And having removed the former wreath, they are the crown of thorns. Mikhail Lermontov

Revenge, my lord, revenge!
I will fall at your feet:
Be fair and punish the killer
So that his execution in later centuries
Your right judgment proclaimed to posterity,
To see the villains in her example.

And he is killed - and taken by the grave,
Like that singer, unknown, but sweet,
The prey of jealousy is deaf,
Sung by him with such wondrous power,
Struck, like him, by a ruthless hand.

Why from peaceful bliss and simple-hearted friendship
He entered this light envious and stifling
For a free heart and fiery passions?
Why did he give his hand to the insignificant slanderers,
Why did he believe the words and caresses false,
He, who from a young age comprehended people? ..

And removing the former wreath - they are a crown of thorns,
Wreathed in laurels, they put on him:
But secret needles are harsh
They wounded a glorious brow;
Poisoned his last moments
Insidious whisper of mocking ignoramuses,
And he died - with a vain thirst for revenge,
With the annoyance of the secret of deceived hopes.
The sounds of wonderful songs were silenced,
Do not give them away again:
The singer's shelter is gloomy and cramped,
And on the lips of his seal. —

And you, arrogant descendants
By the well-known meanness of the illustrious fathers,
Fifth slave corrected the wreckage
The game of happiness offended childbirth!
You, a greedy crowd standing at the throne,
Freedom, Genius and Glory executioners!
You hide under the shadow of the law,
Before you is the court and the truth - everything is silent! ..
But there is also God's judgment, the confidants of debauchery!
There is a formidable judgment: it waits;
He is not available to the sound of gold,
And he knows his thoughts and deeds in advance.
Then in vain will you resort to slander:
It won't help you again
And you won't wash away with all your black blood
Poet's righteous blood!

_________________

First published (under the title "On the Death of Pushkin") in 1858 in the "Polar Star for 1856" (book 2, pp. 33-35); in Russia: without 16 concluding verses - in 1858 in the "Bibliographic Notes" (vol. I, No. 2, st. 635 - 636); completely - in 1860 in the collected works edited by Dudyshkin (vol. I, pp. 61 - 63).
The poem was written on the death of Pushkin (Pushkin died on January 29, 1837). The autograph of the full text of the poem has not been preserved. There are rough and white autographs of the first part of it up to the words "And you, arrogant descendants." The second part of the poem has been preserved in copies, including in a copy attached to the investigative file “On impermissible verses written by the cornet of the Life Guards Hussars Regiment Lermantov, and on their distribution by the provincial secretary Raevsky”. Only in copies is there an epigraph to the poem, taken from the tragedy of the French writer Rotru "Venceslav" in the alteration of A. A. Gendre. With an epigraph, the poem began to be printed in 1887, when the investigative materials on the case “On Inadmissible Poems ...” were published, and among them a copy of the poem. By its nature, the epigraph does not contradict the 16 final lines. An appeal to the tsar with a demand to severely punish the murderer was unheard of impudence: according to A. Kh. There is no reason to believe, therefore, that the epigraph is attributed with the aim of softening the sharpness of the final part of the poem. In this edition, the epigraph is introduced into the text.

The poem had a wide public response. The duel and death of Pushkin, slander and intrigues against the poet in the circles of the court aristocracy caused deep indignation among the advanced part of Russian society. Lermontov expressed these sentiments in courageous verses filled with poetic power, which were sold in many lists among his contemporaries.

The name of Lermontov, as a worthy heir to Pushkin, received national recognition. At the same time, the political poignancy of the poem caused alarm in government circles.

According to the stories of contemporaries, one of the lists with the inscription "Appeal to the Revolution" was delivered to Nicholas I. Lermontov and his friend S. A. Raevsky, who participated in the distribution of poetry, were arrested and brought to justice. On February 25, 1837, by the highest command, a sentence was pronounced: “L<ейб>-gv<ардии>cornet Lermantov's hussar regiment... to be transferred with the same rank to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment; and the provincial secretary Raevsky ... to be kept under arrest for one month, and then sent to the Olonets province for use in the service, at the discretion of the local civil governor. In March, Lermontov left St. Petersburg, heading to the active army in the Caucasus, where at that time the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment was located.

In the verses “His killer in cold blood” and the following, we are talking about Dantes, the killer of Pushkin. Georges Charles Dantes (1812 - 1895) - a French monarchist who fled to Russia in 1833 after the Vendée rebellion, was the adopted son of the Dutch envoy in St. Petersburg, Baron Gekkeren. Having access to the salons of the Russian court aristocracy, he participated in the persecution of the poet, which ended in a fatal duel on January 27, 1837. After the death of Pushkin, he was exiled to France.
In the verses “Like that singer, unknown, but sweet” and the following, Lermontov recalls Vladimir Lensky from Pushkin's novel “Eugene Onegin”.

“And you, arrogant descendants” and the next 15 verses, according to S. A. Raevsky, were written later than the previous text. This is Lermontov's response to an attempt by government circles and the cosmopolitan nobility to denigrate Pushkin's memory and justify Dantes. The immediate reason for the creation of the last 16 poems, according to Raevsky, was Lermontov’s quarrel with a relative, chamber junker A. A. Stolypin, who, having visited the sick poet, began to express to him the “unfavorable” opinion of the courtiers about Pushkin and tried to defend Dantes.

A similar story is contained in a letter from A. M. Merinsky to P. A. Efremov, the publisher of Lermontov's works. There is a list of the poem, where an unknown contemporary of Lermontov named a number of surnames, allowing one to imagine who is being referred to in the lines "And you, arrogant descendants of the famous meanness of famous fathers." These are counts Orlov, Bobrinsky, Vorontsov, Zavadovsky, princes Baryatinsky and Vasilchikov, barons Engelhardt and Frederiks, whose fathers and grandfathers achieved a position at court only with the help of seeking, intrigue, love affairs.

“There is a formidable judgment: he is waiting” - this verse in the edition of Lermontov’s works edited by Efremov (1873) was first published with different interpretations: “There is a formidable judge: he is waiting.” There is no reason to change the original reading of this verse. The faint mention of the autograph, which allegedly formed the basis of the full text of the poem in this edition, is due to the fact that Efremov made a number of amendments to the text according to the letter of A. M. Merinsky, who kept a list of the poem, made by him from the autograph in 1837, immediately after Lermontov wrote it. Merinsky's letter to Efremov has been preserved, but it does not contain an amendment to the verse "There is a formidable judgment." Obviously, Efremov corrected it arbitrarily.

In some editions of Lermontov's works (under the editorship of Boldakov in 1891, in several Soviet editions starting from 1924), the reading of Efremov was repeated - "judge" instead of "court". Meanwhile, in all copies of the poem that have come down to us and in the first publications of the text, “court” is read, and not “judge”. A poem by the poet P. Gvozdev, who studied with Lermontov at the cadet school, has also been preserved. On February 22, 1837, Gvozdev wrote a response to Lermontov, containing lines confirming the correctness of the original reading of the controversial verse:

Didn't you say: "There is a terrible judgment!"
And this court is the court of offspring...

Revenge, my lord, revenge!
I will fall at your feet:
Be fair and punish the killer
So that his execution in later centuries
Your right judgment proclaimed to posterity,
To see the villains in her example.

The poet died! - slave of honor -
Pal, slandered by rumor,
With lead in my chest and a thirst for revenge,
Hanging your proud head!
The soul of the poet could not bear
The shame of petty insults,
He rebelled against the opinions of the world
Alone, as before ... and killed!
Killed! .. Why sob now,
Empty praise unnecessary choir
And the pathetic babble of excuses?
Fate's verdict has come true!
Didn't you at first so viciously persecuted
His free, bold gift
And for fun inflated
Slightly hidden fire?
Well? have fun ... He is tormented
I couldn't take the last one.
Faded like a beacon, marvelous genius,
Withered solemn wreath.

His killer in cold blood
He struck a blow ... there is no salvation:
Empty heart beats evenly
The pistol did not waver in his hand.
And what a marvel? ... from afar,
Like hundreds of fugitives
To catch happiness and ranks
Abandoned to us by the will of fate;
Laughing, he defiantly despised
Land foreign language and customs;
He could not spare our glory;
I could not understand at this bloody moment,
What did he raise his hand to?

And he is killed - and taken by the grave,
Like that singer, unknown, but sweet,
The prey of jealousy is deaf,
Sung by him with such wondrous power,
Struck, like him, by a ruthless hand.

And you, arrogant descendants
By the well-known meanness of the illustrious fathers,
Fifth slave corrected the wreckage
The game of happiness offended childbirth!
You, a greedy crowd standing at the throne,
Freedom, Genius and Glory executioners!
You hide under the shadow of the law,
Before you is the court and the truth - everything is silent! ..
But there is also God's judgment, the confidants of debauchery!
There is a formidable judgment: it waits;
He is not available to the sound of gold,
He knows both thoughts and deeds in advance.
Then in vain will you resort to slander:
It won't help you again
And you won't wash away with all your black blood
Poet's righteous blood!

Analysis of the poem "The Death of a Poet" by Lermontov

The poem "The Death of a Poet" was written by Lermontov a few hours after the first news of a mortal wound in a duel. It spread very quickly in society. In creative circles, the work caused a storm of sympathetic responses, in high society - furious indignation. In response, Lermontov writes the second part (“And you, arrogant descendants ...”), addressing directly those whom he considers guilty of the death of the poet. This sequel was incredibly daring and bold. It was regarded by the emperor as a direct appeal to the revolution. Lermontov's exile to the Caucasus immediately followed.

The poem "The Death of a Poet" was a turning point in Lermontov's work. He was shocked by the absurd and tragic death of a man whom he considered his teacher and mentor. There are secret reasons behind the duel killing. Lermontov develops the theme of confrontation between the poet and the crowd. Only this time, in the image of the crowd, he sees not an ordinary mob, but high society. It is known with what disdain the emperor himself and his entourage treated Pushkin's great talent. The poet was constantly ridiculed and humiliated. The man, whose importance for Russian literature can hardly be overestimated, was deliberately involved in dirty gossip.

Lermontov scornfully describes the murderer of Pushkin, who had no idea "what he raised his hand to! ...". At least Dantes was a foreigner. He really did not care about the Russian genius. Lermontov considers him a blind tool in the hands of real killers. On them, he brings down all his rage and indignation.

Admiration for Pushkin is especially noticeable at the end of the first part of the verse. Lermontov draws a direct analogy between the poet and Christ, who accepted a painful and unjust death ("a crown of thorns ... put on him").

The second part is much more emotional than the first. Lermontov is literally bursting with an overabundance of feelings. He proceeds to directly address the perpetrators of Pushkin's death and calls them by their proper names ("You, the greedy crowd standing at the throne"). Lermontov also list other crimes of the "confidants of debauchery": deceit to achieve wealth and high position, suppression of all manifestations of freedom and truth, use of power for personal interests.

The poet again resorts to religious symbolism. He believes that nothing will go unpunished in the face of the "terrible Judge". Criminals will sooner or later get what they deserve.

The ending of the work is very effective, based on a sharp contrast: the “black blood” of criminals is the “righteous blood” of a genius and a martyr.

Commentary on the poem:
First published (under the title "On the Death of Pushkin") in 1858 in the "Polar Star for 1856" (book 2, pp. 33 - 35); in Russia: without 16 final verses - in 1858 in the "Bibliographic Notes" (vol. I, No. 2, st. 635 - 636); in full - in 1860 in the collected works edited by Dudyshkin (vol. I, pp. 61 - 63).
The poem was written on the death of Pushkin (Pushkin died on January 29, 1837). The autograph of the full text of the poem has not been preserved. There are also the first part of it up to the words "And you, arrogant descendants." The second part of the poem has been preserved in copies, including in a copy attached to the investigative file "On the impermissible verses written by the cornet of the Life Guards Hussars regiment Lermantov, and on the distribution thereof by the provincial secretary Raevsky." Only in copies is there an epigraph to the poem, taken from the tragedy of the French writer Rotru "Venceslav" in the alteration of A. A. Gendre. With an epigraph, the poem began to be printed from 1887, when the investigative materials in the case “On Inadmissible Poems ...” were published, and among them a copy of the poem. By its nature, the epigraph does not contradict the 16 final lines. An appeal to the tsar with a demand to severely punish the murderer was an unheard-of impudence: according to A. Kh. There is no reason to believe, therefore, that the epigraph is attributed with the aim of softening the sharpness of the final part of the poem. In this edition, the epigraph is introduced into the text.
The poem had a wide public response. The duel and death of Pushkin, slander and intrigues against the poet in the circles of the court aristocracy caused deep indignation among the advanced part of Russian society. He expressed these sentiments in courageous, poetic verses, which were sold in many lists among his contemporaries.
The name of Lermontov, as a worthy heir to Pushkin, received national recognition. At the same time, the political poignancy of the poem caused alarm in government circles.
According to the stories of contemporaries, one of the lists with the inscription "Appeal to the Revolution" was delivered to Nicholas I. Lermontov and his friend S. A. Raevsky, who participated in the distribution of poetry, were arrested and brought to justice. On February 25, 1837, by the highest command, a sentence was pronounced: “L-Gussar regiment of Cornet Lermantov ... transfer the same rank to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment; and the provincial secretary Raevsky ... to be kept under arrest for one month, and then sent to the Olonets province for use in the service, at the discretion of the local civil governor. In March, Lermontov left St. Petersburg, heading to the active army in the Caucasus, where at that time the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment was located.
In the verses “His killer in cold blood” and the following, we are talking about Dantes, the killer of Pushkin. Georges Charles Dantes (1812 - 1895) - a French monarchist who fled to Russia in 1833 after the Vendée rebellion, was the adopted son of the Dutch envoy in St. Petersburg, Baron Gekkeren. Having access to the salons of the Russian court aristocracy, he participated in the persecution of the poet, which ended in a fatal duel on January 27, 1837. After the death of Pushkin, he was exiled to France.
In verse "Like that singer, unknown, but cute" and the following Lermontov recalls Vladimir Lensky from Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin" .
"And you, arrogant descendants" and the next 15 verses, according to S. A. Raevsky, were written later than the previous text. This is Lermontov's response to an attempt by government circles and the cosmopolitan nobility to denigrate Pushkin's memory and justify Dantes. The immediate reason for the creation of the last 16 poems, according to Raevsky, was Lermontov’s quarrel with a relative, a chamber junker, who, having visited the sick poet, began to express to him the “unfavorable” opinion of the courtiers about Pushkin and tried to defend Dantes.
A similar story is contained in a letter from A. M. Merinsky to P. A. Efremov, the publisher of Lermontov's works. There is a list of the poem, where an unknown contemporary of Lermontov named a number of surnames, allowing you to imagine who is being referred to in the lines "And you, the arrogant descendants of the famous meanness of the famous fathers". These are counts Orlov, Bobrinsky, Vorontsov, Zavadovsky, princes Baryatinsky and Vasilchikov, barons Engelhardt and Frederiks, whose fathers and grandfathers achieved a position at court only with the help of seeking, intrigue, love affairs.
"There is a formidable judgment: it awaits"- this verse in the edition of Lermontov's works edited by Efremov (1873) was first published with different interpretations: "There is a formidable judge: he is waiting." There is no reason to change the original reading of this verse. The faint mention of the autograph, which allegedly formed the basis of the full text of the poem in this edition, is due to the fact that Efremov made a number of amendments to the text according to the letter of A. M. Merinsky, who kept a list of the poem, made by him from the autograph in 1837, immediately after Lermontov wrote it. Merinsky's letter to Efremov has been preserved, but it does not contain an amendment to the verse "There is a formidable judgment." Obviously, Efremov corrected it arbitrarily.
In some editions of Lermontov's works (edited by Boldakov in 1891, in several Soviet editions starting from 1924), the reading of Efremov was repeated - "judge" instead of "court". Meanwhile, in all copies of the poem that have come down to us and in the first publications of the text, “court” is read, and not “judge”. A poem by the poet P. Gvozdev, who studied with Lermontov at the cadet school, has also been preserved. Gvozdev wrote on February 22, 1837, containing lines confirming the correctness of the original reading of the controversial verse:

Didn't you say: "There is a terrible judgment!"
And this court is the court of offspring...

Death of poet

The poet is dead! - slave of honor -
Pal, slandered by rumor,
With lead in my chest and a thirst for revenge,
Hanging your proud head!
The soul of the poet could not bear
The shame of petty insults,
He rebelled against the opinions of the world
One as before ... and killed!
Killed! .. why sob now,
Empty praise unnecessary choir,
And the pathetic babble of excuses?
Fate's verdict has come true!
Didn't you at first so viciously persecuted
His free, bold gift
And for fun inflated
Slightly hidden fire?
Well? have fun ... - he is tormented
I couldn't take the last one.
Faded like a beacon, marvelous genius,
Withered solemn wreath.
His killer in cold blood
He struck a blow ... there is no salvation:
Empty heart beats evenly
The pistol did not waver in his hand.
And what a miracle? .. from afar,
Like hundreds of fugitives
To catch happiness and ranks
Abandoned to us by the will of fate;
Laughing, he defiantly despised
Land foreign language and customs;
He could not spare our glory;
I could not understand at this bloody moment,
What did he raise his hand to?
And he is killed - and taken by the grave,
Like that singer, unknown, but sweet,
The prey of jealousy is deaf,
Sung by him with such wondrous power,
Struck, like him, by a ruthless hand.
Why from peaceful bliss and simple-hearted friendship
He entered this light envious and stifling
For a free heart and fiery passions?
Why did he give his hand to the insignificant slanderers,
Why did he believe the words and caresses false,
He, who from a young age comprehended people? ..
And removing the former wreath - they are the crown of thorns,
Wreathed in laurels, they put on him:
But secret needles are harsh
They wounded a glorious brow;
Poisoned his last moments
Insidious whisper of mocking ignoramuses,
And he died - with a vain thirst for revenge,
With the annoyance of the secret of deceived hopes.
The sounds of wonderful songs were silenced,
Do not give them away again:
The singer's shelter is gloomy and cramped,
And on the lips of his seal. -

The note.

* Involuntary indignation seized Lermontov, at the news of Pushkin's death, and he "poured the bitterness of his heart onto paper." The poem "Death of a Poet" ended at first with the words: "And his seal is on his lips." It quickly spread in the lists, caused a storm in high society, new praise for Dantes; finally, one of Lermontov's relatives, N. Stolypin, began to reproach his vehemence towards such a gentleman as Dantes. Lermontov lost his temper, ordered the guest to go out and, in a fit of passionate anger, sketched out the final 16 lines “And you, arrogant descendants ...” ...

Arrest and trial followed, overseen by the emperor himself; Pushkin's friends stood up for Lermontov, primarily Zhukovsky, who was close to the imperial family, in addition to this, the grandmother, who had secular connections, did everything to mitigate the fate of her only grandson. Some time later, the cornet Lermontov was transferred "with the same rank", i.e. ensign, to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment, which operated in the Caucasus. The poet went into exile, accompanied by general attention: there were both passionate sympathy and hidden enmity.

Analysis of Mikhail Lermontov's poem "The Death of a Poet"

An analysis of Lermontov's poem "The Death of a Poet" should begin with the historical events that took place that led Lermontov to write this work. In January 1837, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin dies. The news of the death of such a talented person as Pushkin in his prime shocked Mikhail Yuryevich very much. The tragic death under rather ridiculous circumstances did not give Lermontov rest. In a fit of despair and a thirst for justice, the author writes the poem "The Death of a Poet". There is an opinion that in this work Lermontov expresses his disagreement with the policy of the state and many high-ranking officials who justify the behavior of the killer A.S. Pushkin.

This work was written in such a genre acceptable to a Russian person that it immediately became loved and known among a wide range of readers. The work was rewritten, quoted and memorized. Despite the fact that the poem is dedicated to the death of a particular person, whose fate was cut short in a tragic way, the poet puts into his creation the eternal question of the confrontation between good and evil, dark and light forces.

In The Death of a Poet, Pushkin's life path is presented as the numerous fates of millions of talented people who died very early.

What is this poem about?

The poem "The Death of a Poet" describes the unfair and early death of a young and talented author. Conventionally, the whole poem can be divided into two halves. In the first half there is a complete description of the tragic death of A.S. Pushkin in 1837. If you carefully read the written lines, Lermontov's disagreement with the position of high society, which more than once criticized and mocked Pushkin, becomes clear. In this work, Lermontov condemns the haughty attitude of high society towards a talented poet.

The second half of the work is written as a mockery of those responsible for the death of the poet. It is not for nothing that Lermontov calls those who ridicule Pushkin's work the "arrogant descendants" of the famous fathers. The poet expresses himself against the prevailing opinion in society and speaks of the Judgment of God, which cannot be bought. In addition, in his creation, the poet speaks of the mandatory punishment awaiting the culprit in the death of Pushkin.

Genre

Analyzing the verse “The Death of a Poet” by Lermontov, one can no doubt discern in his lines not only tragedy, but also moments of satire. And indeed a lyrical work is designed in a genre that combines elegy and satire. The drama of the ongoing events associated with the death of Pushkin is fully revealed in the first part of the poem. Elements of satire and even sarcasm are present in the last 16 lines of the work. Such a rare combination of two elements of the way of life that are opposite in meaning, like elegy and satire, best reflect the state of Lermontov's inner world.

The tragedy associated with the death of Pushkin, as a great talent of Russia, is replaced by a ghostly attitude towards the opinion of the public, which is not worth a particle of the deceased person.

The main idea of the poem

The ideological meaning of Lermontov's immortal work "The Death of a Poet" lies in the protest of the author of the prevailing social position, which covers the criminal and is indifferent to the loss of literary genius. The death of Pushkin, as an opponent to the stagnant views of a wealthy society, Lermontov connects with an uprising against outdated views on the worldview and the origin of man.

In his creation “The Death of a Poet”, Lermontov considers the rich foundations of persons close to the sovereign to be the theme and driving force of society. Rebelled against such a misunderstanding of Pushkin's world, society ignored and shunned him. The loneliness and absurd death of a talented person that befell him set fire to the inner fire of confrontation and protection in the soul of the young Lermontov. Mikhail Yuryevich understands that it is quite difficult to resist one against the whole social order, but Pushkin dared and was not afraid of the wrath of high-ranking officials. With this poem, Lermontov shows the guilt of society in the death of the poet.

Method of versification

Despite the tragedy and sarcasm that prevail in the work, Lermontov uses numerous techniques of versification. Comparisons are clearly visible in the work: “It has faded like a light”, “The solemn wreath has faded”. The author of the poem connects Pushkin's life with a candle illuminating the path, but extinguished too soon. The second half of the poem is full of antitheses between the light of the poet and the darkness of society. The use of epithets: “an empty heart”, “a moment of bloody” and metaphors: “a pitiful babble of justification”, “abandoned to catch happiness and ranks” adds additional artistic expressiveness to the work.

After reading this work, the response to the death of the poet and the opposition to the wrong death of talent remain in the soul.

Analysis of Mikhail Lermontov's poem "The Death of a Poet" (2nd version)

The first work of Mikhail Lermontov, which brought him wide popularity, was the poem "The Death of a Poet", although it was published only almost 20 years after its creation.

This poem was written immediately after Pushkin's duel with Dantes and Alexander Sergeevich was mortally wounded. Most of the poem was created in those days, except for its last 16 lines. The final lines were completed after Pushkin's funeral, when it became known that a part of society close to the royal court took Dantes under the protection. Many poets responded to Pushkin's death, but there was neither such anger nor such passionate denunciation in their works.

The poem instantly sold out in handwritten lists and was delivered to the tsar with the inscription "Appeal to the Revolution." Both the author of the seditious work and those who distributed it were arrested - the arrest was followed by exile.

"The Death of a Poet" is a vivid example of journalistic civil lyrics with elements of philosophical reflection. The main theme is the tragic fate of the Poet in society. The work combines features of different genres: elegy, ode, satire and political pamphlet.

According to its structure, the poem consists of several fragments, each with its own style. Composite-wise, three relatively independent parts can be easily distinguished.

The first part is a sad elegy about the tragic event of 1837. From the very first lines, the subtext of the poem is clear - Mikhail Lermontov calls Pushkin's direct killer not the duellist Dantes, but high society, which mocked the Poet and humiliated him. Secular society did not miss a single opportunity to prick and humiliate the Poet - it was a kind of fun. What is worth alone

Emperor Nicholas 1 assigned him the rank of chamber junker in 1834, when Pushkin was already 35 years old (a similar rank, as a rule, was awarded to young men who were assigned the role of court pages). In the poem, the author conveys to the reader the idea that the poet's murder is an inevitable consequence of his long-standing and lonely opposition to the "light".

In the second part, an image of a secular society is created as a kind of vicious circle from which there is no escape. It consists of vile and cruel people, capable of deceit, betrayal and deceit. The author develops a romantic motif of confrontation between the hero and the crowd. This conflict is insoluble, the tragedy is inevitable.

Mikhail Lermontov speaks openly about the hypocrisy of people who, during their lifetime, humiliated the Poet, and after his death put on a mask of sorrow. There is also a hint that Pushkin's death was predetermined - "the verdict has come true." According to legend, a fortune-teller predicted Pushkin's death in a duel in his youth and even accurately described the appearance of the one who would make the fatal shot.

But Lermontov does not at all justify Dantes with this mention, rightly believing that the death of the brilliant Russian Poet remains on his conscience. However, the people who fomented the conflict between Pushkin and Dantes were well aware that the life of a man who managed to glorify Russian literature was at stake. Therefore, it is them Lermontov considers the true killers.

Poet. The second part differs markedly from the first in mood and style. The main thing in it is grief about the untimely death of the Poet. Lermontov unleashes a deeply personal feeling of love and pain.

The third part, the last sixteen lines of the poem, is an angry accusation that develops into a curse. Before us is a monologue with rhetorical questions and exclamations, in which the features of satire and pamphlet appear. And this monologue can be called a continuation of an unequal duel - one against all.

The secular "crowd" is denounced three times: at the beginning, towards the end of the poem and in the last lines. The author refers to the figure of the direct killer only once.

Describing the killer of the Poet, Lermontov gives the exact signs of Dantes:

... from afar,

Like hundreds of fugitives

To catch happiness and ranks

Abandoned to us by the will of fate ...

The stranger, who did not know the Russian language and was contemptuous of the country in which he lived, without hesitation shot at the Poet. Lermontov, using the technique of antithesis, contrasts the Poet with the killer: he has an “empty heart”, he, “like hundreds of fugitives”, is a hunter for happiness and ranks, who despises foreign culture and customs.

The whole last part sounds like a political declamation. Lermontov predicts death to the executioners of the Poet and pronounces a terrible sentence on them:

and you will not wash away with all your black blood of the Poet the righteous blood!

It is important that the Poet is not only Pushkin. Mourning Pushkin, Lermontov reflects on the fate of the Poet in society. Lermontov is sure that Pushkin died not from a bullet, but from the indifference and contempt of society. When writing these lines, Mikhail Yuryevich did not even suspect that he himself would die in the same way in a duel - in just a few years.

The means of artistic expression that Lermontov chooses help him convey the pathos of the poem, express indignation and anger at the killers and the bitterness of personal loss. Here are some epithets found for this: a free, bold gift; empty heart; wondrous genius; bloody moment; dull jealousy; black" blood; pitiful babble; insidious whisper; worthless slanderers.

Lermontov uses comparisons: The poet "faded like a light"; withered like a "ceremonial wreath"; died, "like that singer ... sung by him ..." (comparison with Lensky - a character from the novel in verse "Eugene Onegin"). Paraphrases can also be noted (The marvelous genius has died away, / The solemn wreath has withered), metaphors (for catching happiness and ranks; Executioners of Freedom, Genius and Glory; miserable babble of justification; viciously persecuted ... a gift; And having removed the wreath - they are a crown of thorns, / entwined with laurels, put on him); assonances (drooping proud head) and alliterations

(fell slandered by rumor).

There are many rhetorical questions in the poem. Such questions are posed not in order to get an answer to them, but in order to focus attention: “Why ... / Did he enter this envious and stifling light / For a free heart and fiery passions? / Why is he

He gave his hand to insignificant slanderers, / Why did he believe false words and caresses, / He, who from a young age comprehended people?

In these lines, another stylistic device is also used - parallelism, that is, the same syntactic construction of adjacent sentences, which gives poetic speech a special expressiveness. It is no coincidence that the word why is repeated at the beginning of sentences. This technique, called anaphora, also enhances emotionality.

There are literary reminiscences in the poem. (Reminiscence is the reproduction by the author of images that refer the reader to another work known to him). So, the beginning of Lermontov's poem: “The Poet is dead! - a slave of honor ... "Reminds the reader of the lines from Pushkin's poem" Prisoner of the Caucasus ":" When I died, innocent, joyless, / And listened to the whisper of slander from all sides ...». Another line “having bowed his proud head”) recalls Pushkin’s poem “The Poet” “does not bow his proud head”).

The poem is written in iambic tetrameter, in the second part - free iambic. Various methods of rhyming are used: cross, ring, pair.

Analysis of Lermontov's poem "The Death of a Poet" (3)

It is no secret that Mikhail Lermontov admired the work of his contemporary, Alexander Pushkin, and considered him one of the brightest representatives of Russian literature. Therefore, the death of the idol made a very strong impression on Lermontov. Moreover, he was one of the few who spoke truthfully about this tragic event, dedicating Pushkin one of his most powerful and vivid works - the poem "The Death of a Poet".
It consists of two different parts both in size and mood. The first of them is a sad elegy in which Lermontov describes the tragic events of January 1837. However, from the first lines, the subtext of the poem is clear, in which Mikhail Lermontov calls Pushkin's direct killer not the duellist Dantes, but high society, which mocked the poet and humiliated him at every opportunity. Indeed, direct or indirect insult to Pushkin during his lifetime was almost a national entertainment of secular society, which was indulged not only by princes and counts, but also by the first persons of the state. What is worth the mere assignment to the poet by Tsar Nicholas I of the rank of chamber junker in 1834, when Pushkin was already 34 years old. In order to understand the full extent and depth of the humiliation of the poet, one must take into account that such a rank, as a rule, was awarded to 16-year-old boys who were assigned the role of court pages.
In the poem "The Death of a Poet", Mikhail Lermontov openly speaks of the hypocrisy of people who, during their lifetime, humiliated Pushkin, and after his death put on a mask of universal sorrow. “... why now sobs, empty praises, an unnecessary choir and a pathetic babble of justification?” Lermontov tries to denounce secular society. And then he hints at the fact that Pushkin's death was inevitable, since, according to legend, a fortune-teller predicted the poet's death in a duel in his youth, accurately describing the appearance of the one who would make the fatal shot. Therefore, a rather mysterious line appears in the poem that "fate has come to pass."
Lermontov does not justify Dantes, who is responsible for the death of one of the most talented Russian poets. However, he emphasizes that the killer of Pushkin "impudently despised the land of a foreign language and customs." Nevertheless, the people who fomented the conflict between Pushkin and Dantes were well aware that the life of a man who had already managed to glorify Russian literature was at stake. Therefore, it is them that Lermontov considers the true killers of the poet.
The second part of the poem, shorter and more capacious, is filled with caustic sarcasm and is directly addressed to all those who are guilty of the death of the poet. Lermontov portrays them as "arrogant descendants", whose only merit is that they were born to illustrious fathers. The author is convinced that the so-called "golden youth" is reliably protected by the "shadow of the law", and therefore will escape punishment for Pushkin's death. But at the same time, Lermontov recalls that there is still God's judgment, which is "inaccessible to the ringing of gold." Before him, all the explicit and implicit killers of the poet, sooner or later, will still have to appear, and then justice will surely prevail. Let not according to the laws of the earth, but according to the laws of heaven, which the author considers more honest and fair. “And you will not wash away the righteous blood with all your black blood of a poet!” Lermontov is convinced, not suspecting that in a few years he himself will become a victim of a duel. And just like Pushkin, he will die not from a bullet, but from the contempt and indifference of a society in which prophets are equated with lepers, and poets with court jesters who do not have the right to their own opinion.

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Analysis of the poem "The Death of a Poet" by Lermontov

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