Literature often confronts its heroes with the problem of choice: which path to follow, what spiritual values to focus on, what to do in a given situation? In the poem “Mtsyri” M. Yu. Lermontov also tests his hero.
Mtsyri - non-serving monk. As a six-year-old boy, by the will of fate, he ended up in a monastery, where he spent his entire life. During the first time of imprisonment, Mtsyri is very sad and protests against his situation: he refuses food, behaves aloof and withdrawn. However, time heals - the boy gets used to everything and even forgets his native language.
Time passes and Mtsyri leaves the monastery. Why? What prompted him to run away? The poet reveals this to us in the hero’s confession.
Stuffy cells, an atmosphere of complete humility, tranquility, peace and quiet, meekness - this is what is against a hero rises. He seeks a life full of anxiety and struggle. It is no coincidence that, remembering the fatherland, the young man remembers the shine of daggers. The thirst for struggle allows him to imagine himself as a real daredevil:
But now I'm sure
What would it be like to be a magician in the land of our fathers?
Not one of the last daredevils.
Real life for Mtsyri is overcoming obstacles. Eternal harmony is not for him. The captivity of the monastery is hated by the hero:
I lived little, and lived in captivity.
Such two lives in one,
But only full of anxiety,
“I would trade it if I could,” he says.
The ideal environment for Mtsyri is “where people are as free as eagles.” Freedom is another vital value of the hero. The young man has a fiery heart and yearns for real human passions. He wants to know love and hate, the living beating of an excited heart.
The hero yearns for his fatherland, strives for it and dreams about it. Homeland - sacred for Mtsyri, despite the fact that he left her as a child. Majestic mountains, wise old men - all this emerges in the hero’s ethical memories.
Three days on the road, Mtsyri manifests himself as a strong, powerful person in spirit. He desperately makes his way through the thorns, courageously enters into battle with the leopard; wounded, continues on his way. Suddenly seeing the hated walls of the monastery again in front of him, Mtsyri falls into despair. Nevertheless, he is the winner in this battle with life. The young man does not repent at all of his actions. These three days of escape, full of struggle, freedom, - real life for Mtsyri. For a breath of freedom, he is ready to give everything he had before. Mtsyri does not deviate from his idea, until last minutes he is faithful to life life values, for the sake of which he made his escape.
The great critic V. G. Belinsky argued that the hero of the poem "Mtsyri" - Lermontov's ideal that it is he who is “the reflection in poetry of his shadow self" The freedom-loving Lermontov really trusts Mtsyri with his innermost thoughts, his idea of life priorities.
Topic 51. What moral values are affirmed in the poem by M.Yu. Lermontov "Mtsyri"?
You can start your discussion with the composition of the poem. As a matter of fact, thanks to the exposition, the reader knows the story of Mtsyri even before the hero begins to tell it. It is also known that time destroyed the monastery - the Mtsyri prison, and in the face of eternity they seemed to “equalize”. However, the monastery is not valuable here in itself, but only as a “guardian” of the history of the young monk.
This story is told in the form of a confession - in the first person. Before us is a clear rethinking of the genre: instead of a monk’s story about sins and repentance, there is a passionate story of a young man about three days spent “in freedom.”
Thus, the reader’s attention is focused on the main thing - the inner world of the hero. B. Eikhenbaum in “Articles about Lermontov” wrote that in the poem “Mtsyri” “the problem of the struggle for moral values, human behavior, pride and beliefs, the problem of “proud faith in people and other life” is put forward.”
The theme of good and evil is refracted in a special way in the poem. It is the monk who saves Mtsyri from death, the monastery becomes a shelter for a weak child due to the war deprived of his homeland. But this same monastery is a “prison” for Mtsyri. According to Yu.V. Mann, “evil exists only as violence against the will, against the natural feeling of homeland. Prisonership is achieved only by submission to the established order of things.” This is an image of protection, close to images of peace, promising a refusal to fight for one’s ideals.
It is repeatedly emphasized that he dies “proudly”: as a boy and as a young man. In pride there is protest and challenge, this is a feeling that is in many ways alien to Christian humility. “Proud gaze” is what characterizes his father in Mtsyri’s mind. In the article already cited above by Yu.V. Mann notes that Mtsyri is alien to the desire for forgiveness, the ideas of Christian humility, he does not complain about God, but does not turn to him - this is the reason for his loneliness. And this happens because “the desired, native land of Mtsyri is outside the visible available circle of phenomena... in “God’s world”, where everything is in its place, Mtsyri turned out to be an extra link.”
Homeland and freedom are combined into one multi-valued symbol. “And how I lived in foreign country, // I will die a slave and an orphan” - the impossibility of being in the Motherland in close connection with the inability to overcome circumstances (hence, apparently, the word “slave”) and the absence of a kindred spirit. For the sake of this Motherland, the hero is ready to give up heaven and eternity. She calls and beckons him. “A child at heart” - “a monk by destiny” - the most important antithesis: naturalness, inner freedom impossible to combine with the “stopped”, ordered life of the monastery. The motive of the prisoner develops into the motive of doom to loneliness. But this loneliness also cannot be the hero’s state - he must either “take a monastic vow” or, “taking a sip of freedom,” die. These two lives, two possibilities are irreconcilable, and the choice is determined by the hero’s internal aspirations - the “fiery passion” living in him.
The theme of humility is connected with the monastery - renunciation of the homeland, family, friends (“I could not say to anyone // The sacred words “father” and “mother.” // Of course, you wanted, old man, // So that I would lose the habit of being in the monastery // From these sweet names”). Mtsyri does not accept humility, and therefore “does not pray for forgiveness.”
“A life full of worries” contrasts Mtsyri with “life in captivity,” “a wonderful world of worries and battles” with “stuffy cells and prayers.” He remains true to his ideals to the end. And this is his moral strength. The path to the Motherland, an attempt to find “ kindred spirit” becomes the only possibility for existence.
Mtsyri’s path is not only the path to the Motherland, but also the path of life; it is no coincidence that some researchers draw parallels with Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. And Mtsyri’s moral choice lies away from the path chosen for him by life, from the path outlined by the appearance of a beautiful Georgian woman, from the alluring path from the song of the fish. This is the once chosen path of life, nourished by “tears and melancholy,” recognized “before heaven and earth,” and loyalty to which is secured by an oath.
The days spent in freedom are life in its true, the only possible meaning for Mtsyri - the focus of joy, danger and struggle.
Mtsyri feels the harmony of nature and strives to merge with it. He feels its depth and mystery. Speech in in this case it is about the real, earthly beauty of nature, and not about an ideal that exists only in the imagination. Mtsyri listens to the voice of nature and admires the leopard as a worthy opponent. And the spirit of Mtsyri himself is unshakable, despite his physical illness.
It is also important that the beauty of the earth is directly connected for him with the idea of freedom - it is no coincidence that his goal is “To find out if the earth is beautiful; // Find out whether for freedom or prison // We will be born into this world.”
Death for Mtsyri is the end of suffering, but also the renunciation of life in all its fullness. He does not hope to meet his Motherland “beyond the grave,” and therefore it is important for him to last time see the edge of your dreams, feel its breath.
According to D.E. Maksimov, “the meaning of the poem is to glorify the search, the power of will, courage, rebellion and struggle, no matter what tragic results they lead to.”
Poem by M.Yu. Lermontov’s “Mtsyri” is rightfully considered one of the peaks of M.Yu.’s poetic creativity. Lermontov. The work is combined general mood. In it, the author created the character of a young highlander of exceptional strength and courage.
The boy was captured as a child, and due to illness he remained to live within the walls of the monastery. However, just as a meadow flower is difficult to grow in a garden, Mtsyri suffered painfully in captivity. He was tormented by nostalgia, and he “looked, sighing, to the east,” tormented by homesickness. This patriotic feeling entered his life unconsciously, instinctively, as if with mother’s milk. Gradually Mtsyri got used to captivity:
I began to understand a foreign language,
Was baptized by the holy father
And, unfamiliar with the noisy light,
Already wanted in the prime of life
Make your monastic vows.
But the strength of character did not allow the proud mountaineer to humble himself and remain forever in the monastic monastery. Risking his life, he escaped. In his confession, he told about how he spent three days in freedom:
I lived little, and lived in captivity.
Such two lives in one,
But only full of anxiety,
I would trade it if I could
He exclaims with delight. This loyalty to the tribal way of life, combined with the tragic motive of orphanhood, evokes involuntary sympathy for the young highlander. A proud, freedom-loving young man paid at the cost of his life for the right to experience a breath of freedom, to see the peaks of the gray Caucasus. However, Mtsyri is characterized by the most ordinary, natural human feelings. For example, he experiences fear on the edge of an abyss. His heart melts at the sound of the young Georgian woman’s voice.
I wonder what patriotic theme is revealed in the poem not so much through Mtsyri’s declarative statements, but through admiring the beauty of the Caucasus.
The young man calls himself timid and cries with frustration at not finding the way to his native village. But his determination, desire to see his native country at any cost, on the contrary, testify to the hero’s mental fortitude. On the way, he suffers from hunger, but does not turn back. After a fight with a mighty leopard, he realizes that he could be “in the land of his fathers, not one of the last daredevils.” In the scene of the battle between Mtsyri and the leopard, Lermontov with frankness and directness emphasizes the warlike spirit in the character of his hero. He is first and foremost a fighter, and in a bloody fight his ancient hunting instincts are revealed.
After the battle with the leopard, the wounded Mtsyri feels that he is dying. Through his dying thoughts, Lermontov shows the depth and tenderness of the young man’s soul. Only a creatively gifted, rich nature can understand nature so subtly.
Using the example of the image of Mtsyri, Lermontov teaches to love life in all its fullness, to be devoted native land, for every person is happiest where he was born, where he is destined to live by God and fate. Mtsyri dies with the thought of his homeland, bequeathing to transfer him to the garden, from where the Caucasus is visible, and hopes that he will send his last greetings to his prodigal son with a cool breeze.
The poem "Mtsyri" is a hymn to the unconquered person. Of course, Mtsyri was created as a romantic hero, but the closeness of his views to the author’s is obvious. Thus, we can confidently assert that Lermontov’s ideal of a person is a free hero-fighter, actively related to life, able not only to love and feel subtly the world, but also to fight to make your dreams come true. N.P. Ogarev believed that Mtsyri is “the clearest and only ideal of the poet.”
What values did M.Yu. Lermontov’s “Mtsyri” want to convey to readers? freedom and human dignity in
What a mighty spirit, what a gigantic nature this Mtsyri has!
V.G. Belinsky.
Lermontov's poem "Mtsyri" is a romantic work. In it, the author addresses an unusual hero with tragic fate, existing in an environment unusual for the average reader.
What made Lermontov come up with just such a plot for his poem? I think the writer, disillusioned with the reality around him (remember that this was an era of reaction, stagnation, persecution of all free-thinking), tried to find his ideal in an exotic country and unusual heroes. First of all, he wanted to see the person strong in spirit with clear ideals, life goal. And ready to sacrifice his life for all this.
It is precisely such a hero that the young man Mtsyri appears before us, a novice living in a monastery in the valley of Georgia. He came to this monastery not of his own free will - he, a captive boy, was left here by a Russian general. Even then, Mtsyri had a strange disposition - he was “shy and wild”, in addition, he was very weak physically. However, this boy had enormous fortitude and feeling inner dignity:
...even a faint moan
Didn't come out of children's lips,
He signly rejected food
And he died quietly, proudly.
Groomed by a monk, the hero remained in the monastery. However, he was not happy there for a minute - with all his soul Mtsyri was eager to go home, “to the east,” to the country of his ancestors. Therefore, from childhood, the hero perceived the monastery walls as the walls of a prison, as an obstacle that prevents the fulfillment of his dreams.
A child of the mountains, Mtsyri passionately dreamed of a life “full of worries.” In her he saw the embodiment of his ideal - freedom, merging with nature, constantly testing his own strengths and capabilities:
In that wonderful world of worries and battles,
Where rocks hide in the clouds,
Where people are as free as eagles.
And Mtsyri decided to fulfill his dream - “Press my burning chest with longing to the chest of another, Although unfamiliar, but dear.” The hero sought to get to his homeland, so as to no longer be a “slave and orphan,” but to become a full-fledged person with given name and your roots.
He confesses to his mentor that three days outside the walls of the monastery became for him better days life:
... and my life
Without these three blissful days
It would be sadder and gloomier
Your powerless old age.
The hero understood what it means to be free and rely only on own strength. In freedom, he felt part of nature, part huge world, which did not penetrate the walls of the monastery: “And it was easy for my heart, I don’t know why.” In communication with nature, Mtsyri began to remember and find himself - to remember his past, to turn from a slave into free man.
Mtsyri's path was harsh and difficult - the pangs of fatigue, hunger, and despair awaited him. But the hero was ready to die rather than give up and ask for help from people. The strength of his character and desire to achieve his goal knew no bounds. It was this inner power that helped Mtsyri defeat the “mighty leopard.”
An exhausted man entered into battle with a well-fed and strong animal. Their duel was painful:
And we, intertwined like a pair of snakes,
Hugging tighter than two friends,
They fell at once...
However, at the moment of the battle, the blood of his ancestors - fearless fighters - spoke in the young man. He felt enormous strength within himself, which helped Mtsyri defeat the leopard:
But now I'm sure
What could happen in the land of our fathers
Not one of the last daredevils.
However, the hero’s “awakening” turned out to be temporary. The poison of slavery, powerlessness, inherent in him in the monastery, turned out to be stronger: “The prison left its mark on me...” And so, after wanderings, he again, unexpectedly for himself, returned to the walls of the monastery - his prison, but also his home .
Lermontov himself, in my opinion, admires his hero, admires him strong character, persistent nature, independent and proud disposition. Just like the critic V.G. Belinsky, who wrote about Mtsyri: “...what a mighty spirit, what a gigantic nature this Mtsyri has!”
Lermontov fully sympathizes with his character, who was not destined to get home. However, the author says, the spirit of slavery is ineradicable in man, it makes even the most weak strong people, undermines them from the inside.
In the poem “Mtsyri” Lermontov embodied his idea of a “real man” - whole and strong personality who has a life goal and strives with all her might to achieve it. On the other hand, the poet expressed, “by contradiction,” his dream of ideal society, where the main values are human freedom and dignity.
Composition
Poem by M.Yu. Lermontov's "Mtsyri" was in many ways a summation of the poet's thoughts about man, the world, the relationship between the individual and society, man and nature. Poetic creativity Lermontov was based on the romantic worldview inherited by Lermontov from Byron - hence the emphasized loneliness of a person in the world and the understanding of this loneliness as a sign of chosenness. Distinctive feature the poet's creativity became an image of misunderstanding lyrical hero the meanest people (even his beloved) and his rejection by society; The “diabolical”, Manfredian pride of such a hero, his search for shelter and at the same time the impossibility of finding it due to the qualities of the personality himself became the focus of Lermontov’s attention. Another source of poetry was the Decembrist tradition with its ideas about the destiny of man to serve the fatherland, acute rejection social order, dreams of liberal changes in Russia, reflections on its destinies. That is why in Lermontov’s lyrics a combination of civil, philosophical and personal content becomes frequent, and the lyrical hero is a bearer of an individualistic character, a poet-thinker and a citizen reflecting on freedom and slavery, life and death. All these ideas receive significant rethinking in the works of late Lermontov and, in particular, in the poem “Mtsyri”.
The hero of the poem ended up in a monastery early, was homesick away from his native place, ran away for a while, and then again found himself in his former prison, where he told what he saw in freedom. Thus, one of the themes clearly depicted in the poem is the theme of the relationship between man and God. This topic was very painful for Lermontov himself. The poet believed that God created man as a bearer of fiery passions, in constant search, incompatible with peace and even happiness. However, God did not show man the path he should follow in order to realize everything that worries him, to find what he is so passionately looking for. Once upon a time, a tragic break occurred between man and God, heaven and earth, after which man found himself doomed to inner emptiness and search for himself and God, he was subject to the influence of evil - this is how the image of the Demon appears in Lermontov’s poetry. However, in the poem “Mtsyri” the reader sees the defense of a completely different position.
Mtsyri does not take root in the monastery, but not because one cannot find God in the monastery, but because Mtsyri is too different from the inhabitants of the monastery. Their path to God, holiness and fullness of life cannot become his path - that is why he runs away from the monastery, because he feels: the goal of his search lies beyond the walls of the monastery. Once free, Mtsyri feels for some time in a state of absolute harmony with the world around him, which is closer to him than the world of people. The hero feels like a part of nature, and most importantly, he experiences the taste of freedom. Lermontov in his early lyrics pointed to nature as a kind of ideal world, to merge with which, as a path to absolute harmony, man should strive. What happens in nature can be considered as a symbol of what is happening inside man himself, which is very important for Lermontov’s lyrical hero, who is, first of all, “ inner man» according to your device. It is precisely the awakening of the soul that Mtsyri experiences, listening to what is happening around him. But gradually the reader observes changes in Mtsyri’s worldview and sense of self. He realizes that complete merger with the surrounding world is impossible for him - if only because, in its weak physical organization, it is not similar to the natural world, which turns out to be even mortally dangerous for him. Mtsyri understands that highest point his approach to nature is its contemplation, but he will never belong to this world. Moreover, in the natural world the hero will never find the true peace that he strives for (not in the sense of inaction, but in the sense of the fullness of being). Here the hero is doomed to eternal wandering - not a free choice, but a manifestation evil fate. And finally, nature turns out to be an obstacle on Mtsyri’s way home, to her homeland. The homeland, in the understanding of Lermontov himself, is the soil that once gave life to a person and with which he is forever connected. If this connection is broken, then the person is doomed to endless wanderings. In Mtsyri’s memory, the homeland is the main component, character, content of memory. The power of the past turns out to be inescapable - the hero will never find the desired harmony if he cannot go back. For him, the past is constantly present in the present - and sometimes it is even more tangible and real than the unwanted present that brings only suffering. But, besides the pain that the gap between the past and the present causes, which he is constantly aware of, the past is also the only source of memories of a certain original ideal that once really took place in his life - which means there is hope for finding this ideal. From this moment in the poem, the call of nature turns into a grave temptation, succumbing to which the hero forever loses any opportunity to get to his homeland and thus find his harmony.
The hero loses consciousness and ends up back in the monastery from which he fled to his desired freedom. He did not find what he was looking for: the ideal turned out to be unattainable, attempts to find a home and return to his homeland ended in complete defeat. However, Mtsyri does not curse everything around him, as a romantic hero would do. Mtsyri realizes that he was looking, first of all, for another person who would be capable of understanding and sympathy. That is why he tells the monk about what he experienced during those three days when he was away - a hero early Lermontov he would never have taken such an action: he was proud of his own loneliness as a sign of some mission. But in the poem “Mtsyri” the romantic hero comes to terms with the world around him, although he does not find his specific place in it. Thus, among those moral values that early Lermontov’s lyrics affirmed (freedom, independence, awareness of one’s chosenness, constant search and spiritual restlessness), a new, very significant one appears: the need for peace, spiritual closeness and understanding between people.
