literature of the 19th century, which is characterized by the following features:
An exceptional hero in exceptional circumstances (in captivity, in an unusual environment, in the bosom of nature, in the mountains, etc.)
A romantic hero is a rebel who is at war with the world or society, often misunderstood by him.
Dvoemirie (real and ideal world).
Antitheses, hyperbole, images - symbols.
The lyrical prevails over the epic, showing not events, but experiences
Sympathy and closeness of the author to the romantic hero.
exotic landscapes.
Teacher: How would you define the purpose of the lesson?
How can we trace the principles of romanticism, prove that "Mtsyri" is a romantic poem?
Student: Let's analyze the plot and composition of the poem, the image of the protagonist, means of expression.
Teacher: So, today in the lesson we will repeat the knowledge about the principles of romanticism, we will try to prove that "Mtsyri" is really a romantic poem and the principles of romanticism are manifested both in the content and in the artistic form of the work.
Features of Mtsyri as a romantic poem.
Teacher: Who is Mtsyri? How did the main character end up in the monastery?
(“Mtsyri” - translated from Georgian means “non-serving monk”, something like “novice”. Novice is a person living in a monastery and preparing to become a monk. At the age of six he was taken prisoner by a Russian general, but the child fell ill, and he was left in a nearby monastery, where a monk came out, but the boy “wandered silently, alone, looked, sighing to the east, tormented by a vague longing for his native side.”)
Teacher: Why did Mtsyri run away from the monastery one day?
(Mtsyri was homesick and dreamed of freedom)
Teacher: How many days did the hero spend at large?
(three days)
Teacher: And who is the narrator in the poem?
Why do you think the story is given to the hero?
Student: Mtsyri himself
Teacher: Tell us what the hero remembers about his home. Why is he so eager to go home? (quotes from the text of chapter 7)
Student: The desire for the homeland for Mtsyra is also the desire for freedom, for real life. He recalls his village, where he lived as a child, pictures of everyday life, sounds, smells. And most importantly, the faces and voices of native people
Teacher: Can we say that the events that took place in the life of the hero are ordinary, everyday events? Is it possible to call the hero an ordinary person?
Teacher: Where does the action of the poem take place?
Student: In the Caucasus, among the free and powerful Caucasian nature, kindred to the soul of the hero. But the hero languishes in the monastery.
Teacher: Reread the passage from the 6th chapter of the poem "Mtsyri". Can this landscape be called ordinary? What artistic means did M. Yu. Lermontov use?
Student: This landscape can be called romantic, because every detail of it is unusual, exotic - “mountain ranges, bizarre, like dreams”, smoke at dawn; along the banks of the mountain stream - "heaps of dark rocks", the snowy peaks of the mountains are hidden in the clouds.
Teacher: What are the main artistic means in this episode?
Student: Personification and comparison.
Teacher: Why are there so many landscape sketches in Mtsyri's story about the three days of freedom? What is the role of pictures of nature in the works?
Student: They are related to the hero, and the call of freedom turns out to be irresistible, like the call of nature - a fish sings a love song to him, "like a brother" he is ready to embrace the storm, "like a beast" he is alien to people. And, on the contrary, nature is alien and hostile to the monks of the monastery: Mtsyri runs away “... at the hour of the night, a terrible hour, when a thunderstorm frightened you, when, crowding at the altar, you lay prostrate on the ground.” (Ch. 8)
Teacher: How are the pictures of the Caucasian nature connected with the feelings and experiences of Mtsyra?
Teacher: The landscape becomes a means of characterizing Mtsyra.
Teacher: What struck Mtsyri the most when he was free? What events of his three-day wanderings do you consider the most important? Why?
Teacher: Remember the scene of the fight with the leopard. Let's read this snippet. (Ch. 17, 18)
What qualities of the hero manifested themselves in this fight? Why did the young man defeat the mighty beast?
Student: This passage perfectly characterizes the main character. Mtsyri appears here as an extraordinary person: he can do everything, even manages to defeat the predatory beast almost unarmed in hand-to-hand combat. The thirst for achievement, prowess, courage make the young man fight. Therefore, the poet constantly emphasizes that his hero is a stranger among people, but in the world of wildlife he feels at home.
5. Composition of the poem
Teacher: Let's talk about the composition of this poem. Do you remember what composition is?
Composition - the construction of a work of art, the structure of the connection of individual parts into one whole.
Teacher: The composition of the poem is peculiar. Will we learn anything about the biography of Mtsyri, about how he lived before?
Student: There is no background of the hero, in the first 2 chapters (in the exposition) only a few biographical facts are outlined.
Teacher: How many chapters does the poem have?
Apprentice: from 26 chapters
Teacher: Right. Why did Lermontov need 24 more chapters, when all the events of the young man's life have already been told in the first two chapters?
Student. Because the main thing is not the events of life.
Teacher: And if the main thing is not events, then what is the main thing in this poem? And how is this main thing expressed? (Ch.3)
Student: The main thing is that Mtsyri feels. This is expressed in his confession.
Teacher: What is confession?
In the explanatory dictionary we can find:
CONFESSION. 1. In the Christian church - repentance for one's sins before a priest; the rite of absolution by the priest after questioning the penitent (church.). 2. A sincere and complete confession of something, a repentant, frank presentation of something (book).
(Entry in a notebook)
Teacher: In what sense is this word used in the poem?
Students: in the 2nd sense.
Teacher: Why did Lermontov choose the form of confession?
Confession helps the poet psychologically plausibly reveal the inner world of Mtsyri. To understand the character of Mtsyri, it is necessary to experience everything with him: the monastic bondage, the joy of freedom, the ecstasy of the battle with the leopard, the despair of not getting to his native country; hopelessness when he returns to his prison again. Mtsyri's confession occupies almost the entire text space of the poem (it is only interrupted by a brief author's note)
Teacher: And to whom is this confession addressed?
Student: The confession is addressed to a certain character - an old monk, whom Mtsyri calls at first aloofly - hostilely "old man", then in a Christian way - "father".
Teacher: Tell me, does the Old Monk enter into a dialogue with Mtsyri, speak with him?
Student: The old monk does not utter a word in response to Mtsyri's confession.
Teacher: Why? Why does M. Yu. Lermontov choose this particular form?
Student: Thus, the reader sees everything that happens to the hero only through his eyes, which contributes to the subjectivity characteristic of a romantic narrative.
conclusions
Teacher: So we can conclude:
The poem is dominated by a lyrical element, and the epic narrative included in the hero's monologue is focused on the individual, most intense moments of the action (meeting a Georgian woman, fighting a leopard, etc.).
Both the character of the hero and the setting of the action were exceptional.
A hero is a person who is at odds with society or misunderstood by it. He is lonely, dreams of freedom and cannot find it.
In the poem, everywhere in the first place is the hero, not the events.
All these features of the composition are characteristic of a romantic poem.
Teacher: In the next lesson, we will turn to these innermost feelings of the hero of a romantic work.
6. Homework.
1. Find lyrical digressions in the text of the poem. Think about why M.Yu. uses them. Lermontov? What role do lyrical digressions play in the poem?
2. A passage by heart. Expressive reading (it is necessary to analyze, convey all feelings, emotions). The passage must be logically and meaningfully complete. Volume: at least 26-30 lines.
3. Illustrate your favorite episode (optional).

Considering Lermontov's poem "Mtsyri" as a romantic work, it makes sense to recall, first of all, the main features inherent in any romantic work. Firstly, this is the transfer of attention to the main character, his thoughts, feelings and experiences. Secondly, it is the realization in the text of the main principle of romanticism: the depiction of an unusual hero in unusual circumstances. Thirdly, making the main task of conveying the romantic rebellion of the hero, the author often carelessly handles the facts, generally pays little attention to the world around him.

Landscape "Mtsyri" as an element of a romantic poem

In "Mtsyri" all of the above conditions are met. Lermontov chooses an exotic setting for his work: a monastery in the Caucasus. Thanks to this, he can build a romantic contrast: the stuffy, cramped walls of the monastery, in which Mtsyri languishes - and the majestic nature of the Caucasus, mountains visible in the distance, impenetrable forests, flowing mountain streams. Fancifulness, non-standard landscape - this is what each line is filled with: "I saw mountain ranges, / Fanciful, like dreams."

A mysterious picture looms before us, besides, the Caucasus, both for Lermontov and for his compatriots, was a symbol of liberty, freedom (recall another poem by Lermontov about the Caucasus: “Perhaps, behind the ridge of the Caucasus I will hide from your kings, From their all-seeing eyes, From their all-hearing ears). It is to this freedom that the main character aspires. It is fair to say that the mountains, along with the sea, are one of the most characteristic landscapes for romanticism.

Unusual hero "Mtsyri"

The hero himself, described by Lermontov, is also unusual. After analyzing it, we can prove that the poem "Mtsyri" is romantic.

Very little is told about the life of Mtsyri. This is precisely the feature of a romantic work: to envelop the hero in mystery. How he grew up and was brought up - all this remains outside the scope of the story. Not even a detailed description of Mtsyri's appearance is given. But the three culminating days are depicted in great detail, when the hero finally receives the desired freedom. This is important, because it is at this moment that Mtsyri reveals himself as a romantic rebel hero, not understood by the outside world (in this situation, by the monastery).

The very nature of his rebellion is not completely clear and explained. As Mtsyri himself says, he "knew only one thought power, one - but a fiery passion." And this passion was an escape. But how could a young man, who at the time of the story is hardly twenty years old, learn about life in the wild? Brought to the monastery as a child, he practically does not remember his former life, and his desire for freedom comes not from the rational - memories, the desire to return the past, but from the irrational. That is, from a deep desire for a free life without any prohibitions, which is characteristic of a romantic hero.

Romanticism as a direction is characterized by a clear division of the world into two sides, into black and white, into right and wrong. The same maximalism is displayed in the hero of Lermontov's work. Mtsyri is convinced that life is possible only in freedom. And, remaining true to his convictions to the end, he dies, returning to the monastery. It is not the wounds received in the fight with the leopard that kill him, but the thirst for freedom, expressed in the poem in the form of a flame: "And he burned his prison."

Here, in Mtsyra's desire to break away from the monastery walls, another feature of romanticism is realized: a person's desire to change the unnatural environment to the natural one. In the monastery, Lermontov (and after him his hero) saw an environment that was not natural for a person. “I returned to my prison” - this is how Mtsyri speaks of him. And this is a dungeon not only for one Mtsyri, no, the image can be viewed more broadly, as a dungeon of earthly existence for a free human spirit. At the end of the poem, the hero breaks the shackles that bound him and gains freedom, but not in this, but in another world. The death of the hero, we note, is also very characteristic of Romanism.

Compositional construction of the poem

The features of romanticism in the poem "Mtsyri" are also manifested in the compositional construction of the poem: the narrative is focused on one, the most important episode from the life of Mtsyri, and in the form of a lyrical confession of the hero. The form of confession is a classic device for romantic works. The episode of the struggle with the leopard, which critics single out as the key one in the poem, also deserves attention. In it, Mtsyri is revealed as a fearless fighter, like a real hero, worthy of his wild and fearless ancestors. Although Mtsyri's escape was unsuccessful, the climax chosen by the author suggests otherwise: nothing can break his hero. He won, and his victory is the victory of a romantic.

Based on the analysis, we can unambiguously consider "Mtsyri" as a romantic poem. It depicts a non-standard hero in non-standard circumstances, and the whole work is based on the image of Mtsyri's romantic experiences. And the strong, rebellious and passionate image of the hero created by Lermontov invariably resonates with readers.

The facts described in this article will be useful to students in grade 8 when writing an essay on the topic ""Mtsyri" as a romantic poem."

Artwork test

Romanticism as a literary movement developed at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The foundation for its formation was the current that preceded it - sentimentalism. It was his basic principles that were borrowed, and later developed in romanticism. Speaking about this direction, one cannot fail to mention the "masters" of romantics, such as V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov. Romantic motifs are reflected even in the literature of the 20th century. - from A.M. Gorky in "Old Woman Izergil". The works of all authors of this trend are united by several general provisions, without which romantic creativity is impossible: firstly, the author of such a work focuses on the main character, his inner world, experiences, and the reader sees the outside world through the eyes of this hero; secondly, there are certain character traits inherent in a romantic hero; thirdly, the works of this direction are characterized by the depiction of situations that are unrealistic, fictional, too far from reality, and the main character usually has to make a difficult moral choice; also, delving into the description of feelings, the author pays little attention to the facts.

All these principles can be easily found in the poem by M.Yu. Lermontov "Mtsyri", which, along with his "Demon", poems by V.A. Zhukovsky, wash A.S. Pushkin's "Prisoner of the Caucasus", as well as some other works, is recognized as a true model of romantic creativity.

The proof that "Mtsyri" is a romantic poem should start with the image of the protagonist. His biography up to the time of the narrative is short and somewhat sentimental: he, six years old, was captured, but he "fell ill" and, being dying, was left in the monastery, in the care of the monks; at first glance, the young prisoner got used to his "fetters" - he was even about to take a monastic vow, but one day he disappeared, was found wounded three days later. The poem actually begins with the deathbed confession. Such a situation is indeed far-fetched to some extent, although history records similar cases when the children of the highlanders were captured, but due to their health, out of pity or due to uselessness, they were left in monasteries. Mtsyri, who at the time of the story is hardly twenty years old, has to choose: whether to stay in a monastery and accept an incomprehensible and ridiculing Christianity or run away, leave the dreary walls. But where can he run? After all, he actually does not exist for his relatives - they have long mourned and forgotten, and he cannot live in the monastery - the silence within its walls puts pressure on the young captive. Why he cannot endure the stuffy atmosphere of the cell, I think, he himself does not understand exactly. At the age of six, he could hardly remember much, he associates a free life with his parents, whose faces he also most likely does not remember - only vague images that correlate with some better life, according to the definition of romantics - life "there". Thus, the reason for his flight can be called not an impulse somewhere, but a desire from somewhere, that is, from the monastery. This movement is rather instinctive and in some ways resembles the unconscious desire of the beast to break out of the cage. Mtsyri - as a truly romantic hero - is characterized by the so-called romantic maximalism, for him there is a division of the world only into "black" and "white", therefore, life, in his opinion, is possible only in freedom.

In general, speaking in freedom, it is impossible to consider it unambiguously. This concept is deeply personal, and sometimes it can take on a meaning opposite to the generally accepted one, which can be proved by the example of the poem by V.A. Zhukovsky Prisoner of Chillon. A man who has lived almost all his life in a dungeon, after many years released to the so-called freedom, "sighs" with regret about his prison; for him, a paradox was just born: his freedom is in prison. Thus, the question of what freedom is for Mtsyri is debatable. There is a fact in the poem that indicates a related interpretation of this term with the Prisoner of Chillon - Mtsyri, having been outside the monastery for several days, dies and, dying, ends up in the very cell from which he fled. This suggests that nature itself prevented his free impulse, that he was unnatural.

However, the escape is complete. Mtsyri found himself in the bosom of the wild, which he had previously seen only from the window of his cell, and she appears before the reader, coupled with new, awakening feelings of the hero. The mountain ranges evoked in him the image of his father's house, the sisters who rocked his cradle ... Every tree, bird, every sound and smell aroused incomprehensible, heart-wrenching sensations, longing reached its highest point after Mtsyri saw a young Georgian woman with a jug. Of course, she was not one of his sisters, but she probably dreamed of him in a stranger.

After the "explosion" of feelings, there was an "explosion" of fortitude - a struggle with a leopard. The duel of a man with a beast should not be taken literally: it, like the whole poem, is symbolic. This is not only a confrontation between a mighty spirit and physical strength; this is a picture of the soul of Mtsyra, where two principles are fighting: an instinctive desire for freedom and the habit of a "flower" that has grown in a dungeon. Mtsyri has an innate and intensified rebellious spirit during the period of imprisonment; he, a prisoner, is looking for companionship, he is drawn to a young Georgian woman, to a distant smoking village.

Do not assume that his attempt to contact the outside world failed. He found a common language - with himself, he understood, he tried life; his death turns out to be, in a certain sense, a victory - he nevertheless escaped from the world of "stuffy cells and prayers." And, although, in principle, he is defeated, there is no winner - the monastic way of life was shaken because of the opportunity to escape from imprisonment. Interestingly enough, the poem opens with an image of a ruined, deserted monastery. Thus, the confrontation between the two worlds - the world of "cells of stuffy and prayers" and the wonderful world of "alarms and battles" - the confrontation ending in nothing, is the central action in the poem, and Mtsyri is considered not as a specific hero, but like any person in general; the monastery, where the sun's rays do not penetrate, is, of course, not just a building, but a symbol of captivity in the broadest sense, its walls close the world of the human soul from nature. If the monastery itself can still release Mtsyri (after all, in any monastery there are doors), then the old monk, as it were, complements the dungeon, making it a formidable, last refuge for the one who entered. It was against this that Mtsyri raised a rebellion - against the reigning silence, because even a monk, like the stones of the monastery, remains silent and does not allow the rebellious spirit of the hero to escape to his "homeland", to find the lost "paradise".

This striving from the unnatural to the natural is one of the main features of romanticism. Emphasizing the natural beginning of a person, the romantics argued that a soul born in the wild cannot tolerate any restriction on its flight; hence such a hostility of writers (respectively, and their heroes) to everything that makes a person's personality dependent on something, be it society or everyday life.

"Mtsyri" is a romantic poem. Everything in it is unusual: the setting in which the action takes place, the action itself and, of course, the hero.

The hero of the poem is Mtsyri, a non-serving monk. As a six-year-old boy, he ends up in a monastery, where he spends his whole life, far from home, from loved ones, from worldly pleasures. So Lermontov creates exceptional circumstances in which his hero lives. Stuffy cells, constant loneliness - all this is well known to Mtsyri. It is unusual not only that the poet chose a monastery as the scene of action, but also where this monastery is located. Lermontov draws Georgia blooming "in the shade of his gardens." Majestic mountains and the surrounding forest - the picture is really romantic.

The world in all its fullness and beauty opens up to those who escaped from the Mtsyri monastery. He finally finds himself in "a wonderful world of worries and battles, where rocks hide in clouds, where people are free like eagles." The Hero's imagination is struck by lush fields, hills framed by forests, "a chest of dark rocks", mountain ranges smoking "in the hour of dawn." The romantic landscape masterfully created by Lermontov helps to better understand the feelings of the hero, who, after many years of imprisonment, saw this beauty.

With great anguish, Mtsyri recalls his fatherland: aul, herds returning from pastures, gray-haired important elders, the brilliance of daggers, a mountain river. The poetically painted picture of Caucasian life also speaks of the romanticism of the poem. Lermontov, who knows the Caucasus well, creates in the poem the image of a young Georgian woman and “dresses” her, a Christian by faith, in a veil. After all, it looks much more mysterious and romantic.

In many ways, it contributes to the creation of a romantic atmosphere and the introduction of a battle with a leopard into the poem. Lermontov borrowed this episode from Georgian folklore. Mtsyra's victory, of course, is exaggerated, but the description of the battle looks very organic in the general context of the work.

The hero of the poem, full of fiery passions, bares his soul of confession. Mtsyri's confession is a big part of the poem, and it is she who contributes to the creation of such a vivid romantic image. Using the form of revelation, the poet seeks to “tell the soul” of the hero more deeply, and the poem acquires an extraordinary psychological quality. Lermontov depicts in detail all the experiences of Mtsyri. To do this, he generously uses numerous artistic techniques.

For a few sips of freedom, the hero is ready to give up two lives in a monastery. Peace and silence cannot replace for him the beauty of the world and shattered youthful dreams. He is lonely and strives for life, full of "alarms and battles", strives to know, "we were born into this world for the will or prison." A prison for Mtsyra is not only a monastery, but also the whole way of a calm and measured life, which is incompatible with the ideas of an ardent and passionate young man about her. Striving for his goal, the hero courageously overcomes many difficulties. He endures the suffering of hunger, boldly rushes into battle with the beast, makes his way through the thorny thorn bush. In a difficult moment, Mtsy-ri does not seek human help. He considers himself a stranger to everyone. “And if even a minute cry changed me, I swear, old man, I would pull out my weak tongue,” the hero admits.

V. G. Belinsky highly appreciated the image of Mtsyri. "What a fiery soul, what a mighty spirit," what a gigantic nature this gentleman has! he wrote. The critic considered the hero of the poem Lermontov's ideal, "a reflection in poetry of the shadow of his own personality."

The poem ends, as befits a romantic work: Mtsyri is on the verge of death. He bequeaths to bury himself where the Caucasus is visible from. The hero does not repent of his deed and does not deviate from his dreams.

M. Yu. Lermontov entered Russian literature as a successor to the traditions of Pushkin. However, according to Belinsky, he introduced something special and original into the national literature, the so-called "Lermontov's element." “Everything breathes with original and creative thought,” the critic wrote about his poetry.

In Lermontov's poem "Mtsyri", a young man who escaped from the monastery is shown as a romantic hero. The author develops in his work the ideas of protest and courage. Mikhail Yuryevich almost completely excluded from his creation the love motive, which played a large role in his poem "Confession". This motive in "Mtsyri" was reflected only in a fleeting meeting of the protagonist with a Georgian woman, which took place near a mountain stream.

Defeating the impulse of his young heart, Mtsyri for the sake of the ideal of freedom refuses personal happiness. In the poem, the patriotic idea is inextricably linked with the theme of freedom. This is also observed in the work of the Decembrist poets. Mikhail Yurievich does not share these concepts. In his work, the "fiery passion" merges the thirst for will and love for the Fatherland. Mtsyri is very attractive as a romantic hero. The plan for analyzing this character should include his relationship to the monastery. We will talk about this now.

Mtsyri's relationship to the monastery

The monastery for our hero is a prison. The cells seem stuffy to him, and the walls are deaf and gloomy. The monk guards appear to the protagonist as miserable and cowardly, and he himself is a prisoner and a slave. The impulse to freedom is due to his desire to find out why we were born into the world, "for will or prison." For the young man, the few days he spent in peace after escaping from the monastery turn out to be a will. Outside the blank walls, he lived a full life, and did not vegetate. The hero calls the time. It is during the days spent at large that the image of Mtsyra is fully revealed. As a romantic hero, he manifests himself behind the walls of the monastery.

Patriotism of the protagonist

Least of all, the freedom-loving patriotism of the protagonist is similar to the love for expensive graves and beautiful native landscapes, although Mtsyri yearns for them. He truly loves his Fatherland, wants to fight for her freedom. With undoubted sympathy, Mikhail Yurievich sings of these youthful dreams. The work does not reveal the aspirations of the protagonist to the end, but in hints they are quite palpable. The young man remembers his acquaintances and his father mainly as warriors. It is not by chance that this hero dreams of battles in which he is the winner. No wonder his dreams are drawn into the world of battles and worries.

Character of the main character

Mtsyri as a romantic hero is shown brave and courageous. He himself is convinced that "in the land of the fathers" he could be one of the "dares". And although this hero was not destined to experience the rapture of battle, he is a real warrior in terms of his character. From a young age, Mtsyri was distinguished by severe restraint. Proud of this, the hero says that he has never known tears. Only during the escape, the young man gives free rein to tears, since no one sees them. The will of the protagonist was tempered by loneliness in the monastery walls. It is no coincidence that it was on a stormy night that Mtsyri decided to escape: the timid monks were frightened by the revelry of the elements, but not this young man. By the storm, he had only a feeling of brotherhood.

Resilience and masculinity of a young man

The stamina and masculinity of Mtsyri manifests itself with the greatest force in the episode of the battle with the leopard. The grave did not frighten him, since he understood that returning to the monastery would be a continuation of suffering. The tragic ending created by the author shows that the spirit of the hero does not weaken due to the approach of death. His freedom-loving patriotism does not disappear in front of her face. Mtsyri do not force to repent the exhortations of the monk. He says that he would trade eternity and paradise again for a few minutes spent among loved ones. It is not Mtsyri's fault that the circumstances could not be overcome, and he could not get into the ranks of the fighters. The hero tried in vain to argue with his fate. He was defeated, but internally not broken. Mtsyri is a positive hero of Russian literature. His integrity, masculinity, courage were a reproach to the inactive and fearful representatives of the noble society, modern Lermontov.

The role of the landscape in revealing character

The Caucasian landscape serves to reveal the image of a young man from the poem "Mtsyri". Like a romantic hero, despising the environment, he feels kinship only with nature. Growing up within the walls of a monastery, he compares himself to a hothouse leaf. Breaking free, he raises his head along with the flowers at sunrise. Being a child of nature, Mtsyri falls to the ground and, like the hero of fairy tales, learns the secret of the prophetic chirping of birds, the riddles of their songs. He understands the thought of those eager to meet the disconnected rocks, the dispute with the stones of the stream. The young man's gaze is sharpened: he notices how the fur of the leopard shimmers with silver, how the scales of a snake shine, sees a pale strip between earth and sky and the teeth of distant mountains. Mtsyri, as the romantic hero of the poem, thinks that through the blue of the sky he could see the flight of angels.

Traditions of romanticism and new features of Lermontov's poem

Of course, Mikhail Yuryevich's poem continues the traditions of romanticism. This is evidenced, in particular, by the central image of the work. Full of fiery passions, Mtsyri as a romantic hero, lonely and gloomy, reveals his soul in a confession story. In this, Mikhail Yuryevich followed tradition. All this is typical of romanticism. Nevertheless, Lermontov, who wrote his poem during the years when he was working on the realistic work A Hero of Our Time, introduced features into Mtsyri that were not characteristic of his earlier poems. Indeed, the past of the heroes of Boyar Orsha and Confession remains unknown to us. We do not know what social conditions influenced the formation of their characters. And in the work "Mtsyri" we find lines that the childhood and adolescence of the protagonist were unhappy. This helps us to better understand his thoughts and experiences. It should also be noted that the form of confession, so characteristic of poems in the style of romanticism, is associated with the desire to "tell the soul", that is, to reveal it as deeply as possible. Such detailing of experiences, the psychologism of the work are natural for Lermontov, since he simultaneously created a socio-psychological novel.

The combination in the confession of numerous metaphors of a romantic nature (images of flame, fire), with the poetically sparse and precise speech of the introduction, characteristic of realism, is very expressive. The poem begins with the lines: "Once upon a time a Russian general ..." The work, romantic in its form, testified to the fact that realistic tendencies were becoming more and more distinct in Lermontov's work.

Lermontov's innovation

So, we opened the topic "Mtsyri as a romantic hero." Lermontov entered Russian literature as a successor to the Decembrist poets and the traditions of Pushkin. However, he also introduced something new into the development of the Russian artistic word.

Belinsky said that we can talk about the so-called Lermontov element. The critic explained that it meant, first of all, "an original living thought." Of course, it is also felt in the creation of such an image as Mtsyri. As a romantic hero, this young man was briefly characterized by us. You saw that there are some realistic features in the work.