The Demon. Borodino. Mtsyri

Despite the differences between the poems presented in this collection, they share common themes: love for the Motherland, freedom and independence, and the struggle of good against evil.

“Mtsyri”—in 1837, M. Lermontov was exiled to the Caucasus. Traveling along the Military Georgian Road, among ruins and gravestones, the poet met an old, frail man. He was a highlander monk. The old man told Lermontov how, even as a child, he had been captured and given to be raised in a monastery. He recalled how he longed for his homeland and dreamed of returning home. But gradually he grew accustomed to his prison, grew used to the monotonous monastery life, and became a monk. M. Yu. Lermontov had long been nurturing the idea of writing a poem about a monk who is desperate for freedom. The old man’s story was so closely aligned with the poet’s own thoughts that it helped bring the plan to life in the poem “Mtsyri.”

“The Demon”—Lermontov wrote the first version of “The Demon” back in 1829. Over more than a decade, various editions of the poem were created, in which the setting, action, and plot details changed, yet the image of the main hero retained his essential features. And if in the early versions the action takes place in some undefined country—somewhere by the sea, in the mountains—then after Lermontov’s first exile to the Caucasus he produced a new version. The plot became more complex, and the poem was enriched with vivid, living pictures of nature. Lermontov moved the action to the Caucasus and described what he saw himself. He never finished his work on “The Demon.”

“Borodino”—in 1837, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, M. Yu. Lermontov wrote the poem “Borodino,” which became a jewel of the poet’s lyrics. After the poem was published, Belinsky wrote that the main idea of “Borodino” was “a complaint about the present generation, dozing in inactivity, envy of the great past, so full of glory and great deeds.”