Find out if the earth is beautiful. Analysis of the poem "Mtsyri" (M

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Having tasted it, I tasted little honey, and now I’m dying.

1st Book of Samuel

A few years ago,

Where, merging, they make noise,

Hugging like two sisters,

The streams of Aragva and Kura,

There was a monastery. From behind the mountain

And now the pedestrian sees

Collapsed gate posts

And the towers, and the church vault;

But there’s no smoking under it

Censer fragrant smoke,

Can't hear the singing at late hour

Monks praying for us.

Now there is one gray-haired old man,

The guard of the ruins is half dead,

Forgotten by people and death,

Sweeps dust from gravestones,

Which the inscription says

About the glory of the past - and about

How, depressed by my crown,

Such and such a king, in such and such a year,

He handed over his people to Russia.

And God's grace came down

To Georgia! She was blooming

Since then, in the shade of their gardens,

Without fear of enemies,

3a borderline of friendly bayonets.

Once upon a time a Russian general

I drove from the mountains to Tiflis;

He was carrying a prisoner child.

He fell ill and could not bear it

The labors of a long journey;

He seemed to be about six years old

Like a chamois of the mountains, timid and wild

And weak and flexible, like a reed.

But there is a painful illness in him

Then developed a mighty spirit

His fathers. He has no complaints

I was languishing, even a weak moan

Didn't come out of children's lips,

He signly rejected food

And he died quietly, proudly.

Out of pity one monk

He looked after the sick man, and within the walls

He remained protective

Saved by friendly art.

But, alien to childish pleasures,

At first he ran away from everyone,

Wandered silently, alone,

I looked, sighing, to the east,

Driven by vague melancholy

On my own side.

But after that he 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

Take a monastic vow

Suddenly one day he disappeared

Autumn night. Dark forest

He walked around the mountains in circles.

Three days all the searches on it

They were in vain, but then

They found him unconscious in the steppe

And again they brought him to the monastery.

He was terribly pale and thin

And weak, as if long labor,

I experienced illness or hunger.

He did not answer the interrogation

And every day he became noticeably sluggish.

And his end was near;

Then the monk came to him

With exhortation and supplication;

And, having proudly listened, the patient

He stood up, gathering the rest of his strength,

And for a long time he said this:

"You listen to my confession

I came here, thank you.

Everything is better in front of someone

With words, ease my chest;

But I didn’t do harm to people,

And therefore my affairs

It's a little good for you to know

Can you tell your soul?

I lived little and lived in captivity.

Such two lives in one,

But only full of anxiety,

I would trade it if I could.

I knew only the power of thoughts,

One but fiery passion:

She lived inside me like a worm,

She tore her soul and burned it.

She called my dreams

From stuffy cells and prayers

In that wonderful world of worries and battles,

Where rocks hide in the clouds,

Where people are as free as eagles.

I am this passion in the darkness of the night

Nourished with tears and melancholy;

Her before heaven and earth

I now loudly admit

And I don’t ask for forgiveness.

Old man! I've heard many times

That you saved me from death -

For what? .. Gloomy and lonely,

A leaf torn off by a thunderstorm,

I grew up in dark walls

A child at heart, a monk by destiny.

I couldn't tell anyone

The sacred words "father" and "mother".

Of course you wanted, old man,

So that I get out of the habit of being in the monastery

From these sweet names, -

In vain: their sound was born

With me. And I saw it in others

Fatherland, home, friends, relatives,

But I didn’t find it at home

Not only sweet souls - graves!

Then, without wasting empty tears,

In my soul I swore an oath:

Although for a moment someday

My burning chest

Hold the other one to your chest with longing,

Although unfamiliar, but dear.

Alas! now those dreams

Died in complete beauty,

And how I lived, in a foreign land

I will die a slave and an orphan.

The grave doesn't scare me:

There, they say, suffering sleeps

In the cold eternal silence;

But I’m sorry to part with life.

I'm young, young... Did you know

Dreams of wild youth?

Either I didn’t know or I forgot

How I hated and loved;

How my heart beat faster

At the sight of the sun and fields

From the high corner tower,

Where the air is fresh and where sometimes

In a deep hole in the wall,

Child of an unknown country,

Snuggled up, a young dove

Sitting, scared of a thunderstorm?

Let the beautiful light now

You are disgusted; you are weak, you are gray,

And you have lost the habit of desires.

What kind of need? You lived, old man!

There is something in the world for you to forget,

You lived, I could also live!

Do you want to know what I saw

Free? - Lush fields,

Hills covered with a crown

Trees growing all around

Noisy with a fresh crowd,

Like brothers dancing in a circle.

I saw piles of dark rocks

When the stream separated them.

And I guessed their thoughts:

It was given to me from above!

Stretched out in the air for a long time

Their stone embraces,

And they yearn for a meeting every moment;

But the days go by, the years go by -

They will never get along!

I saw mountain ranges

Bizarre as dreams

When at the hour of dawn

They smoked like altars,

Their heights in the blue sky,

And cloud after cloud,

Leaving his secret overnight stay,

Running towards the east -

It's like a white caravan

Migratory birds from distant countries!

In the distance I saw through the fog

In the snow, burning like a diamond,

The gray, unshakable Caucasus;

And it was in my heart

Easy, I don't know why.

That I once lived there too,

And it became in my memory

The past is clearer, clearer...

And I remembered my father's house,

The gorge is ours and all around

A scattered village in the shade;

I heard the evening noise

Home of the running herds

And the distant barking of familiar dogs.

I remembered dark old men

In the light of moonlit evenings

Against father's porch

Sitting with dignity on their faces;

And the shine of the framed scabbard

Long daggers... and like a dream

All this in a vague series

Suddenly it ran in front of me.

And my father? he's alive

In your combat clothes

He appeared to me and I remembered

The ringing of chain mail and the shine of guns,

And a proud, unyielding gaze,

And my young sisters...

The rays of their sweet eyes

And the sound of their songs and speeches

Over my cradle...

There was a stream running into the gorge there.

It was noisy, but shallow;

To him, on the golden sand,

I left to play at noon

And I watched the swallows with my eyes,

When they're before the rain

The waves touched the wing.

And I remembered our peaceful home

And before the evening fire

There are long stories about

How did the people of the old days live?

When the world was even more magnificent.

You want to know what I did

Free? Lived - and my life

Without these three blissful days

It would be sadder and gloomier

Your powerless old age.

A long time ago I thought

Look at the distant fields

Find out if the earth is beautiful

Find out for freedom or prison

We are born into this world.

And at the hour of the night, terrible hour,

When the thunderstorm scared you,

When, crowded at the altar,

You were lying prostrate on the ground,

I ran. Oh I'm like a brother

I would be glad to embrace the storm!

I watched with the eyes of a cloud,

I caught lightning with my hand...

Tell me what's between these walls

Could you give me in return

That friendship is short, but alive,

Between a stormy heart and a thunderstorm?,.

I ran for a long time - where, where?

Don't know! not a single star

Didn't illuminate the difficult path.

I had fun inhaling

In my weary chest

The night freshness of those forests,

But only! I have a lot of hours

I ran, and finally, tired,

He lay down between the tall grasses;

I listened: there was no chase.

The storm has subsided. Pale light

Stretched out in a long strip

Between dark sky and earth

And I distinguished, like a pattern,

On it are the jagged teeth of distant mountains;

Motionless, silent I lay,

Sometimes there is a jackal in the gorge

Screamed and cried like a child

And, shining with smooth scales,

The snake slithered between the stones;

But fear did not squeeze my soul:

I myself, like an animal, was alien to people

And he crawled and hid like a snake.

Down deep below me

Flow intensified by thunderstorm

It was noisy, and its noise was dull

Got it. Although without words

I understood that conversation

Incessant murmur, eternal argument

With a stubborn pile of stones.

Then suddenly it calmed down, then it became stronger

It sounded in silence;

And so, in the foggy heights

The birds began to sing, and the east

Got rich; breeze

The damp sheets moved;

The sleepy flowers have died,

And, like them, towards the day

I raised my head...

I looked around; I'm not hiding:

I felt scared; on the edge

I lay in the threatening abyss,

Where the angry shaft howled and whirled;

Steps of rocks led there;

But only an evil spirit walked over them,

When, cast down from heaven,

He disappeared into an underground abyss.

God's garden was blooming all around me;

Plants rainbow outfit

Kept traces of heavenly tears,

And the curls of the vines

Weaving, showing off between the trees

Transparent green leaves;

And there are grapes full of them,

Earrings like expensive ones,

They hung magnificently, and sometimes

A timid swarm of birds flew towards them

And again I fell to the ground

And I began to listen again

They whispered in the bushes,

As if they were speaking

About the secrets of heaven and earth;

They merged here; didn't sound

In the solemn hour of praise

Only a man's proud voice.

It's in vain that I felt then,

Those thoughts - they no longer have a trace;

But I would like to tell them,

To live, at least mentally, again.

That morning there was a vault of heaven

So pure that an angel's flight

A diligent eye could follow;

He was so transparently deep

So full of smooth blue!

I am in it with my eyes and soul

Drowning while the midday heat

My dreams were not dispersed.

And I began to languish with thirst.

Then to the stream from above,

Holding on to flexible bushes,

From stove to stove I did my best

He began to descend. From under your feet

Having broken off, the stone sometimes

Rolled down - behind him the reins

It was smoking, the dust was in a column;

Humming and jumping then

He was swallowed up by the wave;

And I hung above the depths,

But free youth is strong,

And death seemed not scary!

Only I'm from steep heights

Descended, the freshness of mountain waters

She blew towards me,

And greedily I fell to the wave.

Instantly hiding between the bushes,

Embraced by involuntary trepidation,

I looked up fearfully

And he began to listen eagerly:

And closer, closer everything sounded

So artlessly alive

So sweetly free, as if he

Only the sounds of friendly names

I was accustomed to pronounce.

It was a simple song

But it stuck in my mind,

And for me, only darkness comes,

The invisible spirit sings it.

Holding the jug above your head,

Georgian woman on a narrow path

I went to the shore. Sometimes

She slid between the stones

Laughing at your awkwardness.

And her outfit was poor;

And she walked easily, back

Curves of long veils

Throwing it back. Summer heat

Covered with golden shadow

Her face and chest; and heat

I breathed from her lips and cheeks.

And the darkness of the eyes was so deep,

So full of the secrets of love,

What are my ardent thoughts

Confused. Only I remember

The jug rings when the stream

Slowly poured into him,

And a rustle... nothing more.

When did I wake up again

And the blood drained from the heart,

She was already far away;

And she walked, at least more quietly, but easily,

Slender under her burden,

Like a poplar, the king of her fields!

Not far away, in the cool darkness,

It seemed like we were rooted to the rock

Two saklas as a friendly couple;

Above a flat roof

The smoke flowed blue.

It's as if I see now

How the door quietly opened...

And it closed again! ..

I know you won't understand

My longing, my sadness;

And if I could, I would be sorry:

Memories of those minutes

In me, with me, let them die.

Exhausted by the labors of the night,

I lay down in the shade. Pleasant dream

I closed my eyes involuntarily...

And again I saw in a dream

Georgian woman image is young.

And strange sweet melancholy

My chest began to ache again.

I struggled to breathe for a long time -

And I woke up. Already the moon

Above she shone, and alone

Only a cloud was sneaking behind her,

As if for your prey,

Greedy arms opened.

The world was dark and silent;

Only silver fringe

Tops of the snow chain

In the distance they sparkled before me

Yes, a stream splashed into the banks.

There is a light in the familiar hut

It fluttered, then went out again:

In heaven at midnight

So the bright star goes out!

I wanted to... but I'm going there

I didn’t dare to go up. I have one goal -

Go to your home country -

Had it in my soul and overcame it

Suffering from hunger as best I could.

And here's the straight road

He set off, timid and dumb.

But soon in the depths of the forest

Lost sight of the mountains

And then I began to lose my way.

In vain to be furious at times

I tore with a desperate hand

Thorn tangled with ivy:

There was all the forest, the eternal forest all around,

Scarier and thicker every hour;

And a million black eyes

Watched the darkness of the night

Through the branches of every bush.

My head was spinning;

I began to climb trees;

But even at the edge of heaven

There was still the same jagged forest.

Then I fell to the ground;

And he sobbed in a frenzy,

And gnawed the damp breast of the earth,

And tears, tears flowed

Into her with flammable dew...

But, believe me, human help

I didn't want... I was a stranger

For them forever, like a beast of the steppe;

And if only for a minute cry

He cheated on me - I swear, old man,

I would tear out my weak tongue.

Do you remember your childhood years:

I have never known tears;

But then I cried without shame.

Who could see? Only a dark forest

Yes, a month floating among the heavens!

Illuminated by its ray,

Covered with moss and sand,

An impenetrable wall

Surrounded, in front of me

There was a clearing. Suddenly in her

A shadow flashed and two lights

Sparks flew... and then

Some beast in one leap

He jumped out of the thicket and lay down,

While playing, lie down on the sand.

It was the desert's eternal guest -

Mighty leopard. Raw bone

He gnawed and squealed joyfully;

Then he fixed his bloody gaze,

Wagging its tail affectionately,

For a full month, and on it

The wool shone silver.

I was waiting, grabbing a horned branch,

A minute of battle; heart suddenly

Ignited with a thirst for fight

And blood... yes, the hand of fate

I was led in a different direction...

But now I'm sure

What could happen in the land of our fathers

Not one of the last daredevils.

I was waiting. And here in the shadows of the night

He sensed the enemy, and howl

Lingering, plaintive like a groan

Suddenly there was a sound... and he began

Angrily digging the sand with your paw,

He reared up, then lay down,

And the first mad leap

I was threatened with a terrible death...

But I warned him.

My blow was true and quick.

My reliable bitch is like an axe,

His broad forehead was cut...

He groaned like a man

And he capsized. But again,

Although blood poured from the wound

Thick, wide wave,

The battle has begun, a mortal battle!

He threw himself on my chest:

But I managed to stick it in my throat

And turn there twice

My weapon... He howled

He rushed with all his strength,

And we, intertwined like a pair of snakes,

Hugging tighter than two friends,

They fell at once, and in the darkness

The battle continued on the ground.

And I was terrible at that moment;

Like a desert leopard, angry and wild,

I was on fire and screaming like him;

As if I myself was born

In the family of leopards and wolves

Under the fresh forest canopy.

It seemed that the words of people

I forgot - and in my chest

That terrible cry was born

It's like my tongue has been around since childhood

I'm not used to a different sound...

But my enemy began to grow weak,

Throw about, breathe slower,

Squeezed me for the last time...

The pupils of his motionless eyes

They flashed menacingly - and then

Quietly closed in eternal sleep;

But with a triumphant enemy

He faced death face to face

As a fighter should in battle! ..

You see on my chest

Deep claw marks;

They haven't overgrown yet

And they didn’t close; but the earth

The damp cover will refresh them

And death will heal forever.

I forgot about them then

And, once again gathering the rest of my strength,

I wandered into the depths of the forest...

But I argued in vain with fate:

She laughed at me!

I left the forest. And so

The day woke up and there was a round dance

The guiding light has disappeared

In its rays. Foggy forest

He spoke. Aul in the distance

Started smoking. Vague hum

Ran through the valley with the wind...

I sat down and began to listen;

But it fell silent along with the breeze.

And I glanced around:

That region seemed familiar to me.

And I was scared to understand

I couldn’t for a long time, that again

I returned to my prison;

That so many days are useless

I caressed a secret plan,

He endured, languished and suffered,

And why all this?.. So that in the prime of life,

Barely looking at the light of God,

With the sonorous murmur of the oak forests

Having experienced the bliss of freedom,

Take it to the grave with you

Longing for the holy homeland,

A reproach to the hopes of the deceived

And shame on your pity! ..

Still immersed in doubt,

I thought it was a bad dream...

Suddenly a distant bell rings

It rang out again in the silence -

And then everything became clear to me...

Oh, I recognized him immediately!

He has seen children's eyes more than once

Driven away the visions of living dreams

About dear neighbors and relatives,

About the wild will of the steppes,

About light, mad horses,

About wonderful battles between the rocks,

Where I alone defeated everyone! ..

And I listened without tears, without strength.

It seemed that the ringing was coming out

From the heart - as if someone

The iron struck me in the chest.

And then I vaguely realized

What traces do I have to my homeland?

Will never pave it.

Yes, I deserve my lot!

A mighty horse, a stranger in the steppe,

Having thrown off the bad rider,

To my homeland from afar

Finds a direct and short way...

What am I in front of him? Breasts in vain

Full of desire and longing:

That heat is powerless and empty,

A dream game, a disease of the mind.

I have my prison stamp on me

Left... Such is the flower

Temnichny: grew up alone

And he is pale between the damp slabs,

And for a long time the young leaves

I didn’t open it, I was still waiting for the rays

Life-giving. And many days

Passed and a kind hand

The flower moved sadly,

And he was carried into the garden,

In the neighborhood of roses. From all sides

The sweetness of life was breathing...

But what? The dawn has barely risen,

The scorching ray burned her

A flower raised in prison...

And what's his name, he scorched me

The fire of a merciless day.

In vain I hid in the grass

My tired chapter:

A withered leaf is her crown

Thorn over my brow

Curled up and in the face with fire

The earth itself breathed to me.

Flashing quickly in the heights,

Sparks swirled from the white rocks

Steam was flowing. God's world was sleeping

In a deaf daze

Despair is a heavy sleep.

At least the corncrake screamed,

Or a dragonfly's living trill

I heard it, or a stream

Baby talk... Just a snake

rustling dry weeds,

Shining with a yellow back,

It's like a golden inscription

The blade is covered to the bottom,

Traversing the crumbly sand.

She slid carefully, then,

Playing, basking on it,

Curled in a triple ring;

It's like suddenly being burned,

She rushed and jumped

And she was hiding in the distant bushes...

And everything was in heaven

Light and quiet. Through couples

Two mountains loomed black in the distance.

Our monastery because of one

The jagged wall sparkled.

Below are Aragva and Kura,

Wrapped in silver

The soles of the fresh islands,

By the roots of whispering bushes

They ran together and easily...

I was far from them!

I wanted to stand up - in front of me

Everything was spinning quickly;

I wanted to scream - my tongue was dry

He was silent and motionless...

I was dying. I was tormented

Death delirium.

It seemed to me

That I'm lying on a damp bottom

Deep river - and there was

There is a mysterious darkness all around.

And I thirst for eternal singing,

Like a cold stream of ice,

Murmuring, it poured into my chest...

And I was only afraid to fall asleep, -

It was so sweet, I love it...

And above me in the heights

Wave pressed against wave.

And the sun through the crystal waves

Shined sweeter than the moon...

And colorful herds of fish

Sometimes they played in the rays.

And I remember one of them:

She is friendlier than others

She caressed me. Scales

Was covered in gold

Her back. She curled

Over my head more than once,

And the look of her green eyes

He was sadly tender and deep...

And I couldn’t be surprised:

He whispered strange words to me,

And he sang, and fell silent again.

He said:

"My child,

Stay here with me:

Living freely in the water

And cold and peace.

I will call my sisters:

We're dancing in a circle

Let's cheer up the foggy eyes

And your spirit is tired.

Go to sleep, your bed is soft,

Your cover is transparent.

Years will pass, centuries will pass

Under the talk of wonderful dreams.

Oh my dear! I won't hide it

That I love you,

I love it like a free stream,

I love you like my life..."

And for a long, long time I listened;

And it seemed like a sonorous stream

She poured out her quiet murmur

With the words of a golden fish.

Here I forgot. God's light

It faded in the eyes. Crazy nonsense

I gave in to the powerlessness of my body...

So I was found and raised...

You know the rest yourself.

I'm done. Believe my words

Or don't believe me, I don't care.

There is only one thing that saddens me:

My corpse is cold and dumb

It will not smolder in its native land,

And the story of my bitter torments

Will not call the deaf between the walls

No one's sorrowful attention

In my dark name.

Farewell, father... give me your hand:

Do you feel mine is on fire...

Know this flame from your youth,

Melting away, he lived in my chest;

But now there is no food for him,

And he burned down his prison

And will return again to that

Who to all the lawful succession

Gives suffering and peace...

But what does that matter to me? - let him be in heaven,

In the holy, transcendental land

My spirit will find a home...

Alas! - for a few minutes

Between steep and dark rocks,

Where I played as a child,

I would trade heaven and eternity...

When I start to die,

And believe me, you won't have to wait long,

You told me to move

To our garden, to the place where they bloomed

Two white acacia bushes...

The grass between them is so thick,

And the fresh air is so fragrant,

And so transparently golden

A leaf playing in the sun!

They told me to put it there.

The glow of a blue day

I'll get drunk for the last time.

The Caucasus is visible from there!

Perhaps he is from his heights

He will send me farewell greetings,

Will send with a cool breeze...

And near me before the end

The sound will be heard again, dear!

And I will begin to think that my friend

Or brother, bending over me,

Wipe with an attentive hand

Cold sweat from the face of death

He tells me about a sweet country..

And with this thought I will fall asleep,

And I won’t curse anyone!..."

1 Mtsyri - in Georgian means “non-serving monk”, something like

"novice". (Lermontov's note.)

Tasting, we taste little honey,
and now I’m dying.

1st Book of Samuel

A few years ago,
Where, merging, they make noise,
Hugging like two sisters,
The streams of Aragva and Kura,
There was a monastery. From behind the mountain
And now the pedestrian sees
Collapsed gate posts
And the towers, and the church vault;
But there’s no smoking under it
Censer fragrant smoke,
Can't hear the singing at late hour
Monks praying for us.
Now there is one gray-haired old man,
The guard of the ruins is half dead,
Forgotten by people and death,
Sweeps dust from gravestones,
Which the inscription says
About the glory of the past - and about
How, depressed by my crown,
Such and such a king, in such and such a year,
He handed over his people to Russia.
___

And God's grace came down
To Georgia! She was blooming
Since then, in the shade of their gardens,
Without fear of enemies,
3a borderline of friendly bayonets.

Once upon a time a Russian general
I drove from the mountains to Tiflis;
He was carrying a prisoner child.
He fell ill and could not bear it
The labors of a long journey;
He seemed to be about six years old
Like a chamois of the mountains, timid and wild
And weak and flexible, like a reed.
But there is a painful illness in him
Then developed a mighty spirit
His fathers. He has no complaints
I was languishing, even a weak moan
Didn't come out of children's lips,
He signly rejected food
And he died quietly, proudly.
Out of pity one monk
He looked after the sick man, and within the walls
He remained protective
Saved by friendly art.
But, alien to childish pleasures,
At first he ran away from everyone,
Wandered silently, alone,
I looked, sighing, to the east,
Driven by vague melancholy
On my own side.
But after that he 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
Take a monastic vow
Suddenly one day he disappeared
Autumn night. Dark forest
Stretched around the mountains.
Three days all the searches on it
They were in vain, but then
They found him unconscious in the steppe
And again they brought him to the monastery.
He was terribly pale and thin
And weak, as if long labor,
I experienced illness or hunger.
He did not answer the interrogation
And every day he became noticeably sluggish.
And his end was near;
Then the monk came to him
With exhortation and supplication;
And, having proudly listened, the patient
He stood up, gathering the rest of his strength,
And for a long time he said this:

"You listen to my confession
I came here, thank you.
Everything is better in front of someone
With words, ease my chest;
But I didn’t do harm to people,
And therefore my affairs
It's a little good for you to know
Can you tell your soul?
I lived little and lived in captivity.
Such two lives in one,
But only full of anxiety,
I would trade it if I could.
I knew only the power of thoughts,
One but fiery passion:
She lived inside me like a worm,
She tore her soul and burned it.
She called my dreams
From stuffy cells and prayers
In that wonderful world of worries and battles,
Where rocks hide in the clouds,
Where people are as free as eagles.
I am this passion in the darkness of the night
Nourished with tears and melancholy;
Her before heaven and earth
I now loudly admit
And I don’t ask for forgiveness.

Old man! I've heard many times
That you saved me from death -
For what? .. Gloomy and lonely,
A leaf torn off by a thunderstorm,
I grew up in dark walls
A child at heart, a monk by destiny.
I couldn't tell anyone
The sacred words "father" and "mother".
Of course you wanted, old man,
So that I get out of the habit of being in the monastery
From these sweet names, -
In vain: their sound was born
With me. And I saw it in others
Fatherland, home, friends, relatives,
But I didn’t find it at home
Not only sweet souls - graves!
Then, without wasting empty tears,
In my soul I swore an oath:
Although for a moment someday
My burning chest
Hold the other one to your chest with longing,
Although unfamiliar, but dear.
Alas! now those dreams
Died in complete beauty,
And how I lived, in a foreign land
I will die a slave and an orphan.

The grave doesn't scare me:
There, they say, suffering sleeps
In the cold eternal silence;
But I’m sorry to part with life.
I'm young, young... Did you know
Dreams of wild youth?
Either I didn’t know or I forgot
How I hated and loved;
How my heart beat faster
At the sight of the sun and fields
From the high corner tower,
Where the air is fresh and where sometimes
In a deep hole in the wall,
Child of an unknown country,
Snuggled up, a young dove
Sitting, scared of a thunderstorm?
Let the beautiful light now
You are disgusted; you are weak, you are gray,
And you have lost the habit of desires.
What kind of need? You lived, old man!
There is something in the world for you to forget,
You lived, I could also live!

Do you want to know what I saw
Free? - Lush fields,
Hills covered with a crown
Trees growing all around
Noisy with a fresh crowd,
Like brothers dancing in a circle.
I saw piles of dark rocks
When the stream separated them.
And I guessed their thoughts:
It was given to me from above!
Stretched out in the air for a long time
Their stone embraces,
And they yearn for a meeting every moment;
But the days go by, the years go by -
They will never get along!
I saw mountain ranges
Bizarre as dreams
When at the hour of dawn
They smoked like altars,
Their heights in the blue sky,
And cloud after cloud,
Leaving his secret overnight stay,
Running towards the east -
It's like a white caravan
Migratory birds from distant countries!
In the distance I saw through the fog
In the snow, burning like a diamond,
The gray, unshakable Caucasus;
And it was in my heart
Easy, I don't know why.
A secret voice told me
That I once lived there too,
And it became in my memory
The past is clearer, clearer...

And I remembered my father's house,
The gorge is ours and all around
A scattered village in the shade;
I heard the evening noise
Home of the running herds
And the distant barking of familiar dogs.
I remembered dark old men
In the light of moonlit evenings
Against father's porch
Sitting with dignity on their faces;
And the shine of the framed scabbard
Long daggers... and like a dream
All this in a vague series
Suddenly it ran in front of me.
And my father? he's alive
In your combat clothes
He appeared to me and I remembered
The ringing of chain mail and the shine of guns,
And a proud, unyielding gaze,
And my young sisters...
The rays of their sweet eyes
And the sound of their songs and speeches
Over my cradle...
There was a stream running into the gorge there.
It was noisy, but shallow;
To him, on the golden sand,
I left to play at noon
And I watched the swallows with my eyes,
When they're before the rain
The waves touched the wing.
And I remembered our peaceful home
And before the evening fire
There are long stories about
How did the people of the old days live?
When the world was even more magnificent.

You want to know what I did
Free? Lived - and my life
Without these three blissful days
It would be sadder and gloomier
Your powerless old age.
A long time ago I thought
Look at the distant fields
Find out if the earth is beautiful
Find out for freedom or prison
We are born into this world.
And at the hour of the night, terrible hour,
When the thunderstorm scared you,
When, crowded at the altar,
You were lying prostrate on the ground,
I ran. Oh I'm like a brother
I would be glad to embrace the storm!
I watched with the eyes of a cloud,
I caught lightning with my hand...
Tell me what's between these walls
Could you give me in return
That friendship is short, but alive,
Between a stormy heart and a thunderstorm?..

I ran for a long time - where, where?
Don't know! not a single star
Didn't illuminate the difficult path.
I had fun inhaling
In my weary chest
The night freshness of those forests,
But only! I have a lot of hours
I ran, and finally, tired,
He lay down between the tall grasses;
I listened: there was no chase.
The storm has subsided. Pale light
Stretched out in a long strip
Between dark sky and earth
And I distinguished, like a pattern,
On it are the jagged teeth of distant mountains;
Motionless, silent I lay,
Sometimes there is a jackal in the gorge
Screamed and cried like a child
And, shining with smooth scales,
The snake slithered between the stones;
But fear did not squeeze my soul:
I myself, like an animal, was alien to people
And he crawled and hid like a snake.

Down deep below me
Flow intensified by thunderstorm
It was noisy, and its noise was dull
Hundreds of angry voices
Got it. Although without words
I understood that conversation
Incessant murmur, eternal argument
With a stubborn pile of stones.
Then suddenly it calmed down, then it became stronger
It sounded in silence;
And so, in the foggy heights
The birds began to sing, and the east
Got rich; breeze
The damp sheets moved;
The sleepy flowers have died,
And, like them, towards the day
I raised my head...
I looked around; I'm not hiding:
I felt scared; on the edge
I lay in the threatening abyss,
Where the angry shaft howled and whirled;
Steps of rocks led there;
But only an evil spirit walked over them,
When, cast down from heaven,
He disappeared into an underground abyss.

God's garden was blooming all around me;
Plants rainbow outfit
Kept traces of heavenly tears,
And the curls of the vines
Weaving, showing off between the trees
Transparent green leaves;
And there are grapes full of them,
Earrings like expensive ones,
They hung magnificently, and sometimes
A timid swarm of birds flew towards them
And again I fell to the ground
And I began to listen again
To magical, strange voices;
They whispered in the bushes,
As if they were speaking
About the secrets of heaven and earth;
And all nature's voices
They merged here; didn't sound
In the solemn hour of praise
Only a man's proud voice.
It's in vain that I felt then,
Those thoughts - they no longer have a trace;
But I would like to tell them,
To live, at least mentally, again.
That morning there was a vault of heaven
So pure that an angel's flight
A diligent eye could follow;
He was so transparently deep
So full of smooth blue!
I am in it with my eyes and soul
Drowning while the midday heat
My dreams were not dispersed.
And I began to languish with thirst.

Then to the stream from above,
Holding on to flexible bushes,
From stove to stove I did my best
He began to descend. From under your feet
Having broken off, the stone sometimes
Rolled down - behind him the reins
It was smoking, the dust was in a column;
Humming and jumping then
He was swallowed up by the wave;
And I hung above the depths,
But free youth is strong,
And death seemed not scary!
Only I'm from steep heights
Descended, the freshness of mountain waters
She blew towards me,
And greedily I fell to the wave.
Suddenly - a voice - a light sound of footsteps...
Instantly hiding between the bushes,
Embraced by involuntary trepidation,
I looked up fearfully
And he began to listen eagerly:
And closer, closer everything sounded
Georgian woman's voice is young,
So artlessly alive
So sweetly free, as if he
Only the sounds of friendly names
I was accustomed to pronounce.
It was a simple song
But it stuck in my mind,
And for me, only darkness comes,
The invisible spirit sings it.

Holding the jug above your head,
Georgian woman on a narrow path
I went to the shore. Sometimes
She slid between the stones
Laughing at your awkwardness.
And her outfit was poor;
And she walked easily, back
Curves of long veils
Throwing it back. Summer heat
Covered with golden shadow
Her face and chest; and heat
I breathed from her lips and cheeks.
And the darkness of the eyes was so deep,
So full of the secrets of love,
What are my ardent thoughts
Confused. Only I remember
The jug rings when the stream
Slowly poured into him,
And a rustle... nothing more.
When did I wake up again
And the blood drained from the heart,
She was already far away;
And she walked, at least more quietly, but easily,
Slender under her burden,
Like a poplar, the king of her fields!
Not far away, in the cool darkness,
It seemed like we were rooted to the rock
Two saklas as a friendly couple;
Above a flat roof
The smoke flowed blue.
It's as if I see now
How the door quietly opened...
And it closed again! ..
I know you won't understand
My longing, my sadness;
And if I could, I would be sorry:
Memories of those minutes
In me, with me, let them die.

Exhausted by the labors of the night,
I lay down in the shade. Pleasant dream
I closed my eyes involuntarily...
And again I saw in a dream
Georgian woman image is young.
And strange sweet melancholy
My chest began to ache again.
I struggled to breathe for a long time -
And I woke up. Already the moon
Above she shone, and alone
Only a cloud was sneaking behind her,
As if for your prey,
Greedy arms opened.
The world was dark and silent;
Only silver fringe
Tops of the snow chain
In the distance they sparkled before me
Yes, a stream splashed into the banks.
There is a light in the familiar hut
It fluttered, then went out again:
In heaven at midnight
So the bright star goes out!
I wanted to... but I'm going there
I didn’t dare to go up. I have one goal -
Go to your home country -
Had it in my soul and overcame it
Suffering from hunger as best I could.
And here's the straight road
He set off, timid and dumb.
But soon in the depths of the forest
Lost sight of the mountains
And then I began to lose my way.

In vain to be furious at times
I tore with a desperate hand
Thorn tangled with ivy:
There was all the forest, the eternal forest all around,
Scarier and thicker every hour;
And a million black eyes
Watched the darkness of the night
Through the branches of every bush.
My head was spinning;
I began to climb trees;
But even at the edge of heaven
There was still the same jagged forest.
Then I fell to the ground;
And he sobbed in a frenzy,
And gnawed the damp breast of the earth,
And tears, tears flowed
Into her with flammable dew...
But, believe me, human help
I didn't want... I was a stranger
For them forever, like a beast of the steppe;
And if only for a minute cry
He cheated on me - I swear, old man,
I would tear out my weak tongue.

Do you remember your childhood years:
I have never known tears;
But then I cried without shame.
Who could see? Only a dark forest
Yes, a month floating among the heavens!
Illuminated by its ray,
Covered with moss and sand,
An impenetrable wall
Surrounded, in front of me
There was a clearing. Suddenly in her
A shadow flashed and two lights
Sparks flew... and then
Some beast in one leap
He jumped out of the thicket and lay down,
While playing, lie down on the sand.
It was the desert's eternal guest -
Mighty leopard. Raw bone
He gnawed and squealed joyfully;
Then he fixed his bloody gaze,
Wagging its tail affectionately,
For a full month, and on it
The wool shone silver.
I was waiting, grabbing a horned branch,
A minute of battle; heart suddenly
Ignited with a thirst for fight
And blood... yes, the hand of fate
I was led in a different direction...
But now I'm sure
What could happen in the land of our fathers
Not one of the last daredevils.

I was waiting. And here in the shadows of the night
He sensed the enemy, and howl
Lingering, plaintive like a groan
Suddenly there was a sound... and he began
Angrily digging the sand with your paw,
He reared up, then lay down,
And the first mad leap
I was threatened with a terrible death...
But I warned him.
My blow was true and quick.
My reliable bitch is like an axe,
His broad forehead was cut...
He groaned like a man
And he capsized. But again,
Although blood poured from the wound
Thick, wide wave,
The battle has begun, a mortal battle!

He threw himself on my chest:
But I managed to stick it in my throat
And turn there twice
My weapon... He howled
He rushed with all his strength,
And we, intertwined like a pair of snakes,
Hugging tighter than two friends,
They fell at once, and in the darkness
The battle continued on the ground.
And I was terrible at that moment;
Like a desert leopard, angry and wild,
I was on fire and screaming like him;
As if I myself was born
In the family of leopards and wolves
Under the fresh forest canopy.
It seemed that the words of people
I forgot - and in my chest
That terrible cry was born
It's like my tongue has been around since childhood
I'm not used to a different sound...
But my enemy began to grow weak,
Throw about, breathe slower,
Squeezed me for the last time...
The pupils of his motionless eyes
They flashed menacingly - and then
Quietly closed in eternal sleep;
But with a triumphant enemy
He faced death face to face
How a fighter should behave in battle!..

You see on my chest
Deep claw marks;
They haven't overgrown yet
And they didn’t close; but the earth
The damp cover will refresh them
And death will heal forever.
I forgot about them then
And, once again gathering the rest of my strength,
I wandered into the depths of the forest...
But I argued in vain with fate:
She laughed at me!

I left the forest. And so
The day woke up and there was a round dance
The guiding light has disappeared
In its rays. Foggy forest
He spoke. Aul in the distance
Started smoking. Vague hum
Ran through the valley with the wind...
I sat down and began to listen;
But it fell silent along with the breeze.
And I glanced around:
That region seemed familiar to me.
And I was scared to understand
I couldn’t for a long time, that again
I returned to my prison;
That so many days are useless
I caressed a secret plan,
He endured, languished and suffered,
And why all this?.. So that in the prime of life,
Barely looking at the light of God,
With the sonorous murmur of the oak forests
Having experienced the bliss of freedom,
Take it to the grave with you
Longing for the holy homeland,
A reproach to the hopes of the deceived
And shame on your pity!..
Still immersed in doubt,
I thought it was a bad dream...
Suddenly a distant bell rings
It rang out again in the silence -
And then everything became clear to me...
Oh, I recognized him immediately!
He has seen children's eyes more than once
Driven away the visions of living dreams
About dear neighbors and relatives,
About the wild will of the steppes,
About light, mad horses,
About wonderful battles between the rocks,
Where I alone defeated everyone!..
And I listened without tears, without strength.
It seemed that the ringing was coming out
From the heart - as if someone
The iron struck me in the chest.
And then I vaguely realized
What traces do I have to my homeland?
Will never pave it.

Yes, I deserve my lot!
A mighty horse, a stranger in the steppe,
Having thrown off the bad rider,
To my homeland from afar
Finds a direct and short way...
What am I in front of him? Breasts in vain
Full of desire and longing:
That heat is powerless and empty,
A dream game, a disease of the mind.
I have my prison stamp on me
Left... Such is the flower
Temnichny: grew up alone
And he is pale between the damp slabs,
And for a long time the young leaves
I didn’t open it, I was still waiting for the rays
Life-giving. And many days
Passed and a kind hand
The flower moved sadly,
And he was carried into the garden,
In the neighborhood of roses. From all sides
The sweetness of life was breathing...
But what? The dawn has barely risen,
The scorching ray burned her
A flower raised in prison...

And what's his name, he scorched me
The fire of a merciless day.
In vain I hid in the grass
My tired chapter:
A withered leaf is her crown
Thorn over my brow
Curled up and in the face with fire
The earth itself breathed to me.
Flashing quickly in the heights,
Sparks swirled from the white rocks
Steam was flowing. God's world was sleeping
In a deaf daze
Despair is a heavy sleep.
At least the corncrake screamed,
Or a dragonfly's living trill
I heard it, or a stream
Baby talk... Just a snake
rustling dry weeds,
Shining with a yellow back,
It's like a golden inscription
The blade is covered to the bottom,
Traversing the crumbly sand.
She slid carefully, then,
Playing, basking on it,
Curled in a triple ring;
It's like suddenly being burned,
She rushed and jumped
And she was hiding in the distant bushes...

And everything was in heaven
Light and quiet. Through couples
Two mountains loomed black in the distance.
Our monastery because of one
The jagged wall sparkled.
Below are Aragva and Kura,
Wrapped in silver
The soles of the fresh islands,
By the roots of whispering bushes
They ran together and easily...
I was far from them!
I wanted to stand up - in front of me
Everything was spinning quickly;
I wanted to scream - my tongue was dry
He was silent and motionless...
I was dying. I was tormented
Death delirium. It seemed to me
That I'm lying on a damp bottom
Deep river - and there was
There is a mysterious darkness all around.
And I thirst for eternal singing,
Like a cold stream of ice,
Murmuring, it poured into my chest...
And I was only afraid to fall asleep, -
It was so sweet, I love it...
And above me in the heights
Wave pressed against wave.
And the sun through the crystal waves
Shined sweeter than the moon...
And colorful herds of fish
Sometimes they played in the rays.
And I remember one of them:
She is friendlier than others
She caressed me. Scales
Was covered in gold
Her back. She curled
Over my head more than once,
And the look of her green eyes
He was sadly tender and deep...
And I couldn’t be surprised:
Her silver voice
He whispered strange words to me,
And he sang, and fell silent again.
He said: "My child,
Stay here with me:
Living freely in the water
And cold and peace.

I will call my sisters:
We're dancing in a circle
Let's cheer up the foggy eyes
And your spirit is tired.

Go to sleep, your bed is soft,
Your cover is transparent.
Years will pass, centuries will pass
Under the talk of wonderful dreams.

Oh my dear! I won't hide it
That I love you,
I love it like a free stream,
I love you like my life..."

And for a long, long time I listened;
And it seemed like a sonorous stream
She poured out her quiet murmur
With the words of a golden fish.
Here I forgot. God's light
It faded in the eyes. Crazy nonsense
I gave in to the powerlessness of my body...

So I was found and raised...
You know the rest yourself.
I'm done. Believe my words
Or don't believe me, I don't care.
There is only one thing that saddens me:
My corpse is cold and dumb
It will not smolder in its native land,
And the story of my bitter torments
Will not call the deaf between the walls
No one's sorrowful attention
In my dark name.

Farewell, father... give me your hand:
Do you feel mine is on fire...
Know this flame from your youth,
Melting away, he lived in my chest;
But now there is no food for him,
And he burned down his prison
And will return again to that
Who to all the lawful succession
Gives suffering and peace...
But what does that matter to me? - let him be in heaven,
In the holy, transcendental land
My spirit will find a home...
Alas! - for a few minutes
Between steep and dark rocks,
Where I played as a child,
I would trade heaven and eternity...

When I start to die,
And believe me, you won't have to wait long,
You told me to move
To our garden, to the place where they bloomed
Two white acacia bushes...
The grass between them is so thick,
And the fresh air is so fragrant,
And so transparently golden
A leaf playing in the sun!
They told me to put it there.
The glow of a blue day
I'll get drunk for the last time.
The Caucasus is visible from there!
Perhaps he is from his heights
He will send me farewell greetings,
Will send with a cool breeze...
And near me before the end
The sound will be heard again, dear!
And I will begin to think that my friend
Or brother, bending over me,
Wipe with an attentive hand
Cold sweat from the face of death
And what he sings in a low voice
He tells me about a sweet country..
And with this thought I will fall asleep,
And I won’t curse anyone!..."

And God's grace came down
To Georgia! She was blooming
Since then, in the shade of their gardens,
Without fear of enemies,
3a borderline of friendly bayonets.

Exhausted by the labors of the night,
I lay down in the shade. Pleasant dream
I closed my eyes involuntarily...
And again I saw in a dream
Georgian woman image is young.
And strange sweet melancholy
My chest began to ache again.
I struggled to breathe for a long time -
And I woke up. Already the moon
Above she shone, and alone
Only a cloud was sneaking behind her,
As if for your prey,
Greedy arms opened.
The world was dark and silent;
Only silver fringe
Tops of the snow chain
In the distance they sparkled before me
Yes, a stream splashed into the banks.
There is a light in the familiar hut
It fluttered, then went out again:
In heaven at midnight
So the bright star goes out!
I wanted to... but I'm going there
I didn’t dare to go up. I have one goal -
Go to your native country -
Had it in my soul and overcame it
Suffering from hunger as best I could.
And here's the straight road
He set off, timid and dumb.
But soon in the depths of the forest
Lost sight of the mountains
And then I began to lose my way.

Do you remember your childhood years:
I have never known tears;
But then I cried without shame.
Who could see? Only a dark forest
Yes, a month floating among the heavens!
Illuminated by its ray,
Covered with moss and sand,
An impenetrable wall
Surrounded, in front of me
There was a clearing. Suddenly in her
A shadow flashed and two lights
Sparks flew... and then
Some beast in one leap
He jumped out of the thicket and lay down,
While playing, lie down on the sand.
It was the desert's eternal guest -
Mighty leopard. Raw bone
He gnawed and squealed joyfully;
Then he fixed his bloody gaze,
Wagging its tail affectionately,
For a full month - and on it
The wool shone silver.
I was waiting, grabbing a horned branch,
A minute of battle; heart suddenly
Ignited with a thirst for fight
And blood... yes, the hand of fate
I was led in a different direction...
But now I'm sure
What could happen in the land of our fathers
Not one of the last daredevils.

I was waiting. And here in the shadows of the night
He sensed the enemy, and howl
Lingering, plaintive like a groan
Suddenly there was a sound... and he began
Angrily digging the sand with your paw,
He reared up, then lay down,
And the first mad leap
I was threatened with a terrible death...
But I warned him.
My blow was true and quick.
My reliable bitch is like an axe,
His wide forehead cut...
He groaned like a man
And he capsized. But again,
Although blood poured from the wound
Thick, wide wave,
The battle has begun, a mortal battle!

He threw himself on my chest:
But I managed to stick it in my throat
And turn there twice
My weapon... He howled,
He rushed with all his strength,
And we, intertwined like a pair of snakes,
Hugging tighter than two friends,
They fell at once, and in the darkness
The battle continued on the ground.
And I was terrible at that moment;
Like a desert leopard, angry and wild,
I was on fire and screaming like him;
As if I myself was born
In the family of leopards and wolves
Under the fresh forest canopy.
It seemed that the words of people
I forgot - and in my chest
That terrible cry was born
It's like my tongue has been around since childhood
I’m not used to a different sound...
But my enemy began to grow weak,
Throw about, breathe slower,
Squeezed me for the last time...
The pupils of his motionless eyes
They flashed menacingly - and then
Quietly closed in eternal sleep;
But with a triumphant enemy
He faced death face to face
How a fighter should behave in battle!..

Yes, I deserve my lot!
A mighty horse, a stranger in the steppe,
Having thrown off the bad rider,
To my homeland from afar
Will find a direct and short way...
What am I in front of him? Breasts in vain
Full of desire and longing:
That heat is powerless and empty,
A dream game, a disease of the mind.
I have my prison stamp on me
Left... Such is the flower
Temnichny: grew up alone
And he is pale between the damp slabs,
And for a long time the young leaves
I didn’t open it, I was still waiting for the rays
Life-giving. And many days
Passed and a kind hand
The flower moved sadly,
And he was carried into the garden,
In the neighborhood of roses. From all sides
The sweetness of life was breathing...
But what? The dawn has barely risen,
The scorching ray burned her
A flower raised in prison...

And what's his name, he scorched me
The fire of a merciless day.
In vain I hid in the grass
My tired chapter:
A withered leaf is her crown
Thorn over my brow
Curled up and in the face with fire
The earth itself breathed to me.
Flashing quickly in the heights,
Sparks swirled from the white rocks
Steam was flowing. God's world was sleeping
In a deaf daze
Despair is a heavy sleep.
At least the corncrake screamed,
Or a dragonfly's living trill
I heard it, or a stream
Baby talk... Only a snake,
rustling dry weeds,
Shining with a yellow back,
It's like a golden inscription
The blade is covered to the bottom,
Traversing the crumbly sand.
She slid carefully, then,
Playing, basking on it,
Curled in a triple ring;
It's like suddenly being burned,
She rushed and jumped
And she was hiding in the distant bushes...

And everything was in heaven
Light and quiet. Through couples
Two mountains loomed black in the distance.
Our monastery because of one
The jagged wall sparkled.
Below are Aragva and Kura,
Wrapped in silver
The soles of the fresh islands,
By the roots of whispering bushes
They ran together and easily...
I was far from them!
I wanted to stand up - in front of me
Everything was spinning quickly;
I wanted to scream - my tongue was dry
He was silent and motionless...
I was dying. I was tormented
Death delirium. It seemed to me
That I'm lying on a damp bottom
Deep river - and there was
There is a mysterious darkness all around.
And I thirst for eternal singing,
Like a cold stream of ice,
Murmuring, it poured into my chest...
And I was only afraid to fall asleep, -
It was so sweet, I love it...
And above me in the heights
Wave pressed against wave.
And the sun through the crystal waves
It shone sweeter than the moon...
And colorful herds of fish
Sometimes they played in the rays.
And I remember one of them:
She is friendlier than others
She caressed me. Scales
Was covered in gold
Her back. She curled
Over my head more than once,
And the look of her green eyes
He was sadly tender and deep...
And I couldn’t be surprised:
Her silver voice
He whispered strange words to me,
And he sang, and fell silent again.
He said: “My child,
Stay here with me:
Living freely in the water
And cold and peace.

I will call my sisters:
We're dancing in a circle
Let's cheer up the foggy eyes
And your spirit is tired.

Go to sleep, your bed is soft,
Your cover is transparent.
Years will pass, centuries will pass
Under the talk of wonderful dreams.

Oh my dear! I won't hide it
That I love you,
I love it like a free stream,
I love you like my life..."
And for a long, long time I listened;
And it seemed like a sonorous stream
She poured out her quiet murmur
With the words of a golden fish.
Here I forgot. God's light
It faded in the eyes. Crazy nonsense
I gave in to the powerlessness of my body...

Analysis of the poem “Mtsyri” by Lermontov

The poem “Mtsyri” is one of Lermontov’s most famous works. In it, the poet was able to depict the nature of the Caucasus with amazing artistic skill. The semantic content of the poem is no less valuable. It is a monologue of a romantic hero who dies in the fight for freedom.

The creation of the poem has a long history. The idea for the story arose in Lermontov while reading “The Prisoner of Chillon” by Byron. He consistently develops it in the poem “Confession” and the poem “Boyar Orsha”. Subsequently, the author will transfer some lines from these works in their entirety to Mtsyri. The direct source for the poem is the story that Lermontov learned in Georgia. The captive highlander child was sent to be raised in a monastery. Possessing a rebellious character, the child tried to escape several times. One of these attempts almost ended in his death. The boy humbled himself and lived to a ripe old age as a monk. Lermontov was very interested in the story of “Mtsyri” (in translation from Georgian - novice). He took advantage of past developments, added elements of Georgian folklore and created an original poem (1839).

The plot of the poem completely repeats the story of the monk, with the exception of one important detail. In reality, the boy survived, but in Lermontov’s work the final point is not set. The child is near death, his entire monologue is a farewell to life. Only his death seems like a logical ending.

In the image of a wild child from the point of view of civilization, a romantic hero appears before us. He did not long enjoy a free life among his people. Capture and imprisonment in a monastery deprive him of the opportunity to experience the beauty and splendor of the endless world. His innate sense of independence makes him taciturn and unsociable. His main desire is to escape to his homeland.
During a stormy thunderstorm, taking advantage of the monks' fear, the boy runs away from the monastery. A beautiful picture of nature untouched by man opens up to him. Under this impression, the boy comes to memories of his mountain village. This emphasizes the inextricable connection of patriarchal society with the outside world. Such a connection has been irretrievably lost by modern man.

The child decides to go home. But he cannot find the way and realizes that he is lost. The fight with the leopard is an unusually vivid scene in the poem. Its fantastic nature further emphasizes the individualism of the protagonist, his proud and unyielding spirit. The wounds received deprive the boy of his last strength. He realizes with bitterness that he has returned to where he came from.

When talking with the elder, the main character does not regret his action at all. Three days spent in freedom are worth his whole life in the monastery. He is not afraid of death. Existence in captivity seems unbearable to the boy, especially because he has experienced the sweetness of free life.

“Mtsyri” is an outstanding work of Russian romanticism, which can be classified as a masterpiece of world classics.

Mtskheta is the ancient capital of Georgia, founded there “where, merging, they make noise, / Embracing like two sisters, / The streams of Aragva and Kura.” Here, in Mtskheta, is the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral with the tombs of the last kings of independent Georgia, who “handed over” “their people” to united Russia. Since then (the end of the 17th century) the grace of God has fallen on the long-suffering country - it has blossomed and prospered, “without fear of enemies, / Beyond friendly bayonets.”

“Once upon a time a Russian general / was passing from the mountains to Tiflis; He was carrying a prisoner's child. / He fell ill...” Realizing that in such a state he would not be able to take the child to Tiflis alive, the general left the captive in Mtskheta, in the local monastery. Mtskheta monks, righteous men, ascetics, educators, having cured and baptized the foundling, raise him in a true Christian spirit. And it seems that hard and selfless work achieves the goal. Having forgotten his native language and accustomed to captivity, Mtsyri speaks fluently in Georgian. Yesterday's savage is “ready to take a monastic vow in the prime of his life.”

And suddenly, on the eve of the solemn event, the adopted child disappears, unnoticeably slipping out of the monastery fortress at that terrible hour when the holy fathers, frightened by a thunderstorm, crowded like lambs around the altar. The fugitive, naturally, is searched for by the entire monastery army and, as expected, for three whole days. To no avail. However, after some time, Mtsyri is still found completely by accident by some strangers - and not in the depths of the Caucasus Mountains, but in the immediate vicinity of Mtskheta. Recognizing the unconscious young man lying on the bare ground scorched by the heat as a monastery servant, they bring him to the monastery.

When Mtsyri comes to his senses, the monks interrogate him. He is silent. They try to force feed him, because the fugitive is exhausted, as if he had suffered a long illness or exhausting labor. Mtsyri refuses food. Having guessed that the stubborn man is deliberately hastening his “end,” they send to Mtsyri the very same monk who once came out and baptized him. The kind old man is sincerely attached to his ward and really wants his pupil, since he is destined to die so young, to fulfill his Christian duty, humble himself, repent and receive absolution before his death.

But Mtsyri does not at all repent of his daring act. Vice versa! He is proud of it as a feat! Because in freedom he lived and lived the way all his ancestors lived - in union with wild nature - vigilant like eagles, wise like snakes, strong like mountain leopards. Unarmed, Mtsyri enters into single combat with this royal beast, the owner of the local dense forests. And, having honestly defeated him, he proves (to himself!) that he could “be in the land of his fathers / Not one of the last daredevils.”

The feeling of will returns to the young man even what captivity seemed to have taken away forever: the memory of childhood. He remembers his native speech, his native village, and the faces of his loved ones - his father, sisters, brothers. Moreover, even if only for a brief moment, living in union with wild nature makes him a great poet. Telling the monk about what he saw, what he experienced while wandering in the mountains, Mtsyri selects words that are strikingly similar to the pristine nature of the mighty nature of his father’s land.

And only one sin weighs on his soul. This sin is perjury. After all, once upon a time, when he was still a boy, the fugitive swore a terrible oath to himself that he would run away from the monastery and find a path to his native lands. And so he seems to be following the right direction: he walks, runs, rushes, crawls, climbs - to the east, to the east, to the east. All the time, day and night, according to the sun, according to the stars - east of Mtskheta! And suddenly he discovers that, having made a circle, he returned to the very place where his escape, the feat of Escape, began, to the immediate vicinity of Mtskheta; From here it’s a stone’s throw to the monastery that sheltered him! And this, in Mtsyri’s understanding, is not a simple annoying oversight. The years spent in “prison”, in dungeons, and this is exactly how the adopted son perceives the monastery, not only physically weakened his body.

Life in captivity extinguished the “guide ray” in his soul, that is, that unmistakably true, almost animal sense of his path, which every highlander possesses from birth and without which neither man nor beast can survive in the wild abysses of the central Caucasus. Yes, Mtsyri escaped from the monastery fortress, but he could no longer destroy that inner prison, that constraint that the civilizers had built in his soul! It is this terrible tragic discovery, and not the lacerations inflicted by the leopard, that kills the instinct of life in Mtsyri, that thirst for life with which true, and not adopted, children of nature come into the world. A born freedom lover, in order not to live as a slave, he dies like a slave: humbly, without cursing anyone.

The only thing he asks his jailers to do is to bury him in that corner of the monastery garden from where “the Caucasus is visible.” His only hope is for the mercy of a cool breeze blowing from the mountains - suddenly the faint sound of his native speech or a fragment of a mountain song will carry to the orphan's grave...

Lermontov wrote the poem “Mtsyri” in 1839. Already in 1840 it was published in the collection “Poems of M. Lermontov”. The poet’s idea for the work “Mtsyri” appeared at the age of 17, when he was planning to write the notes of a young monk. During his first exile to the Caucasus in 1837, Lermontov hears a story that forms the basis of the poem. In Mtskheta, he meets a lonely monk who told him about his life. He is a highlander who, as a child, was captured by General Ermolov and left in a monastery. Subsequently, the monk tried to escape many times, and one of the attempts led him to a long illness. This romantic story, apparently, formed the basis of the poem.

To get a more complete impression of the work of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, we suggest you read a summary of “Mtsyri” chapter by chapter.

Main characters

Mtsyri- a young highlander raised in a monastery and preparing to take monastic vows. He retained the memory of his native Caucasus and is planning to escape to his homeland, but when this attempt fails, he dies of melancholy. Before his death he confesses, and in this confession there are rebellious notes, bitterness and regret about the failed escape. According to Lermontov himself, “mtsyri” in Georgian means “novice”, or, in the second meaning, “alien”, “foreigner”. Thus, the hero is deprived of his own name.

Other characters

General- brings the sick child to the monastery and leaves him there.

Old Monk- cured and raised Mtsyri, later listens to his last confession.

Georgian girl- Mtsyri meets her during his wanderings, she becomes his brief love.

The poem is preceded by an epigraph - “Tasting, I have tasted little honey, and now I am dying,” chosen by Lermontov from the Bible. These lines symbolically emphasize the prohibition violated by Mtsyri and the desire to get more from life.

Chapter 1

At the confluence of two rivers, Aragva and Kura, a monastery has stood for a long time. Now it is destroyed. There is only one old watchman left who sweeps the dust from the slabs. They preserve the memory of how the Georgian king gave his power to Russia, and now Georgia lives “beyond friendly bayonets.”

Chapter 2

One day a Russian general passes by the monastery. He has a mountaineer child of about six with him, he is sick and has to be left behind. The child grows up unsociable and is sad. However, one of the holy fathers takes care of him, educates him and prepares him for tonsure. Shortly before taking his vows, Mtsyri disappears; he is found three days later and brought to the monastery. The young man dies, and the monk comes to him to confess.

Chapters 3-5

“I lived little, and lived in captivity,” - this is how Mtsyri begins his confession. Then he reproaches the monk: why did he save and educate him, if he had to grow up away from his loved ones, not knowing either his father or mother and languishing in constant melancholy? He is young, thirsty for love and life. The monk was also young, but he had life - and Mtsyri was deprived of it.

Chapters 6-7

The young man talks about what he saw in the wild: fields, open spaces and in the distance - the Caucasus. The sight of the Caucasus reminds him of his home, his father, his sisters who sang over his cradle, the river where he played on the golden sand as a child, and his entire peaceful life. First he remembers his native village, the old men sitting on the threshold, then long daggers and other weapons. Here his own father appears before the hero’s inner gaze. He is dressed in chain mail and clutches a gun. This vision awakens in the hero a longing for what he is deprived of.

Chapter 8

A long time ago, Mtsyri conceived this escape, promising himself to look at the free world at least once. And this wish came true: in three days of escape, according to him, he saw more than in his life in the monastery. His first impression is a thunderstorm, in which he feels a kindred, rebellious soul. He is “like a brother, / Would be glad to embrace the storm.” He watches the play of the elements, tries to catch lightning with his hand. At this point, Mtsyri interrupts his confession and sadly asks the monk: could the monastery give him something like that?

Chapters 9-13

The thunderstorm subsides, and Mtsyri runs on. He himself does not know where he is going, because among people he feels like a stranger. Nature is what is close and understandable to him, the young man understands the voice of the stream and sits with it for a long time, admiring the surroundings. The vault of heaven around him is so clear and deep that, according to the young man, one could discern the flight of an angel on it. Nature, trees, bushes, stones - all this talks to each other about the “secrets of heaven and earth,” and these speeches are understandable to Mtsyri, the child of nature. Everything he changed his mind at the stream has already disappeared without a trace, and there are no words in human speech to tell his thoughts at that time. But still Mtsyri would like to tell them again: then he would feel alive again, at least mentally.

He could sit like this forever, but midday comes and he begins to be thirsty. The young man goes down to the stream. This is dangerous, but “free youth is strong, / And death seemed not scary!”

Then a magical voice is heard near the stream - it is a Georgian girl singing who has gone down to fetch water. She walks easily, throwing back her veil, sometimes slipping on the stones and laughing at her own awkwardness. The young man can see her face and chest, golden in the sun, and most importantly, her eyes. Her eyes are black and their darkness is “full of the secrets of love.” Mtsyri is fascinated. He breaks off his story: the monk still won’t understand this.

Chapters 14-15

Waking up in the middle of the night, Mtsyri continues on her way, wanting to get to her native country. He walks forward, focusing on the mountains visible in the distance, but soon loses his way. There is an endless forest around. Brought up in captivity, Mtsyri had long ago lost the natural sense of direction characteristic of every mountaineer.

Chapters 16-19

A “mighty leopard” appears in the forest, and Mtsyri attacks him. The young man’s heart was inflamed with a thirst for battle; he is sure that “he could have been in the land of his fathers / Not one of the last daredevils.” The fierce fight lasts for a long time - wounds are still visible on Mtsyri’s chest. However, he emerges victorious.

Chapters 20-23

The young man got out of the forest and for a long time cannot understand where he came. Gradually he begins to realize with horror: he has returned to the monastery. The ringing of bells confirms the guess. So Mtsyri understands that he is no longer destined to see his native land, and blames himself for this: “The prison / Left its mark on me...”. A fit of despair gives way to death delirium. Mtsyri seems as if he is lying on the river bottom, and fish are playing around him. One of them speaks to him and persuades him to stay here, at the bottom, where there is “coldness and peace.” She will call her sisters, and together they will cheer him up with a dance. Mtsyri listens to these sweet speeches for a long time before completely forgetting himself. Then the monks find him.

Chapters 24-26

Confession is over and death is approaching. Mtsyri tells his confessor that from an early age he was engulfed in flames - the desire for will, and this fire burned him. Before his death, only one thing saddens him: his body will not remain in his native land. And the story of his torment will remain unknown to people. Perhaps, Mtsyri thinks, heaven awaits him, but the thought of this is not joyful.

"Alas! - for a few minutes
Between steep and dark rocks,
Where I played as a child,
I would trade heaven and eternity..."

Before his death, he asks to take him out into the garden so that he can see the Caucasus once again, admire the radiance of the blue sky and the beauty of the blooming acacias. A cool breeze will remind him of the gentle hand of a friend or brother wiping the death sweat from his forehead, the sound of the wind will seem like a song about a “sweet country.” The thought of his native country will calm him down and “with this thought I will fall asleep, / And I will not curse anyone!...”.”

Conclusion

As we can see, in the poem “Mtsyri” a number of motifs characteristic of Lermontov’s work are raised: the motif of loneliness, love for the homeland and rebellion against the usual foundations. The poet strives to create a classic romantic hero, a passionate and rebellious soul. The verse itself in “Mtsyri,” according to critics, sounds abruptly, like a falling sword. Strengthens the romantic motives and the place where the events unfold - the Caucasus, the country of freedom. Thanks to the artistic originality of the work and the relevance of the problems depicted in it, the poem “Mtsyri” is still interesting to read today. Therefore, after reading a brief retelling of Lermontov’s “Mtsyri,” we advise you to familiarize yourself with the full text of the poem.

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