The significance of Lermontov’s work for the young generation of the 21st century and for modern Russian literature

The significance of Lermontov’s work is hard to overestimate. In our article we prove it. The creations of the famous Russian poet Mikhail Yurievich can be described as a confession. Often literary scholars call his lyrics a tense monologue, which reflected the emotional anxiety of the young poet. In the literature of the 19th century with the name of this poet, a new era begins in the history of Russian literature.

the significance of Lermontov’s work

General view

The significance of Lermontov’s work in the history of Russian literature cannot be overestimated. Belinsky said that he was a poet of a different era, since he created his works in difficult and terrible years for Russia. Lermontov’s lyrics are stained with sad emotions, a sense of longing and grief pervades many of the poet’s works.

It so happened that in the years of the poet's life the socio-political system of the Russian Empire collapsed. The poet was the heir to the ideas of the Decembrists. Consequently, his poetry reflects the intentions and ideas of the first third of the XIX century. In the lines "No, I'm not Byron! I am different. ”Lermontov openly claimed that his work was original, thanks to the tragic sensations that were burdening in his soul. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the significance of Lermontov’s work for the younger generation in our article.

the significance of Lermontov’s work for the young generation of the 21st century

Features of the poetry of M. Yu. Lermontov

His lyrics are marked by openness and freedom for introspection, the dialectic of the soul and so on. These features will soon appear in Russian prose. Thanks to Lermontov, the problem of “poetry of thought” was solved in Russian literature, which was mastered by the participants in the Stankevich circle. Poems of the poet paved the way for colored words and thoughts, because the poet was able to put them in a specific life situation, where they are dependent not only personally, spiritually, but also mentally. By the 30s of the 19th century, Lermontov’s poetry had freed itself from the stamps of the school of harmonic accuracy, which had exhausted themselves by this period. He, like Pushkin, was able to apply substantive words in poetry thanks to introspection and psychologism. Therefore, the significance of Lermontov’s work in Russian literature is reinforced many times.

the significance of Lermontov’s work in Russian literature

The art world of the poet

The keynote of Lermontov's work is fearless and tireless introspection, which is associated with a heightened sense of personality. This is manifested in the denial of any restrictions, in a variety of attacks on freedom. It was with these features that he entered Russian literature with the immortal work “The Death of a Poet”, written by him on the news of the death of Pushkin. In these lines, the poet boldly declared to secular society that even the friends of the deceased poet did not dare to talk about . In his lines, Lermontov threatened the enemies with a final judgment. Literary scholars say he broke into Russian lyrics as a warrior-heir to Pushkin. In 1837 he was punished for his impudent words, sent to exile in the Caucasus. The leadership of the state was frightened and decided to eliminate the rebellious poet. The terrible events were repeated, only at an accelerated pace: two references to the Caucasus and the death of the poet in a duel.

Only four years passed after the tragedy with Pushkin, but this time became a whole stage in the life of Russian literature. It turned out that the writer was not only the successor to the deceased poet, but also the continuer of their brilliant work. Thus, the significance of Lermontov’s work increases several times. But this is not all the achievements and merits of the poet.

the significance of Lermontov’s work for the younger generation

The psychological beginning in the lyrics of Lermontov

It so happened that in the thematic diversity, Mikhail Yuryevich lost to his mentor. However, he compensates for this with the psychological component in his poetry. His work does not respond so clearly to the voices of the world. This is because all the feelings and emotions in the verses are deeply immersed in the secrets of a suffering and lonely soul. Self-analysis comes to the fore. The lyrical hero ponders his steps and actions. In these lines, the poet reveals the historical significance of a person’s personal and innermost thoughts. In this case, the story is not displayed in social upheavals, but in the thoughts and feelings of the hero of his time. We learn about how he loves and hates, how he quarrels and makes friends.

It turns out that the psychological state of the lyrical hero can understand the mood of society, nation and state at one time or another. After many years, Leo Tolstoy will use this technique. The prose writer used it in the novel War and Peace. Literary critic Belinsky, having become acquainted with the work of Lermontov, said that each era has its own character. The significance of Lermontov’s work for the young generation of the 21st century is important in that, at a young age, every citizen experiences the same feelings to a greater or lesser extent. Therefore, it is important for young people to be able to identify surging emotions in order to direct them in the right direction.

Means of artistic expression in works

We continue to determine the significance of Lermontov’s work. He is characterized as a poet, but the young author managed to write a novel called “The Hero of Our Time”. In this work, the writer achieved great success in the development, as well as in improving the language of Russian prose. Developing the achievements of prose literature, Lermontov, like Pushkin, did not abandon the traditions of romanticism. On the contrary, they helped him find and use a means of psychological image of the characters. The writer abandoned the metaphors that are present in the work of Marlinsky. He uses words in a figurative sense, which help the author to reveal the mood of the hero. This is well shown in the Taman chapter, where the action takes place near the smugglers' shack. Presented avatars ("... the moon was quietly watching ...") in no way violate the picture, while the means give an alarming coloring to the situation. The end of the chapter “Princess Mary” is metaphorical. This is manifested in the image of a seething sea. The essence of this technique is to understand the contradictory nature of Pechorin. The significance of Lermontov’s work in Russian literature is truly great. In the sad literary world of the poet, amazing aspects of life and nature are revealed.

the significance of Lermontov’s work for the younger generation

Conclusion

Studying Lermontov's prose, the philologist Vinogradov came to the conclusion that the poet skillfully combined into a single whole the creations of the Pushkin era in the form of expressive means. In addition, the poet realized a completely new stylistic phenomenon, where poems and prose of cultural Russian speech are intertwined. The writer was able to accommodate in the novel “Hero of Our Time” all the literary genres that existed before the 19th century. All of them came together and were expressed by the personality of the central hero.

The significance of Lermontov’s work was noted by his contemporaries. After reviewing the pages of The Hero of Our Time, Gogol said that no one had written prose in Russian literature so correctly and beautifully. Chekhov advised learning prose precisely from Lermontov.

Thus, the “Hero of our time” paved the way for the domestic psychological as well as ideological novel. His ideas were embodied in the works of Dostoevsky, Goncharov, Turgenev and Tolstoy. Lermontov achieved a philosophical sound, as well as ideological depth in the novel by deepening psychological analysis in the portrait of the characters of his heroes. The significance of Lermontov’s work for the young generation of the 21st century is very great. It is necessary to know and understand all the merits of the poet in the field of Russian literature.

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