Briefly about the history of creation
Lermontov wanted to write “Mtsyri” even when he was 17 years old. But at this age he could not have created such a deep poem - the writer lacked life experience and wisdom. The most difficult thing for Lermontov was to choose ideals, for which the young monk was ready to die . And only after many years did he find something for which he had to fight to the death - for freedom.
In 1830, he created the work “Confession”; this was facilitated by the writer’s not the most rosy experiences. He experienced failures in love, betrayal of friends, death of relatives. The story is based on a monologue of a monk awaiting execution and locked in a monastery cell. Lermontov never finished the poem and later included it in Mtsyri.
“Boyar Orsha” will also be a further addition to the work. The main character of this poem is also a student of the monastery.
But the story of the creation of Lermontov’s “Mtsyri” does not end there. The writer was sent into exile to the Caucasus in 1837 for the poem “The Death of a Poet,” which was dedicated to Pushkin. He stayed here for two months, but the amazing landscapes delighted Lermontov. Later in “Mtsyri” he will vividly describe nature, connecting it with the soul of a young monk who broke free.
But this is not Lermontov’s first visit to the Caucasus. As a child, he visited it with his grandmother. The writer's first vivid memory was a story from local legends. She talked about a young man who fought a leopard in a battle to the death and defeated the animal. This will also later be included in “Mtsyri”.
Mountain folklore and the beauty of the Caucasus became the basis of many works. As the critic Viskovatov wrote in his messages: “Lermontov’s work was particularly influenced by the old Georgian road, which was full of ancient traditions and legends.”
Driving along this road, the writer ends up in the city of Mtskheta. Here he met a monk who lived in a monastery. The latter told him a story. General Yermolov kidnapped him as a little boy, but then sent him to a monastery because the young man fell ill and could not travel further. He grew up and became homesick. I often tried to escape. But after one of the unsuccessful attempts to escape, he fell ill, and it almost cost him his life. After recovery, the boy finally accepted his fate and began to live in a monastery. It was after this story that Lermontov wrote “Mtsyri”, using it as a basis.
History of creation
Lermontov's poem "Mtsyri" was conceived by the author long before its publication in 1840. While still a 17-year-old boy, the poet set himself plans to write a story about a freedom-loving mountaineer, doomed to life in a monastery, who managed to experience at least short-term moments of freedom. Eight years later, during his exile in the Caucasus, Lermontov travels along the Georgian Military Road and finds himself in the ancient capital of Georgia - the city of Mtskheta, located at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers.
Meeting with a monk
Here chance brings him together with an old monk, who turned out to be the last minister in the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, next to which the last Georgian kings were buried. An elderly, lonely clergyman wanted to share his life story with the poet. Born a free Muslim mountaineer, at the age of seven the boy was captured by a Russian general. The military man was going to take him to Tiflis, but the child was very ill on the road. The general had to leave the little mountaineer in one of the Christian monasteries he came across along the way.
The monks decided to raise the captive Muslim in their faith, so that a follower of Christianity would grow out of the wild mountaineer. Growing up, the young man did not want to accept such a fate and tried to escape several times, although he became attached to one of the elders. During his last attempt, he miraculously remained alive, which led him to the idea of finally agreeing to accept the Christian order. Now he lives out his life alone in an abandoned monastery that was once his prison.
This story made a strong impression on Lermontov, a sensitive and emotional young man, because it somehow mystically coincided with his youthful plans. Returning from exile, the poet began work on the poem, inspired not only by the impressions received in Georgia, but also by previous poetic developments. Literary scholars include the following poems among them:
- "Confession". His monk hero pays with his life for love.
- "Boyar Orsha". It tells the story of a monastery student.
After some revisions and the exclusion of fragments in which the main character turns to God (reproaches him for ending up not in his homeland, but in prison) and sees his relatives in feverish delirium, the work was completed. The manuscript indicates the date of writing its final version - August 5, 1840.
Georgian motives
When reading, one feels that the sound and choice of genre of “Mtsyri” was greatly influenced by folklore motifs drawn by Lermontov from the poetry of the peoples living in Georgia. For example, the central episode telling about the battle of the main character with a leopard directly echoes the plot of a folk song telling about the battle of a young Khevsur with a tiger.
According to literary scholars, the description of the monastery made by the author in the poem also refers to the Caucasus. It could be:
- Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, where the story that became the plot basis of “Mtsyri” was heard;
- Jvari Monastery, located on the opposite bank of the Aragva from the cathedral.
Both the first and final names of the poetic work are associated with the Georgian language. At first the poet called the poem “Beri”, which means “monk” in Georgian. But later the name “Mtsyri” seemed more suitable to Lermontov, because it symbolically merges the two meanings of this word: “novice” and “stranger, from foreign lands (foreigner).”
The author also changed the location of the poem. In the initial versions, judging by the poems “Confession” and “Boyar Orsha”, he considered Spain or the Lithuanian border. But acquaintance with the nature and legends of the Caucasus prompted Lermontov to move the action to mysterious and romantic Georgia.
Contents of the poem
At the beginning of the work, the author describes the background story of how Mtsyri ends up in the monastery. A Russian general is carrying a captive boy who was sick and weak. The young man was sheltered in a monastery and cured.
The story is based on the confession of the main character, who admitted that he had not been happy all this time. For a young man, the monastery walls are tantamount to imprisonment; in this place the boy cannot find mutual understanding. In 3 days of freedom, he lived his entire life:
- On the first day, the young man remembered his father and childhood. He felt his main purpose, understood what kind of blood flows in his veins.
- On the second day he met a young girl going to fetch water. This is probably the first woman he has met in many years.
- On the third day he fights a tiger. He instinctively fights with an animal, since he was not taught the art of war in the monastery. The feeling of danger awakened his true warlike spirit in the boy, and he defeats the beast.
Wounded and weak, he does not know where to go, makes a circle and returns to his captivity - to the monastery. Before his death, he bequeaths to bury the body in a flowering garden.
The genre of "Mtsyri" is a romantic poem. One of its main features is the reflection of the main character’s ideas. The boy is trying to free himself; for him freedom is the main goal in life . For the sake of this dream, he is ready to give his own life. This classifies Mtsyri as a romantic hero.
Not only Mikhail Yuryevich described this genre of poem in his writings. For example, “Mtsyri” can be compared with Ryleev’s story “Nalivaiko”; here the storyline refers to the times of the Cossacks’ struggle for freedom.
Another feature of a romantic poem is its confessional nature. The confession contains a story about the dreams and hopes of the main character, his confessions are sometimes even unexpected.
Plan "Mtsyri" in chapters. Brief retelling
Chapter 1 Introduction. Lermontov begins by describing the scene of action. “...Where, merging, they make noise, Embracing like two sisters, the Jets of Aragva and Kura.”
Chapter 2 In the second chapter, the author talks about how Mtsyri ended up in the monastery. A Russian general passed by these places and was carrying with him a captive boy, who had to be left in the monastery due to illness.
Chapters 3-7. In these five chapters, Mtsyri, wounded, pronounces his confession. He tells the monk that all his life he felt like a prisoner, even accuses him of having once saved him from death. After all, this act did not bring anything good: the child was doomed to loneliness (“a leaf torn off by a thunderstorm”).
Chapter 8 Already in the 8th chapter, the story begins about how the hero was free. Here Mtsyri told how he was free, how he felt unity with nature (“..caught lightning with his hands”)
Chapters 9-11. Mtsyri, who had never before seen all the beauty of nature in close proximity, delighted, tells the old monk what he saw: birds swimming in the clear water of mountain rivers, singing birds, lush vegetation.
Chapter 12-13. The hero meets a young Georgian woman. He is captivated by the sound of her singing. He saw her go to her sakla, and sadness flowed in his soul. After all, he did not know his family, he did not know what home meant.
14-15. Mtsyri got lost. Even in the midst of free, raging nature, he did not feel at home. Therefore, the hero cries, which he never did as a child.
Chapter 16 It is key to understanding the author’s ideological intent. Here the hero meets a leopard. The battle with the animal is described in the three subsequent chapters.
The last 8 chapters are the feelings of the hero. The monk again complains about his fate, again remembers the day spent in freedom.
The heroes of the poem “Mtsyri”: an old monk, a Georgian woman, Mtsyri and a leopard. All the action is concentrated around the main image. After all, in essence, the poem is his confession.
Description of the hero
In the Caucasian language there are several translations of the word “mtsyri”: alien and novice. At first, the author wanted to call the work “beri”, which means monk, but it was “mtsyri” that fully reflects the essence of the hero.
The young man is not tortured or forced to work exhaustingly. But there are several reasons why the hero suffers in the monastery:
- The boy’s dream is to find a loved one, not even his own, but of the same nationality, the same blood. Having grown up alone, he wanted to feel the warmth of an understanding soul at least for a moment.
- The second goal is freedom. All the time he spent in the monastery, he did not call life, but only in freedom realized who he really was.
It must be said that, despite the defeat, the main character does not complain about fate, but confidently accepts the test and is even glad that three days of freedom were able to brighten his dreary life.
You cannot create a romantic image without the motive of love. This is described in a confession when the boy confessed his love for a young Georgian woman. In the battle with the tiger, the hero shows incredible courage, but the young man is not destined to remain free and happy. This is how the author sees the embodiment of the theme of fate in the poem “Mtsyri”.
Issues and topics
The problem of human oppression constantly bothered the writer. He loved the Caucasus, was here as a child, and was sent here to war several times. Lermontov fought bravely, but at the same time he sympathized with the innocent civilians of this political campaign. The author described these experiences in the image of the main character of the work.
It seems that the hero should thank the general, since by his grace he did not die in the war as a child, but he does not call being in the monastery life. Thus, by showing the life of one person, Lermontov depicted the fates of many people, this helped readers take a completely different look at the war.
Lermontov also raises the following topics:
- Loneliness. One of the reasons why Mtsyri fled was the search for kindred spirits. He is alone among the monks and feels more kinship with nature than with these people. The young man grew up an orphan, he is an outsider to two worlds: both the mountaineers and the monks. The monastery is a prison for him, and Mtsyri was unprepared for independent life.
- Freedom. It is revealed in the poem on several levels. The first is global: the Caucasus is subordinate to Russia, the second applies personally to Mtsyri, who dreams of a free life. He does not want to come to terms with his imprisonment within the monastery walls and decides to escape. However, it was not possible to escape from fate, and the young man returns to the hated monastery.
- Love. Mtsyri has no friends, he does not know what a family is, he only has bright childhood memories. However, meeting a young girl awakens new feelings in him. The hero realizes that he can be happy now, he just needs to find the right path, but fate decreed otherwise.
- War. The main character did not take part in battles, but was born for this. His father was a brave defender of his country, while his son becomes a victim of the war, which left the young man an orphan.
In the poem, the writer also touched upon political and social problems that arise from any violent actions by the state. Officially, only soldiers fight, but in reality, ordinary residents are also drawn into the bloody cycle.
Subject
In “Mtsyri”, an analysis of the work clearly shows the main idea of the poem, which touches on the issue of personal relationships . The poet was close to the problems of oppression of the people , when the authorities act with violent methods, trying to suppress and destroy the will of civilians.
The theme of freedom is expressed in two dimensions, in one case, the problems of Georgia, a subordinate of the Russian empire, are addressed, and in the second, the will to freedom of an individual, in this poem - the main character. Mtsyri, brought up in captivity, feeling lonely among monks alien to him, dreams of a free and free life, he is burdened by the monastery walls, and he escapes. He is a victim of hostilities unleashed by the authorities, through their fault the boy was left an orphan and found himself in captivity of strangers. For three days, freedom-loving and proud, Mtsyri became a free man, his whole trouble is that he does not know how to live independently, and again finds himself in captivity of the monastery.
Mtsyri was never loved by his family, did not feel the care of loved ones. When he met a young girl, he realized that everything in life could be different, but fate decreed otherwise, the young man was unable to find his way, and a return to the monastery was inevitable.
The general characteristic of this poem is an open call for freedom, for the struggle against oppressors. Finding the right path, striving for a better life - this is the meaning of the story .
Idea and meaning
The entire work is built on the contrast of freedom and imprisonment, however, in the context of the time when the writer lived, these two concepts were given much broader meaning. It was not for nothing that, fearing censorship, Lermontov himself corrected certain points.
The failed escape of the young man is an allegory for the Decembrist uprising; captivity within the monastery walls is the oppression of the authorities, doomed to unsuccessful attempts to gain freedom. This is how Lermontov encrypted the main idea in “Mtsyri” from censorship, so that readers could independently find it between the lines.
The author describes in the work the problem of the conquest of the Caucasus, as well as the events of 1825 . He endowed the main character with a rebellious character, endurance and courage, while the young man is noble: despite his sad fate, he is not angry with anyone. This is the meaning of the poem - to depict the rebellion of the soul without a thirst for revenge, a doomed, but beautiful and pure impulse, which was the December Revolution.
The work makes you think that every military victory also has a reverse side to the coin. The Caucasus was annexed to Russia in 1801, but during this time both civilians and small children, like Mtsyri, suffered. Lermontov develops a humanistic theme that this should not happen again.
Attitude of critics
The literary society enthusiastically received "Mtsyri". The writer was showered with praise long before the story itself was published. For example, Muravyov speaks about Lermontov’s reading of only a written work: “...No work could make such a strong impression on me.” Aksakov wrote about the author’s magnificent reading of “Mtsyri” at Gogol’s birthday in 1840.
The most famous critic of that era, Belinsky, highly praised this poem. In an article about this work, he emphasized how well Lermontov chose rhythm and structure, and compared the sound of the poems to the blows of blades. He saw in this essay a reflection of the writer himself and was delighted with the description of nature.
With his work, Lermontov calls on you to resist fate and not lose hope. And even in case of failure, do not scold life, but courageously go through all the trials.
