Mikhail Lermontov poem "Motherland" (I love my homeland, but with a strange love!). "I love my homeland, but with a strange love" I love my homeland, but with a strange love

I love my homeland, but with a strange love!
My mind won't defeat her.
Nor glory bought with blood
Nor full of proud trust peace,
No dark antiquity cherished legends
Do not stir in me a pleasurable dream.

But I love - for what, I do not know myself -
Her steppes are cold silence,
Her boundless forests sway,
The floods of her rivers are like the seas;
On a country road I like to ride in a cart
And, with a slow gaze piercing the shadow of the night,
Meet around, sighing about an overnight stay,
The flickering lights of sad villages.
I love the smoke of the burnt stubble,
In the steppe, an overnight convoy,
And on a hill in the middle of a yellow field
A couple of whitening birches.
With joy unknown to many
I see a complete threshing floor
Thatched hut,
Carved shuttered window;
And on a holiday, dewy evening,
Ready to watch until midnight
To the dance with stomping and whistling
To the sound of drunken men.

Analysis of the poem "Motherland" by Lermontov

In the late period of Lermontov's work, deep philosophical themes appear. The rebelliousness 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 resembles Pushkin's patriotic poems. An example of such an attitude was the work "Motherland" (1841).

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

The poet declares that his love does not have any reasonable grounds, it is his innate feeling. The great past and the heroic deeds of the 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 slavish position. But it is impossible not to love your own mother, so he is delighted with the pictures of the immense Russian landscape. Using bright epithets (“borderless”, “whitening”), Lermontov depicts a majestic panorama of his native nature.

The author does not speak directly about his contempt for the life of high society. It is guessed in the loving description of a simple rural landscape. Lermontov is much closer to a trip on an ordinary peasant cart than a walk in a brilliant carriage. This allows you to feel the life of the common people, to feel your inseparable connection with them.

At that time, the opinion prevailed that the nobles differ from the peasants not only in education, but in the physical and moral structure of the body. Lermontov, on the other hand, declares the common roots of the whole people. Otherwise, how else can one explain the unconscious admiration for village life. The poet is happy to exchange fake metropolitan 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.

What is patriotism? Literally translated from ancient Greek, this word means “fatherland”, if you look for information even deeper, you can understand that it is as ancient as the human race. Perhaps that is why philosophers, statesmen, writers, poets have always talked and argued about it. Among the latter, it is necessary to single out Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. He, who survived exile twice, knew better than anyone else the true value of love for the motherland. And the proof of this is his amazing work "Motherland", which he writes literally six months before his tragic death in a duel. You can read the verse "Motherland" by Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich completely online on our website.

In the poem "Motherland" Lermontov speaks of love for his native patronymic - Russia. But from the very first line, the poet warns that his feeling does not correspond to the established “pattern”. It is not “stamped”, not official, not state-owned, and therefore “strange”. The author goes on to explain his "weirdness". He says that love, for whom or for whatever it may be, cannot be guided by reason. It is the mind that turns it into a lie, demands from it immeasurable sacrifices, blood, relentless worship, glory. In this guise, patriotism does not touch Lermontov's heart, and even the ancient traditions of the humble chronicler monks do not penetrate into the soul. Then what does the poet love?

The second part of the poem "Motherland" begins with a loud statement that the poet loves in spite of everything, and the truth of this statement is felt in the words that he himself does not know why. Indeed, a pure feeling cannot be explained, seen. It is inside, and it connects a person, his soul with some invisible thread with all living things. The poet speaks of this spiritual, blood, endless connection with the Russian people, land and nature, and thereby contrasts the homeland with the state. But his voice is not accusatory, on the contrary - nostalgic, gentle, quiet and even humble. He describes his innermost experience by creating vivid, expressive and figurative pictures of Russian nature (“the boundless swaying of forests”, “sad trees”, “a sleeping convoy in the steppe”), and also thanks to the repeated repetition of the verb “I love”: “I love to ride in cart”, “I love the smoke of burnt stubble”. It is now easy to learn the text of Lermontov's poem "Motherland" and prepare for a literature lesson in the classroom. On our site you can download this work absolutely free.

But I love - for what, I do not know myself -
Her steppes are cold silence,
Her boundless forests sway,
The floods of her 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 around, sighing about an overnight stay,
The trembling lights of sad villages;
I love the smoke of the burnt stubble,
In the steppe, an overnight convoy
And on a hill in the middle of a yellow field
A couple of whitening birches.
With joy, unknown to many,
I see a complete threshing floor
Thatched hut,
Carved shuttered window;
And on a holiday, dewy evening,
Ready to watch until midnight
To the dance with stomping and whistling
To the sound of drunken men.

The poem of the late Lermontov, written in 1841, is one of the most significant works of Russian poetry of the 19th century.

(poet, artist, philosopher)

The reason for the creation of the poem was, apparently, the poem by A. S. Khomyakov "Fatherland", where the greatness of Russia was associated with the humility of the Russian people, their loyalty to Orthodoxy.

(Famous literary critic)

The first known response to Lermontov's poem, even before its publication, was a letter from the literary critic V. G. Belinsky to V. P. Botkin dated March 13, 1841: “Lermontov is still in St. Petersburg. If his “Motherland” is printed, then, Allah kerim, what kind of thing is Pushkin’s, that is, one of the best Pushkin’s”.

(publicist, literary critic)

N. A. Dobrolyubov in the article “On the degree of participation of the people in the development of Russian literature” noted that Lermontov, “having learned early to comprehend the shortcomings of modern society, he also knew how to understand that salvation from this false path is found only in the people.” "Proof, wrote the critic, serves his amazing poem "Motherland", in which he becomes decisively above all the prejudices of patriotism and understands the love of the fatherland truly, holy and reasonable".

I love my homeland, but with a strange love! ‎ My mind will not defeat her. Neither glory, bought with blood, nor peace full of proud trust, nor dark antiquity cherished legends stir in me a pleasurable dream. ‎‎ But I love - for what, I don't know myself - ‎‎ The cold silence of her steppes, ‎‎ Her boundless swaying forests, The floods of her rivers, like the seas. By a country road I like to ride in a cart And, with a slow gaze piercing the shadow of the night, To meet on the sides, sighing about an overnight stay, The trembling lights of sad villages. I love smacks of bedroom hubborn, in the steppe night traffic and on the hill. ‎‎‎ ‎ With joy, unfamiliar to many, ‎‎‎ ‎ I see a complete threshing floor, ‎‎‎ ‎ A hut covered with straw, ‎‎‎ ‎ A window with carved shutters. ‎‎‎ ‎ And on a holiday, on a dewy evening, ‎‎‎ ‎ Ready to watch until midnight ‎‎‎ ‎ To dance with stomping and whistling ‎‎‎ ‎ To the sound of drunken peasants.

The creative heritage of the Russian poet and writer Mikhail Lermontov includes many works that express the civil position of the author. However, the poem "Motherland", written by Lermontov in 1941, shortly before his death, can be classified as the most striking example of patriotic lyrics of the 19th century.

Writers who are contemporaries of Lermontov can be divided into two categories. Some of them sang the beauty of Russian nature, deliberately turning a blind eye to the problems of the village and serfdom. Others, on the contrary, tried to reveal the vices of society in their works and were known as rebels. Mikhail Lermontov, in turn, tried to find a golden mean in his work, and the poem “Motherland” is rightfully considered the crown of his aspirations to express his feelings for Russia as fully and objectively as possible.

One consists of two parts, different not only in size, but also in concept. The solemn introduction, in which the author confesses his love for the Fatherland, is replaced by stanzas that describe the beauty of Russian nature. The author admits that he loves Russia not for its feats of arms, but for the beauty of nature, originality and bright national color. He clearly shares such concepts as the homeland and the state, noting that his love is strange and somewhat painful. On the one hand, he admires Russia, its steppes, meadows, rivers and forests. But at the same time, he is aware that the Russian people are still oppressed, and the stratification of society into rich and poor is becoming more pronounced with each generation. And the beauty of the native land is not able to veil the "trembling lights of sad villages."

Researchers of this poet's work are convinced that by nature Mikhail Lermontov was not a sentimental person. In his circle, the poet was known as a bully and a brawler, he liked to taunt fellow soldiers and resolved disputes with a duel. Therefore, it is all the more strange that from his pen were born not bravura patriotic and not accusatory lines, but subtle lyrics with a touch of slight sadness. However, there is a logical explanation for this, which some literary critics adhere to. It is believed that creative people have amazing intuition, or, as it is commonly called in literary circles, the gift of foresight. Mikhail Lermontov was no exception and, according to Prince Peter Vyazemsky, he foresaw his death in a duel. That is why he hurried to say goodbye to everything that was dear to him, removing for a moment the mask of a jester and a hypocrite, without which he did not consider it necessary to appear in high society.

However, there is an alternative interpretation of this work, which, undoubtedly, is the key in the poet's work. According to the literary critic Vissarion Belinsky, Mikhail Lermontov not only advocated the need for state reforms, but also had a presentiment that very soon Russian society with its patriarchal way of life would change completely, completely and irrevocably. Therefore, in the poem "Motherland" sad and even nostalgic notes slip through, and the main leitmotif of the work, if you read it between the lines, is an appeal to posterity to love Russia as it is. Do not praise its achievements and merits, do not focus on social vices and the imperfection of the political system. After all, the homeland and the state are two completely different concepts that you should not try to bring to a common denominator, even from good intentions. Otherwise, love for the Motherland will be seasoned with the bitterness of disappointment, which the poet, who experienced this feeling, was so afraid of.