Essay I love my fatherland, but with a strange love. Start in science I love my homeland, but it’s strange

In the era of the Nikolaev reaction, an important question that worried the minds of the Russian intelligentsia was the question of the fate of Russia, of the Russian national character. The same problem turns out to be the main one in Russian literature at the beginning of the 20th century, in the era of revolutions and upheavals, so the theme of Russia becomes predominant in the works of leading artists of both eras, such as M. Lermontov and A. Blok. Both poets, the romantic Lermontov and the symbolist Blok, create an original, unique image of their homeland, and each expresses their love for it in their own way. The basic principles of the image of Russia by the two poets are completely different: Lermontov is a romantic in his worldview, worldview, in relation to his homeland, but when revealing the image of Russia, he often gravitates towards the realistic method. Lermontov creates a concrete historical image of Russia; it is closely related to the theme of the “lost generation”, which is important for the poet’s work. The image of Russia and the feeling for it are twofold; in one poem he says:

I love my fatherland, but with a strange love! My reason will not defeat her, and in another she sharply shouts: “Farewell, unwashed Russia!”

- with obvious hatred. Lermontov seems to divide Russia into “past” and “present”, loves the former and hates the latter. Blok is a symbolist, a poet of another era, which is undoubtedly reflected in his understanding and disclosure of the image of Russia. For Blok, Russia inextricably merged with the image of a woman, a beloved wife: “Oh, my Rus'! My wife!" This symbol was transformed from Blok’s early image of the Beautiful Lady, the Eternal Femininity, which carries the divine principle. In the poem “On the Kulikovo Field,” the symbol of Rus' is a “steppe mare” that “rushes at a gallop.”

Both poets resort to a realistic landscape; for Lermontov it is “sad”, for Blok it is “sad”:

Its steppes are coldly silent, Her boundless forests are swaying, The floods of its rivers are like seas… ..The trembling lights of sad villages… Lermontov, “Motherland” The river spreads out. Flows, lazily sad And washes the banks. Above the meager clay of the yellow cliff, the haystacks are sad in the steppe. Blok, “On the Kulikovo Field”

Both poets turn to historical themes to reveal the image of Russia. Lermontov in the poem “Borodino” idealizes the historical past of Russia, the generation of people who fought in the War of 1812 and proved themselves as heroes, contrasting it with the modern “lost” generation:

Yes, there were people in our time, a mighty, dashing tribe: the heroes are not you.

Blok also refers to ancient history, to the Tatar invasion and the Battle of Kulikovo, but he projects the ancient battle onto modern times. His poem contains motifs of the inevitability of the “long journey” and “eternal battle”; his Rus' “rushes at a gallop.” This interpretation is due to the time of the poet’s life - an era of rapid changes and upheavals in the life of Russia. Lermontov in “Borodin” reveals the most valuable, in his opinion, qualities of the Russian national character: the ability to perform the feat of a simple soldier, self-sacrifice for the sake of his native land, daring and courage. Blok is attracted to the Russian folk character by “robber beauty” and “beautiful features”, two-facedness, a combination of loyalty to the precepts of Christian dogma and readiness for a daring, brave twist, for rebellion. His Russia will never “get lost, never perish”, it will find a way out (this is Blok’s attitude towards the revolution). It is full of secrets, witches, sorcerers.

Where sorcerers and sorcerers enchant the grains in the fields... “Rus” Lermontov depicts more real attributes of peasant life: I see a complete threshing floor, a hut covered with straw, a window with carved shutters... “Motherland”

Folk art appears in the works of both poets: songs and dances. For Lermontov it is “a dance with stomping and whistling to the chatter of drunken peasants,” for Blok it is a whirlwind whistling in the bare bars.

Sings ancient legends... “Rus” Your songs are windy to me - Like the first tears of love... “Russia”

Lermontov, who wrote under the existing serfdom, also addresses the theme of Russia from a social perspective, calling it “a country of slaves, a country of masters.”

Life there is hard for people early on. There, behind joys, reproach rushes, There a man groans from slavery and chains!.. “The Turk’s Complaints”

During the time of Blok, Russia was not at all the same as during the time of Lermontov. But Blok avoided describing inertia, savagery, ignorance, hunger, poverty and drunkenness, although he several times calls Russia “beggar”:

So - I recognized poverty in my slumber of my native land, And in the flaps of its rags I hide my Soul's nakedness. "Rus"

Russia remains for Blok the ideal of purity and holiness, love for it is saving:

Rus' cradled the living soul, in its vastness you, And now - it did not stain the Original purity... “Rus”

The motif of the road is closely connected with the image of Russia, especially clearly in Blok (“Russia”, “On the Kulikovo Field”), but it is also present in Lermontov: “I like to ride in a cart along a country road” (“Motherland”). The image of the road symbolizes the eternal movement of Russia in a vast space, a movement that will sooner or later change its life. Lermontov's Russia, romantically idealized in its historical past and despised at a specific historical moment, and Blok's Russia, mysterious, crazy, beloved - two very different images. The differences in the depiction of Russia by each of the poets are due to the time of life of the authors, as well as the peculiarities of their personal worldview.

I love my fatherland, but with a strange love (M. Lermontov, A. Blok)

Other essays on the topic:

Love is the absolute law of existence, rejecting everything heavenly and opposing it, which is clearly revealed by the variants of the first verse of the above quatrain. "Not...
“There are poets whom one cannot help but love, and there are poets one cannot live without,” wrote Raisa Akhmatova. - For...
The poem, which sounded like the poet’s blessing to the October Revolution, as you know, was created by Alexander Blok in January 1918, that is, one might say...
The theme of the Motherland - the theme of Russia - occupied a special place in the life of A. Blok; it was truly comprehensive for him. He...
Alexander Blok (1880-1921) published two collections for children in 1913: “Fairy Tales” and “All Year Round.” The poet himself selected and edited...
Using the creative achievements of the outstanding Russian poet, Sosyura created a completely original work. Following the example of Blok, who masterfully used Russian songs, ditties,...
This theme attracts as the theme of a novel of a still new, unborn (or unconscious) formation. They are talking about this lyrical hero now. He...
Blok’s Bolshevism was not orthodox Marxist communism, but nevertheless, it was not by chance that he became a Bolshevik. The Bolshevik revolution with all its horrors...
Blok became for his contemporaries the personification of the best achievements of the “Silver Age” of Russian poetry, the recognized leader of Russian symbolism and one of the most prominent representatives...
A review note about the writer’s work. The father of the future poet - lawyer Alexander Lvovich Blok, talented, endowed with a sharp, skeptical mind, was handsome...
Marlinsky (A. A. Bestuzhev), currently a half-forgotten writer, enjoyed great fame and popularity during his lifetime. Western European romanticism found in...
There are poets whose work enters our hearts as an invaluable gift that we never part with. Among them -...

"I love the Fatherland, but with a strange love"

Perhaps the theme of the homeland is the main one in the work of all great Russian writers. She finds a peculiar refraction in the lyrics of M. Yu. Lermontov. In some ways, his sincere thoughts about Russia coincide with Pushkin’s. Lermontov is also not satisfied with the present of his homeland; he also wishes her freedom. But his lyrics do not contain Pushkin’s ardent optimistic confidence that “she will rise, a star of captivating happiness.” His penetrating and merciless gaze as an artist reveals those negative aspects of Russian life that make the poet feel a sense of hatred towards them and part with his fatherland without any regret.

Goodbye, unwashed Russia,

Country of slaves, country of masters,

And you, blue uniforms,

And you, their devoted people.

In Lermontov’s well-honed, laconic lines, the evil that causes his anger and indignation is concentrated to the utmost. And this evil is slavery of the people, despotism of autocratic power, persecution of dissent, restriction of civil liberties.

A feeling of sorrow for the oppressed homeland permeates the poem "The Turk's Complaints." The acute political content forces the poet to resort to allegory. The title of the poem refers to the despotic state regime of Turkey, in which the national liberation struggle of the Greeks under its rule was carried out. These anti-Turkish sentiments found sympathy in Russian society. At the same time, progressively minded readers understood the true meaning of the poem, which was directed against the hated autocratic-serfdom regime of Russia.

Early life there is hard for people,

There, behind the joys comes reproach,

There a man groans from slavery and chains!..

Friend! this region... my homeland!

Yes, Lermontov was not satisfied with Nikolaev Russia in the 30s of the 19th century, which marked his creative maturity. What fueled Lermontov’s love for his homeland? Perhaps her glorious heroic past? Lermontov, like Pushkin, was admired by the courage, resilience, and patriotism of the Russian people, who defended the freedom of their native country in the terrible years of the Patriotic War of 1812. He dedicated the wonderful poem “Borodino” to the most striking heroic event of this war, which was already history for Lermontov. Admiring the feat of the Russian heroes of the past, the poet involuntarily recalls his generation, which passively endures oppression, making no attempt to change the life of its fatherland for the better.

Yes, there were people in our time

Not like the current tribe:

The heroes are not you!

They got a bad lot:

Not many returned from the field...

If it weren't God's will,

They wouldn't give up Moscow!

In the poem “Motherland,” Lermontov nevertheless says that this “glory bought with blood” cannot give him “a joyful dream.” But why is this poem filled with some kind of bright, Pushkin-like mood? There is no rebellious angry spirit characteristic of Lermontov. Everything is quiet, simple, peaceful. Even the poetic rhythm here gives the work smoothness, slowness and majesty. At the beginning of the poem, Lermontov talks about his “strange” love for his homeland. This oddity lies in the fact that he hates autocratic-serf Russia, the country of “blue uniforms,” and with all his heart he loves the people of Russia, its discreet but charming nature. In "Motherland" the poet paints a people's Russia. Pictures dear to the heart of every Russian person appear before the poet’s mind’s eye.

But I love - for what, I don’t know myself -

Its steppes are coldly silent,

Her boundless forests sway,

The floods of its rivers are like seas.

The artist paints here three successively changing landscape images: steppe, forest and river, which are typical of Russian folklore. After all, in folk songs the steppe is always wide and free. With its immensity and infinity it attracts the poet. The image of a heroic, mighty forest enhances the impression of the power and scope of Russian nature. The third image is a river. Unlike the fast, impetuous mountain rivers of the Caucasus, they are majestic, calm, and full of water. Lermontov emphasizes their strength by comparing them with the seas. This means that the greatness, scope and breadth of his native nature evokes in the poet “pleasant dreams” about the great future of Russia and its people. These reflections of Lermontov echo the thoughts of other great Russian writers - Gogol and Chekhov, who saw in their native nature a reflection of the national spirit of their people. Lermontov's entire poem is permeated with ardent love for rural, rural Russia.

I love the smoke of burnt stubble,

A nomadic convoy in the steppe

And on a hill in the middle of a yellow field

A couple of white birches.

With joy unknown to many

I see a complete threshing floor

A hut covered with straw

Window with carved shutters...

The severity of the people's forced position makes the poet see with particular joy the few “traces of contentment and labor” that still exist in peasant life. He seems to lead the reader with him through the forest and steppes, along a country road to a village, to a simple hut and stops to admire the daring Russian dance “with stomping and whistling to the chatter of drunken peasants.” He is endlessly pleased by the sincere folk fun at the holiday. One can feel the poet’s ardent desire to see the Russian people happy and free. The poet considers only her, people's Russia, his real homeland.

I love my fatherland, but with a strange love!
My reason will not defeat her.
Nor glory bought with blood,
Nor the peace full of proud trust,
Nor the dark old treasured legends
No joyful dreams stir within me.

But I love - for what, I don’t know myself -
Its steppes are coldly silent,
Her boundless forests sway,
The floods of its rivers are like seas;
On a country road I like to ride in a cart
And, with a slow gaze piercing the shadow of the night,
Meet on the sides, sighing for an overnight stay,
Trembling lights of sad villages.
I love the smoke of burnt stubble,
A train spending the night in the steppe,
And on a hill in the middle of a yellow field
A couple of white birches.
With joy unknown to many
I see a complete threshing floor
A hut covered with straw
Window with carved shutters;
And on a holiday, on a dewy evening,
Ready to watch until midnight
To dance with stomping and whistling
Under the talk of drunken men.

Analysis of the poem “Motherland” by Lermontov

In the late period of Lermontov's work, deep philosophical themes appeared. The rebellion and open protest inherent in his youth are replaced by a more mature outlook on life. If earlier, when describing Russia, Lermontov was guided by lofty civic ideas associated with martyrdom for the good of the Fatherland, now his love for the Motherland is expressed in more moderate tones and is reminiscent of Pushkin’s patriotic poems. An example of such an attitude was the work “Motherland” (1841).

Lermontov already admits in the first lines that his love for Russia is “strange.” At that time it was customary to express it in pompous words and loud statements. This was fully manifested in the views of the Slavophiles. Russia was declared the greatest and happiest country, with a very special path of development. All shortcomings and troubles were ignored. Autocratic power and the Orthodox faith were declared the guarantee of the eternal well-being of the Russian people.

The poet declares that his love does not have any rational basis, it is his innate feeling. The great past and the heroic deeds of his ancestors do not evoke any response in his soul. The author himself does not understand why Russia is so incredibly close and understandable to him. Lermontov perfectly understood the backwardness of his country from the West, the poverty of the people and their slave position. But it is impossible not to love his own mother, so he is delighted with the pictures of the vast Russian landscape. Using vivid epithets (“boundless”, “whitening”), Lermontov depicts a majestic panorama of his native nature.

The author does not directly talk about his contempt for the life of high society. It can be seen in the loving description of a simple village landscape. Lermontov is much closer to a ride on an ordinary peasant cart than a walk in a shiny carriage. This allows you to experience the life of ordinary people and feel your inextricable connection with them.

At that time, the prevailing opinion was that nobles differed from peasants not only in education, but in the physical and moral structure of the body. Lermontov declares the common roots of the entire people. How else can one explain the unconscious admiration for village life? The poet is gladly ready to exchange fake capital balls and masquerades for “a dance with stomping and whistling.”

The poem “Motherland” is one of the best patriotic works. Its main advantage lies in the absence of pathos and the enormous sincerity of the author.

"I love the Fatherland, but with a strange love"

Goodbye, unwashed Russia,

Country of slaves, country of masters,

And you, blue uniforms,

And you, their devoted people.

Early life there is hard for people,

There, behind the joys comes reproach,

There a man groans from slavery and chains!..

Friend! this region... my homeland!

Yes, there were people in our time

Not like the current tribe:

The heroes are not you!

They got a bad lot:

Not many returned from the field...

If it weren't God's will,

They wouldn't give up Moscow!

But I love - for what, I don’t know myself -

Its steppes are coldly silent,

Her boundless forests sway,

The floods of its rivers are like seas.

I love the smoke of burnt stubble,

A nomadic convoy in the steppe

And on a hill in the middle of a yellow field

A couple of white birches.

With joy unknown to many

I see a complete threshing floor

A hut covered with straw

Window with carved shutters...

Bibliography

To prepare this work, materials were used from the site http://www.kostyor.ru/

The text of the work is posted without images and formulas.
The full version of the work is available in the "Work Files" tab in PDF format

“I love my fatherland, but with a strange love!”

Poems by M.Yu. Lermontov is almost always an internal tense monologue, a sincere confession, questions asked to oneself, and answers to them. The poet feels his loneliness, melancholy, misunderstanding. One joy for him is his homeland. Many poetic lines of M.Yu. Lermontov are filled with sincere love for the Motherland. He endlessly loves his people, keenly feels the beauty of his native nature. In the poem “Motherland,” the poet clearly separates genuine patriotism from the imaginary, official patriotism of Nicholas Russia.

In the poem “When the Yellowing Field is Worried,” Lermontov continues to reflect on his “strange love” for the Motherland. It lies in the love of fields, forests, simple landscapes, and a couple of “sick birches.” Native spaces, nature seem to heal the poet, he feels his unity with God:

Then the souls of my anxiety are humbled,

Then the wrinkles on the forehead disperse,

And I can comprehend happiness on earth,

And in the heavens I see God.

But Lermontov’s Russia is not only landscape sketches, not only expanse, native endless expanses; Lermontov’s Russia also appears in another form, it is “... unwashed Russia, a country of slaves, a country of masters...”

Such a slavishly obedient country is hated by the poet; such a Motherland can only evoke contempt. It is precisely this mood that permeates the poem “Farewell, unwashed Russia...”

In the work “On the Death of a Poet,” endlessly mourning the untimely death of A.S. Pushkin, Lermontov clearly and clearly defined the poet’s place in life and literature. A true artist cannot be a lonely wanderer. He not only sees the problems of his country, he suffers from them. Lermontov is characterized by a sense of high responsibility to his readers. He did not understand literature that stood apart from the social life of Russia.

In the 30s, the poet began to be concerned with the historical theme, from which he draws strength and confidence in the greatness of the people and the country. He creates “Borodino” and “Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, the young guardsman and the daring merchant Kalashnikov.”

In the poem "Borodino" Lermontov glorifies the feat of the Russian soldiers, the "heroes" who won the War of 1812. And the Battle of Borodino was perceived by Lermontov’s contemporaries as a symbol of victory, as the main battle of the Patriotic War. The author admires the generation of the 10s of the 19th century, on whose shoulders the brunt of the war fell:

Yes! There were people in our time

Not like the current tribe,

The heroes are not you!

This generation is contrasted with the generation of the 30s, which “will pass by in a gloomy and soon forgotten crowd”, “not abandoning to the centuries either the fertile thought or the genius of the work begun.”

Lermontov is also interested in another era, the era of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The historical poem “Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, the young guardsman and the daring merchant Kalashnikov” is dedicated to this era. But the real hero of the poem is not Tsar Ivan the Terrible, but the young merchant Kalashnikov. This hero is close to the heroes of Russian folk epic, for example, epic heroes.

Merchant Kalashnikov is noble and brave. He fights with the guardsman Kiribeevich in mortal combat, trying to defend his wife’s honor and defend his human dignity. The brave merchant took revenge for his insulted honor, killed his offender in a fair battle on the Moscow River, but he himself paid with his life. Merchant Kalashnikov did not even reveal to the Tsar himself, Ivan the Terrible, the true reason for his action, nor did he bow his proud head:

And the wild winds roar and roar

Over his nameless grave,

And good people pass by:

A man will pass by and cross himself,

A good fellow will pass - he will stop,

If a girl passes by, she will become sad,

And the guslar players will pass by and sing a song.

M.Yu. Lermontov was looking among his contemporaries for an active personality who could change the “imperfection” of the world, and did not find it, but the historical past was replete with such heroes. The poet keenly felt this dissonance, so he tried to evoke bright, ambiguous reactions from others with his patriotic lyrics.

Undoubtedly, Lermontov became a national poet. Many of his poems were set to music during the poet’s lifetime, and even more became songs and romances after his death. So the work of the great creator has not faded away, but continues to live and give birth to deep and strong feelings in the hearts of millions.