“From Under the Mysterious Cold Half-Mask” by Lermontov is a love poem that differs markedly from his other works written in the genre of love lyrics. What is special about this work and who served as the prototype for this mysterious woman?
What place does the poem take in the poet's work
Unfortunately, the exact date of writing is unknown, but most literary scholars agree that it was that fateful year for the poet - 1841. Again, it is not known with certainty who the image of the mysterious stranger in the half mask has been written off from. Some believe that this is Varvara Lopukhin, Lermontov’s last hobby.
This was a married woman, but she still responds to the feelings of the poet. By that time, Mikhail Yuryevich was already bored with secular society. But in order to meet his lover, he had to go to balls. These meetings were held in silence, because by etiquette in those days, married women were not allowed to speak with strangers. There are suggestions that one of these meetings inspired Lermontov to write “From Under the Mysterious Cold Half Mask”.
This small love poem differs from others in that it is filled not with raging passions, but with peaceful feelings. Perhaps this is due to the fact that by that time all youthful passions had been replaced by calm and deep feelings. After all, his relationship with Lopukhina could not develop, so Lermontov could only keep tender affection in his heart and admire it from the outside.
Motives in a poem
When analyzing “From Under the Mysterious Cold Half-Mask” by Lermontov, one should consider in more detail the motives that are in this work. This is the motive for the meeting, because the hero meets a mysterious stranger at a masquerade ball. Despite the fact that she seems cold to him, he is trying to capture the image of this mysterious beauty in his heart.
Next comes the motive of recognition, when the hero recognizes speech and other features. And the motive of hope for the next meeting, at which they will already be old friends. But the hero would be glad of this, because he could once again see that beauty and just chat with her.
Composition
The poem "From under the mysterious cold half mask" Lermontov has the following composition:
- The first part symbolizes the past. The beginning of a hero’s relationship with a stranger is a chance meeting at a ball. That the first part refers to years past can be understood from the verbs that are used in the past tense;
- the second part is devoted to dreams of the future. In it, the poet describes the appearance of a stranger who captivated the hero. He hopes for a future meeting in which the hero will be able to recognize the mysterious lady.
Literary techniques
In “From Under the Mysterious Cold Half-Mask” Lermontov uses contrast to create the appearance of the heroine: she seems to the hero to be cold and distant in the half-mask. But under her, he is sure that she radiates warmth and kindness. Of course, when describing the female appearance, the poet uses romantic cliches, but the image still turns out to be original.
Also, in order for the poem to be smooth and musical, Lermontov uses assonances, inversions and parallelism. In its mood, it is more optimistic than sad. This is evidenced by the last line, in which the poet expressed hope of meeting a stranger.
"From Under the Mysterious Cold Half-Mask" by Lermontov is a lyrical poem imbued with hope. There are no strong feelings, but quiet admiring and tender affection for the image of a mysterious stranger, accidentally met at the ball by the poet’s lyrical hero. Perhaps the whole story of Lermontov and Lopukhina is true, but regardless of who the poem was addressed to, it occupies a worthy place among the lyric works.