Mtsyri what genre. M.Yu

The poem is called “Mtsyri”, which, as Lermontov himself noted in a note, means “novice”, “non-serving monk”. In the manuscript, Lermontov intended to call her “Beri” - monk. The epigraph was also originally different - a phrase in French meaning: “Everyone has only one fatherland.” In the final edition of the poem, the epigraph changed to a biblical saying from the First Book of Kings: “When I taste, I taste a little honey, and now I die.”

Both the names of the work and its parts, and epigraphs are designed to play an important role in the plot and composition. The plot significance of epigraphs is manifested in their relationship with the content of the main text and its ideas. Occupying a certain place in the composition of the work, titles and epigraphs highlight fragments of the text relative to each other and thereby perform an ideological and compositional function.

The change in the original title and epigraph does not indicate the author’s abandonment of the plan, but rather a clarification of the meaning of the poem. The replacement of “beri” with “mtsyri” (monk with novice) suggests that Lermontov thereby makes the plot situation strictly defined: if a monk fled from the monastery, then we would be talking about a violation of the monastic vow, about treason, but here the novice runs away before taking monastic vows, and therefore the plot is based on a situation of choice. Thus, the nature of the main problem of the poem changes. An additional argument for replacing the name is the fact that in Georgian “mtsyri” also means “wanderer”, “stranger”, thereby emphasizing the hero’s position in the world.

A poem always consists of two components: a story about events (epic) and lyrical experiences. The events of the poem are depicted in their historical and chronological specificity. For example, what happens in the poem “Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, the young guardsman and the daring merchant Kalashnikov” (1837) dates back to the time of Ivan the Terrible (XVI century), but the idea of ​​the poem goes beyond the historical framework, and this is manifested in the lyrical part, that is in digressions, assessments and characteristics of the guslars singing “Song...”. “Mtsyri” also has two plans: one is connected with the historical situation, the other with the personal history of the young novice. In accordance with this, the poem is constructed: of the twenty-six chapters that comprise it, the first two are a narration from the author, the remaining twenty-four are Mtsyri’s monologue, written in the form of a confession, a genre characteristic of both Lermontov’s work and the romantic tradition generally. In the first chapter, the place, time and historical situation in which the events unfold are indicated, in the second, the focus of the depiction of events is narrowed, the author conveys in a concise form the entire event outline of Mtsyri’s life. Thus, Mtsyri’s fate is first shown as it is seen “from the outside,” and then as the hero perceives it. The ratio of the epic and the lyrical in the poem is clearly in favor of the latter, however, the objective historical background that the author creates introduces epic intonations into the narrative.

"Mtsyri" is a lyrical poem. It primarily depicts the complex experiences of the hero, rather than external events. Lermontov chooses the form of a confessional poem, since the story on behalf of the hero made it possible to most deeply and truthfully reveal his spiritual appearance.

The composition of the poem is typical of romantic works: the action is concentrated around one hero; the confessional monologue takes center stage; the hero is placed in an unusual situation.

But at the same time, the poem also has some features that distinguish it from ordinary romantic poems. This originality lies in the fact that there is nothing mysterious or unspoken in the poem. The poem begins with a precise indication of the location of the action. Then the author gives an introduction in which he prepares the reader to understand the hero’s state of mind. Mtsyri’s confession itself, although it represents the excited speech of the hero, at the same time consistently and internally justified sets out everything he experienced.

Much space is devoted to paintings of nature. Descriptions of nature serve both to indicate the location of the action and to characterize the hero. How differently Mtsyri and the monks perceive nature:

And at the hour of the night, terrible hour,

When the thunderstorm scared you,

When, crowded at the altar,

You were lying prostrate on the ground,

I ran. Oh I'm like a brother

I would be glad to embrace the storm,

I watched with the eyes of a cloud,

I caught lightning with my hand...

A quiet morning after a thunderstorm strikes Mtsyri with its peaceful beauty and richness of creative life. The picture that opened before him captivates him and calls him to merge with nature:

And again I fell to the ground,

And I began to listen again

They whispered in the bushes,

As if they were speaking

About the secrets of heaven and earth.

Nature, in Mtsyri’s understanding, is the embodiment of will, inexhaustible strength, beauty - everything that was not in the “gloomy walls” of the monastery, in the “stuffy cells” of the monks and for which the soul of the freedom-loving young man was so passionately, passionately yearning.

“Mtsyri” is one of Lermontov’s most famous and widely read works, and when studying it, the question inevitably arises: what genre does it belong to? The genre of Lermontov's "Mtsyri" is defined as a poem.

The genre of the poem is considered one of the most controversial in literature, since it successfully combines two literary genres at once: epic and lyricism. In the poem "Mtsyri", in addition to the lyrical beginning, there is also a dynamic plot, so it can be classified as a lyric-epic poem.

Despite the complexity of this genre, Lermontov turned to it while still very young; at the age of 16-17, sketches of his first poems appeared in his diary. In total, the poet wrote about a dozen poems. Some of them, unfortunately, remained in drafts and sketches. “Mtsyri” is considered one of the most successful poems; from its example one can see how much Lermontov developed and honed the genre of the poem in Russian literature.

The peculiarities of the poem “Mtsyri” by Lermontov are that this poem is romantic and, therefore, has a number of features characteristic of this genre. This is an action-packed plot, an image in the foreground of a non-standard hero and his collision with the outside world, the severity of experiences. We can find all these features in “Mtsyri,” and its plot itself—the hero’s escape to freedom—is already typical of romanticism. However, at the same time, something new that Lermontov introduced is noticeable here: if in traditional romantic poems the hero seeks to escape from society, here everything happens the other way around. Mtsyri's escape is, in essence, an escape to people, a return to his native home, which he was deprived of.

The theme of escape is one of the favorites in the poet’s work (“Boyarin Orsha”, “Confession”), but it is in “Mtsyri” that it is revealed in all its fullness.

Another non-standard feature of the poem is the almost complete absence of a love line in it, on which the plot is often based in romantic works. Since “Mtsyri” belongs to the genre of a romantic poem, the reader is waiting for his love story. But the center of the narrative shifts to other events (thunderstorm, battle with a leopard). And the Georgian girl, whom Mtsyri sees only once, is indicated in passing and by hint. So, Lermontov writes a romantic poem without a love conflict.

Finally, let’s look at the technique used by the poet to further reveal the hero’s inner world. For this, Lermontov chooses the genre of not just poems, but confessional poems. This genre, familiar to romantic literature, also acquires new features. The confession of the hero merges with the confession of the author himself. Mtsyri, who gave his life for the ghost of freedom, is much closer to Lermontov than his own cautiously indifferent environment. The fire that burns the hero also torments the author, which is why the poem turns out to be so sincere.

All of Lermontov’s work is permeated by the image of the Caucasus. Proud free people, majestic and powerful nature impressed the poet from a young age, which is already evident in his early poems. He did not ignore one of the main trends in literature of the first half of the 19th century - the depiction of a romantic hero. And these two main themes came together in one of the author’s best works - the poem “Mtsyri”.

For this work, the historical context is incredibly important - the events that led to the captivity of Mtsyri. In Russia, the first half of the nineteenth century was the era of the conquest of the Caucasian lands. This is not only the annexation of territories to the Russian Empire, but also the subordination of mountain peoples to Orthodoxy and tsarist power. It is quite possible to imagine how a Georgian boy, left orphaned after another battle, ends up being raised in an Orthodox monastery. History knows such examples: this was the childhood of the artist P. Z. Zakharov. There are suggestions that Lermontov based the plot on the story of a monk he met on the military roads of Georgia. The author also turned to local folklore, as evidenced by the scene of the fight with the leopard: this episode was based on a folk song about a young man and a tiger.

The poem "Mtsyri" was written by Lermontov in 1839. It was edited a lot to avoid censorship. Basically, fragments in which freedom was particularly praised or anti-Orthodox motives were heard were removed.

What is the work about?

The action in the book takes place in the Caucasus. At the beginning of the poem, Lermontov reproduces the backstory of how the main character ended up in the monastery: a Russian general was carrying a captive child. The boy was very weak, and a monk sheltered him in his cell, thereby saving his life. The essence of “Mtsyri” is to express his protest against this salvation in captivity, which not only destroys him, but also torments him.

The main part of the poem is the confession of the main character. This is what it says: the prisoner admits that he has been unhappy all these years, the walls of the monastery are tantamount to a prison for him, he cannot find understanding here. In 3 days outside captivity, a young man lives his entire life.

Firstly, the young man remembers his childhood years and his father. During this period, he feels his purpose, realizes what kind of blood flows in his veins.

Secondly, he meets a young Georgian woman who was walking to fetch water. This might be the first girl he's seen in years.

Thirdly, he has a fight with a leopard. The hero instinctively fights the beast, because within the walls of the monastery he could not be taught martial arts. The feeling of danger awakened his true warlike spirit in him, and the young man defeats the enemy.

Exhausted and wounded, by the end of the third day of wandering, the fugitive is forced to bitterly admit to himself: not knowing where to go, he made a circle and returned to his ill-fated prison - the monastery. Dying, he bequeaths to bury himself in the garden where the acacia tree blooms.

Genre and direction

It is difficult to imagine the era of romanticism in literature without the genre of the poem. “Mtsyri” is included in the thematic group of Lermontov’s works about the romantic hero. The previously written “Boyar Orsha” and “Confession” anticipated the poem about an escaped novice.

A more precise definition of the genre “Mtsyri” is a romantic poem. One of the characteristic features of the work is the reflection of the hero’s ideas. The young man strives for freedom; for him, will is the goal of life, the main happiness. For the sake of his dream, he is ready to sacrifice his life. All this allows us to consider Mtsyri a romantic hero.

It was not only Lermontov who developed such a special genre of poem in his work. First of all, we can compare “Mtsyri” with the poem by K.F. Ryleev “Nalivaiko”, the plot of which dates back to the era of the Cossacks’ struggle for independence.

Another feature of the romantic poem is its confessional nature, which is also characteristic of “Mtsyri”. Confession, as a rule, contains a story about the hopes and dreams of the hero, his confessions, sometimes unexpected. Revelation reflects the strength of his spirit, his character.

The main characters and their characteristics

To determine the image of the main character, it is necessary to take into account what the word “mtsyri” means. There are two meanings in Georgian: novice and stranger. Initially, Lermontov wanted to call the poem “beri,” which means monk in Georgian, but it was “mtsyri” that maximally reflects the essence of the character.

Why did Mtsyri escape? He was not tortured in the monastery, nor was he forced to do backbreaking work. However, there were reasons because of which the hero suffered. Firstly, the young man’s dream was to find a loved one, even if not a relative, but one nation, one blood. Growing up as an orphan, he dreamed of feeling at least for a moment the warmth of an understanding soul. Another goal of the hero is will. He cannot call the years spent in the cell life; only in freedom was he able to realize who he really is.

It is important to note that, despite the failure, the character of “Mtsyri” does not complain about fate, he does not curse himself, but confidently accepts this test and even rejoices that his gloomy life was brightened by these three days.

It is impossible to create the image of a romantic hero without the motive of love. This goal is conveyed by the mention in the confession of a young Georgian woman, when the young man himself admits: “My ardent thoughts // Are confused...”. and his thoughts are described in detail by us in the essay.

In his fight with the leopard, the hero showed incredible courage and perseverance, the risk and energy of battle awakened the spirit of his ancestors in him, but the young man was not destined to find freedom and happiness. This is the author’s embodiment of the theme of rock in the image of Mtsyri.

Themes

• Freedom. This theme permeates the poem on two levels. The first is global: Georgia is subordinate to the Russian Empire, the second concerns the protagonist of the poem personally: he dreams of a free life. Mtsyri does not want to come to terms with his captivity in the monastery and escapes. But he cannot escape his fate, and three days later the young man, having made a circle, returns to the hated walls.
• Loneliness. One of the reasons for the escape was the search for people close in spirit and blood. Mtsyri is alone among the clergy; he rather feels his kinship with nature than with them. The young man grew up as an orphan, he is a stranger to both worlds: both to the monastery and to the mountaineers. For him, the temple is captivity, and, as his escape showed, the novice was not fit for independent life.
• War. The hero "Mtsyri" did not participate in battles, but was born for them. His father was a courageous defender of his people, but his son became a victim of war. It was she who left the boy an orphan, it was because of her that he did not know family, affection, a happy childhood, but only a monastery and prayers.
• Love. The unfortunate exile does not know what a family is, he has no friends, all his bright memories are focused on his childhood. But a meeting with a young Georgian woman awakens new feelings in the hero. Mtsyri understands that happiness is possible even now, if only he could find the right path, but life decreed otherwise.

Issues

The problem of personal oppression always worried Lermontov. The poet passionately loved the Caucasus, visited there as a child, and was sent there to war several times. Fulfilling his duty to his homeland, the writer fought and fought courageously, but at the same time, in the depths of his soul he sympathized with the innocent victims of this political campaign. Mikhail Yuryevich expressed these experiences in the image of the main character of the poem. It would seem that Mtsyri should be grateful to the general, because by his grace he did not die as a child, but he cannot call his stay in the monastery life. Thus, by depicting the life of one, the author showed the fate of many, which allowed readers to take a completely different look at the Caucasian wars. Thus, the creator touched upon both political and social problems arising from any violent action by the state. Officially, only soldiers fight, but in reality, civilians are involved in the bloody cycle, whose families and destinies are a bargaining chip for the implementation of His Majesty’s large-scale plans.

Idea of ​​the work

The poem is built on the antithesis of freedom and captivity, but in the context of the era when Lermontov lived and worked, these concepts had a much broader meaning. It is no coincidence that, fearing censorship, the poet independently edited and crossed out some fragments. The unsuccessful escape of the young man can be seen as an allegory for the December Uprising: the captivity of the monastery - the oppression of the autocracy, the attempt to free himself doomed to failure - the performance of the Decembrists. Thus, the main idea in “Mtsyri” was encrypted and hidden from the authorities so that readers could find it between the lines.

This is how Lermontov responds in the poem not only to the problem of the conquest of the Caucasian peoples, but also to the events of 1825. The author gives the hero not only courage, endurance and a rebellious character, the young man is noble, despite his sad fate, he does not hold a grudge against anyone. This is the meaning of “Mtsyri” - to show the rebellion of the soul without evil and thirst for revenge, a pure, beautiful and doomed impulse, which was the Decembrist uprising.

What does it teach?

The poem makes you think that any military victory also has its downside: Georgia was annexed by Russia in 1801, but not only the armies suffered, but also civilians, innocent children, like the main character “ Mtsyri". The main idea in the poem “Mtsyri” is humanistic: this should not happen again.

Lermontov calls on you to fight and resist fate to the end, and never lose hope. And even in case of failure, do not grumble about life, but courageously accept all trials. Since the poet has endowed his character with all these qualities, the reader perceives him, despite the unsuccessful and spontaneous escape, not as an unfortunate victim, but as a true hero.

Criticism

The literary world enthusiastically accepted the poem “Mtsyri”. Lermontov began to be showered with praise for his creation even before the work was published. For example, A. N. Muravyov recalls the author reading a book he had just written: “...no story has ever made such a strong impression on me.” S.T. Aksakov in “The History of My Acquaintance with Gogol” writes about the author’s wonderful reading of “Mtsyri” at Gogol’s name day in 1840.

The most authoritative critic of that time, V.G. Belinsky valued this work very highly. In his article about the poem “Mtsyri”, he emphasizes how well the poet chose the size and rhythm and compares the sound of the poems with the blows of a sword. He sees in the book a reflection of Lermontov's personality and admires the depiction of nature.

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The idea of ​​writing a romantic poem about the wanderings of a free highlander doomed to monastic seclusion arose in Lermontov on the threshold of his youth - at the age of 17.

This is evidenced by diary entries and sketches: a young man who grew up within the walls of a monastery and saw nothing but monastery books and silent novices suddenly gains short-term freedom.

A new worldview is being formed...

The history of the poem

In 1837, the 23-year-old poet found himself in the Caucasus, which he fell in love with as a child (his grandmother took him to sanatorium treatment). In fabulous Mtskheta, he met an old monk, the last servant of a no longer existing monastery, who told the poet the story of his life. At the age of seven, the Highlander, a Muslim boy, was captured by a Russian general and taken away from his home. The boy was sick, so the general left him in one of the Christian monasteries, where the monks decided to raise their follower from the captive. The guy protested, ran away several times, and almost died during one of the attempts. After another failed escape, he finally took orders, as he became attached to one of the old monks. The monk's story delighted Lermontov - after all, it strangely coincided with his long-standing poetic plans.

At first, the poet titled the poem “Beri” (from Georgian this translates as “monk”), but then he replaced the title with “Mtsyri”. This name symbolically merges the meanings of “novice” and “stranger”, “foreigner”.

The poem was written in August 1839 and published in 1840. The poetic prerequisites for the creation of this poem were the poems “Confession” and “Boyar Orsha”; in the new work, Lermontov transferred the action to an exotic, and therefore very romantic setting - to Georgia.

It is believed that in Lermontov’s description of the monastery there appears a description of the Mtskheta Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, one of the most ancient shrines in Georgia.

At first, Lermontov intended to use the French epigraph “There is only one homeland” for the poem. Then he changed his mind - the epigraph to the poem is a biblical quote translated from Church Slavonic as “Tasting, I tasted little honey - and now I’m dying.” This is a reference to the biblical story of King Saul. The leader of the army, Saul bade his soldiers go to battle. He threatened execution for anyone who took a break from the battle to eat and recuperate. The king did not know that his own son would taste the forbidden honey and rush into battle. After a successful battle, the king decided to execute his son, as an edification to everyone, and the son was ready to accept the punishment (“I drank honey, now I must die”), but the people kept the king from execution. The meaning of the epigraph is that a rebellious person, free by nature, cannot be broken, no one has the right to dispose of his right to freedom, and if seclusion is inevitable, then death will become true freedom.

Analysis of the work

Plot, genre, theme and idea of ​​the poem

The plot of the poem almost coincides with the events described above, but does not begin in chronological order, but is an excursion. A young man preparing to become a monk remains outside the walls of his monastery during a storm. Life gave him three days of freedom, but when he was found sick and wounded, he told the old monk what he had experienced. The young man realizes that he will certainly die, if only because after three days of freedom he will no longer be able to put up with his former life in the monastery. Unlike his prototype, Mtsyri, the hero of the poem, does not put up with monastic customs and dies.

Almost the entire poem is a confession of a young man to an old monk (this story can only be called a confession formally, since the young man’s story is not at all imbued with a desire for repentance, but with a passion for life, a passionate desire for it). On the contrary, we can say that Mtsyri does not confess, but preaches, exalting a new religion - freedom.

The main theme of the poem is considered to be the theme of rebellion both against formal seclusion and against ordinary, boring, inactive life. The poem also raises the following themes:

• love for the homeland, the need for this love, the need for one’s own history and family, for “roots”;
• the confrontation between the crowd and the seeking loner, misunderstanding between the hero and the crowd;
• theme of freedom, struggle and heroism.

Initially, criticism perceived “Mtsyri” as a revolutionary poem, a call to fight. Then her idea was understood as loyalty to her ideology and the importance of maintaining this faith, despite a possible defeat in the struggle. Critics viewed Mtsyri’s dreams of her homeland as a need to join not only her lost family, but also as an opportunity to join the army of her people and fight with it, that is, to achieve freedom for her homeland.

However, later critics saw more metaphysical meanings in the poem. The idea of ​​the poem is seen more broadly, as the image of the monastery is revised. The monastery serves as a prototype of society. Living in society, a person puts up with certain limits, shackles for his own spirit, society poisons a natural person, which is Mtsyri. If the problem were the need to change the monastery to nature, then Mtsyri would be happy outside the walls of the monastery, but he does not find happiness outside the monastery either. He has already been poisoned by the influence of the monastery, and he has become a stranger in the natural world. Thus, the poem states that the search for happiness is the most difficult path in life, where there are no prerequisites for happiness.

Genre, composition and conflict of the poem

The genre of the work is a poem, this is the genre most beloved by Lermontov, it stands at the junction of lyrics and epic and allows you to draw the hero in more detail than lyrics, since it reflects not only the inner world, but also the actions and actions of the hero.

The composition of the poem is circular - the action begins in the monastery, takes the reader into the fragmentary childhood memories of the hero, into his three-day adventures and returns to the monastery again. The poem includes 26 chapters.

The conflict of the work is romantic, typical for works in the romanticism genre: the desire for freedom and the impossibility of obtaining it are contrasted, the romantic hero is in search and the crowd that hinders his search. The climax of the poem is the moment of meeting a wild leopard and a duel with the beast, which completely reveals the hero’s inner strengths and character.

Heroes of the poem

(Mtsyri tells the monk his story)

There are only two heroes in the poem - Mtsyri and the monk to whom he tells his story. However, we can say that there is only one active hero, Mtsyri, and the second is silent and quiet, as befits a monk. In the image of Mtsyri, many contradictions converge that do not allow him to be happy: he is baptized, but a non-believer; he is a monk, but he rebels; he is an orphan, but he has a home and parents, he is a “natural man,” but does not find harmony with nature, he is one of the “humiliated and insulted,” but internally he is the freest of all.

(Mtsyri alone with himself and nature)

This combination of the incongruous - touching lyricism in contemplating the beauties of nature with powerful strength, gentleness and firm intentions to escape - is something that Mtsyri himself regards with full understanding. He knows that there is no happiness for him either in the form of a monk or in the form of a fugitive; he surprisingly accurately understood this deep thought, although he is neither a philosopher nor even a thinker. The last stage of protest does not allow one to come to terms with this thought, because shackles and prison walls are alien to man, because he was created in order to strive for something.

Mtsyri dies, deliberately does not touch the food offered by the monk (he saves him a second time from death, and is also his baptist), simply does not want to recover. He sees death as the only possible deliverance from the shackles of an imposed religion, from someone who , without hesitation, wrote his fate. He looks into the eyes of death courageously - not in the way a Christian should humbly lower his eyes before it - and this is his last protest before earth and Heaven.

Artistic means, the meaning of the poem in art

In addition to the typical means of artistic expression for romantic works (epithets, comparisons, a large number of rhetorical questions and exclamations), poetic organization plays a role in the artistic originality of the work. The poem is written in iambic tetrameter, using exclusively masculine rhyme. V.G. Belinsky, in his review of the poem, emphasized that this persistent iambic and masculine rhyme is like a mighty sword cutting down enemies. This technique allowed us to draw truly passionate and vivid images.

"Mtsyri" became a source of inspiration for many poets and artists. More than once they tried to set heroic themes to music, since the poem became a real symbol of the ineradicable desire for freedom.