And he, the rebellious one, asks for storms, as if there is peace in storms! Mikhail Lermontov - sail What is he looking for in the land.

The lonely sail turns white
In the blue sea fog!..
What is he looking for in a distant land?
What did he throw in his native land?..

The waves are playing, the wind is whistling,
And the mast bends and creaks...
Alas! he is not looking for happiness,
And he’s not running out of happiness!

Below him is a stream of lighter azure,
Above him is a golden ray of sun...
And he, the rebellious one, asks for a storm,
As if there is peace in the storms!

Analysis of Lermontov's poem "Sail"

The poet Mikhail Lermontov, despite his harsh and quarrelsome character, was an incorrigible romantic at heart. That is why in his creative heritage there are quite a lot of works of a lyrical nature. One of them is the famous poem “Sail,” written in 1832, when Lermontov was barely 17 years old. This work fully reflects the mental turmoil of the young poet, who found himself at a crossroads in life. In the spring of 1832, after a verbal altercation during a rhetoric exam, he refused to continue his studies at Moscow University, abandoning his dreams of becoming a philologist. His future fate and career were in question, and, in the end, Lermontov, under pressure from his grandmother, entered the School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers. The prospect of becoming a military man, on the one hand, did not greatly inspire the young poet. But at the same time, he dreamed of the exploits that befell his ancestors, although he understood that, at best, fate would take him to the Caucasus, where military operations were taking place at that time.

On the eve of entering the cadet school, Lermontov wrote the poem “Sail”, which fully reflects his mood and not the most joyful thoughts. If we discard the background and do not take the facts into account, then this work can rightfully be considered one of the most romantic and sublime poems of the poet. However, this is far from the case, because the author did not set himself the task of creating an example of landscape poetry. In this poem, he identifies himself with a sail that whitens alone “in the fog of the blue sea,” thereby emphasizing that, perhaps for the first time in his life, he was faced with the need to make an important decision.

“What is he looking for in a distant country?” the poet asks himself, as if sensing that from now on his life will be full of wanderings. And at the same time, the author mentally looks back, realizing “what he abandoned in his native land.” The poet does not consider leaving the university a serious loss for himself, since he sees no point in continuing his studies and doing science. Lermontov is much more worried about the fact that he will have to leave his beloved Moscow and the only person truly close to him - his grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva, who replaced both his father and mother.

However, the poet understands that this separation is inevitable, since he is destined for his own path in life, which, as Lermontov suggests, will not be simple at all. The author expresses this idea in the poem using a surprisingly beautiful metaphor, noting that “the wind whistles and the mast bends and creaks.” At the same time, the poet notes with bitterness that in his upcoming wanderings “he is not looking for happiness, and is not running from happiness.”

However, before the poet’s life changes radically, several more years will pass, which will seem unbearably boring to Lermontov. Having decided in favor of a military career, he rushes into battle and dreams of glory. That is why the idyllic picture of the seascape, so reminiscent of the life of Lermontov the cadet, does not appeal to him at all. And, answering the question of what he wants in life, the poet notes that “he, rebellious, asks for the storm, as if there is peace in the storm,” again personifying himself with a lonely sail.

Thus, this poem is Lermontov’s philosophical reflection on his own future. Subsequently, it was the thirst for achievement that pushed him to risky and rash actions. However, fate decreed otherwise: Lermontov did not become a great commander, but went down in history as a brilliant Russian poet and writer, whose works, almost two centuries later, still evoke sincere admiration.

What is a sense of life? More than one philosopher, more than one writer and poet has thought about this rhetorical question. The latter, namely Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, once walking along the coast of the Gulf of Finland, composed an amazing poem “Sail” - a philosophical reflection on the meaning of life, the creative mission of every person. This happened in 1832 in the northern capital of Russia, when the great Russian poet was only seventeen years old. He had just left the walls of Moscow University and said goodbye to his dream of becoming a philologist forever. Ahead, at the request of the grandmother, is admission to a cadet school and a foggy future: “What is he looking for in a distant country?” You can read the poem “Sail” by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov completely online on our website.

In the original version of the poem “Sail,” the first line sounded different. Instead of the familiar epithet “lonely,” Lermontov used the word “distant.” However, often drawing inspiration from A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, a poet, and this time he turned to the text of the poem “Andrei, Prince of Pereyaslavsky”, and in the final version of the work he used his figurative expression - “lonely sail”. It most accurately conveyed the essence of the poet himself - his rebellion and at the same time endless loneliness among the boundless ocean of life.

Compositionally, the work consists of three quatrains. The first two lines of each stanza describe the sail itself and the changing seascape, and the next two lines describe the internal experiences of the lyrical hero, who observes everything that is happening from the side and personifies himself with the sail whitening in the distance. It is not for nothing that the poet repeatedly, or rather six times, uses the pronoun “he” instead of the noun “sail”. In general, the author created very capacious, vivid and memorable allegorical images of the sea and sails. Under the first lies the path of life, sometimes foggy or stormy, full of twists and turns, and sometimes quiet, peaceful, windless. And the sail is the man himself, his wandering soul, which eternally seeks peace, but finds itself only after going through a cruel storm. But is a storm always cleansing? The author claims no. Happiness lies within us. They seek neither friend nor enemy from outside. Neither one nor the other can help to find inner harmony. Man is destined to wander alone. Only it allows you to look inside and find the long-awaited peace. It’s now easy to learn the text of Lermontov’s poem “The Sail” and prepare for a literature lesson in the classroom. On our website you can download this work absolutely free.

Lermontov’s poetry invariably contains “questions about the fate and rights of the human person.” Lermontov was constantly looking for answers to questions relating to human existence, trying to get to the bottom of its purpose and meaning. The poet was sure that there is a meaning to life, some purpose of existence , even if it is still unknown to him. Therefore, the sail, seemingly aimlessly wandering around the sea, will find refuge among the bustle of everyday life and sooner or later will find the answer to its existence. And it is important not so much to emerge victorious in a battle with inevitable fate as to have the courage to challenge it .

The lonely sail turns white
In the blue sea fog!..
What is he looking for in a distant land?
What did he throw in his native land?..

The waves are playing, the wind is whistling,
And the mast bends and creaks...
Alas! he is not looking for happiness
And he’s not running out of happiness!

Below him is a stream of lighter azure,
Above him is a golden ray of sun...
And he, the rebellious one, asks for a storm,
As if there is peace in the storms!

M.Yu. Lermontov began writing unusually early. The famous “Sail” is the creation of a seventeen-year-old poet. Images of a storm, sea and sail are characteristic of Lermontov’s early lyrics, where freedom is poetically associated with loneliness and rebellious elements.
“Sail” is a poem with deep implications. The development of poetic thought in it is unique and is reflected in the special composition of the work: the reader always sees a seascape with a sail and the author reflecting on them. Moreover, in the first two lines of each quatrain a picture of the changing sea appears, and in the last two the feeling evoked by it is conveyed. The composition of “Sails” clearly shows the separation of the sail and the lyrical hero of the poem.

Date of writing: 1832

Read by Mikhail Tsarev
Mikhail Ivanovich Tsarev (November 18, 1903, Tver, - November 10, 1987, Moscow) - Soviet theater and film actor, theater director, master of artistic expression (reader). People's Artist of the USSR (1949). Hero of Socialist Labor (1973).

~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~

The lonely sail turns white

In the blue sea fog!..

What is he looking for in a distant land?

What did he throw in his native land?..

The waves are playing, the wind is whistling,

And the mast bends and creaks...

Alas! He's not looking for happiness

And he’s not running out of happiness!

Below him is a stream of lighter azure,

Above him is a golden ray of sun...

And he, the rebellious one, asks for a storm,

As if there is peace in the storms!

1832

The image of a lonely sail was captured by Lermontov in a painting of the same period - in a watercolor seascape. Subsequently, Lermontov returned to this image in the novel “Hero of Our Time” (the final lines of the story “Princess Mary”).

Analysis of Lermontov's poem "Sail" (1)

The poet Mikhail Lermontov, despite his harsh and quarrelsome character, was an incorrigible romantic at heart. That is why in his creative heritage there are quite a lot of works of a lyrical nature. One of them is the famous poem “Sail,” written in 1832, when Lermontov was barely 17 years old. This work fully reflects the mental turmoil of the young poet, who found himself at a crossroads in life. In the spring of 1832, after a verbal altercation during a rhetoric exam, he refused to continue his studies at Moscow University, abandoning his dreams of becoming a philologist. His future fate and career were in question, and, in the end, Lermontov, under pressure from his grandmother, entered the School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers. The prospect of becoming a military man, on the one hand, did not greatly inspire the young poet. But at the same time, he dreamed of the exploits that befell his ancestors, although he understood that, at best, fate would take him to the Caucasus, where military operations were taking place at that time.

On the eve of entering the cadet school, Lermontov wrote the poem “Sail”, which fully reflects his mood and not the most joyful thoughts. If we discard the background and do not take the facts into account, then this work can rightfully be considered one of the most romantic and sublime poems of the poet. However, this is far from the case, because the author did not set himself the task of creating an example of landscape poetry. In this poem, he identifies himself with a sail that whitens alone “in the fog of the blue sea,” thereby emphasizing that, perhaps for the first time in his life, he was faced with the need to make an important decision.

“What is he looking for in a distant country?” the poet asks himself, as if sensing that from now on his life will be full of wanderings. And at the same time, the author mentally looks back, realizing “what he abandoned in his native land.” The poet does not consider leaving the university a serious loss for himself, since he sees no point in continuing his studies and doing science. Lermontov is much more worried about the fact that he will have to leave his beloved Moscow and the only person truly close to him - grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva, who replaced both his father and mother.

However, the poet understands that this separation is inevitable, since he is destined for his own path in life, which, as Lermontov suggests, will not be simple at all. The author expresses this idea in the poem using a surprisingly beautiful metaphor, noting that “the wind whistles and the mast bends and creaks.” At the same time, the poet notes with bitterness that in his upcoming wanderings “he is not looking for happiness, and is not running from happiness.”

However, before the poet’s life changes radically, several more years will pass, which will seem unbearably boring to Lermontov. Having decided in favor of a military career, he rushes into battle and dreams of glory. That is why the idyllic picture of the seascape, so reminiscent of the life of Lermontov the cadet, does not appeal to him at all. And, answering the question of what he wants in life, the poet notes that “he, rebellious, asks for the storm, as if there is peace in the storm,” again personifying himself with a lonely sail.

Thus, this poem is Lermontov’s philosophical reflection on his own future. Subsequently, it was the thirst for achievement that pushed him to risky and rash actions. However, fate decreed otherwise: Lermontov did not become a great commander, but went down in history as a brilliant Russian poet and writer, whose works, almost two centuries later, still evoke sincere admiration.

Analysis of the poem “Sail” by Lermontov (2)

The poem “Sail” by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov is studied in the 6th grade during literature lessons. A complete analysis and brief analysis of “Sail” according to plan can be found in our article.

History of creation - the poem was written in 1828 on the banks of the Neva in St. Petersburg.

The theme is loneliness, uncertainty, spiritual rebellion.

The composition is three quatrains, united by seascapes and the emotional experiences of the lyrical hero. “Action” follows the philosophizing of an internal monologue.

The genre is a lyrical short story, there are also features of elegy. An example of the romantic style in poetry.

The meter of the poem is iambic tetrameter with cross rhyme.

Metaphors – “the sail is running”, “the waves are playing”, “the wind is whistling”.

Epithets – “rebellious”, “golden ray”, “blue fog”, “lonely sail”.

Oxymoron – “as if there is peace in the storms.”

History of creation

The poem was written by Lermontov at the age of seventeen in 1832. In 1828, Alexander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky’s poem “Andrei, Prince of Pereyaslavsky” was published, from which the poet took the first line of the poem “the lonely sail is white.” This was a difficult period in the life of the poet, a student of Lermontov: he left Moscow University and did not enter St. Petersburg University.

In his letter to M.A. Lopukhina on September 2, 1828, he sends the text of a poem that conveys the poet’s depressed state. Lermontov was wandering along the Neva embankment, depressed and upset, when he noticed the outline of a white sailboat in the distance - a legendary poem was born to him.

Complete uncertainty of the future, unjustified hopes with admission - all this was reflected in the soul of the lyrical hero of the poem "Sail". The poet himself did not take the work seriously and did not include it in his collection of essays of 1840. An interesting fact is that Lermontov has a watercolor work, which depicts a small sailing ship in a storm, also written between 1828 and 1832. It is a full-fledged illustration, an artistic commentary on the text.

Subject

The theme of loneliness and uncertainty, search, mystery of the human soul. The sail in the poem symbolizes the life of the young poet, his inner world. The main idea is that human nature is characterized by passions, desires, loneliness, self-searching, and a craving for what can be dangerous.

The idea is that the author shows the loneliness and rebellion of the inner world of a creative person, himself. The main character is the image of a sail - human nature, looking for its place, rushing into the unknown. In moments of despair, people are prone to rebellion, search, risk, this is a consequence of the unknown. The author emphasizes that a person overwhelmed by life’s adversities is not given the opportunity to know what is for his benefit and what is not.

Composition

The work consists of three stanzas, united by landscape motifs and the internal experiences of the lyrical hero. Each quatrain is constructed in such a way that in the first two verses there is a “picture”, in the next two there is an interpretation of the internal state of the lyrical hero. The “story” ends with a rhetorical exclamation with a smack of condemnation and a feeling of “wrongness”, confusion and the unknown.

Genre

Lyrical short story: the poem combines philosophical reflections and landscapes. This poem is an example of the romantic style in Russian literature of the 19th century.
Poetic meter: iambic tetrameter with cross rhyme. The assonance in the first stanza plays with the sound “o”, the second quatrain is saturated with the sound “e”, and in the last stanza the assonance with the sound “u” is clearly felt. This gives Lermontov’s “Sail” a resemblance to the sound of the wind, the disturbing elements, the murmur of waves.

Means of expression

Metaphors “the sail is running”, “the waves are playing”, “the wind is whistling”” give the lyrical narrative dynamism, imagery, and special beauty.

The epithets "rebellious", "golden ray", "blue fog", "lonely sail" make the description bright and colorful.

An oxymoron is a combination of incompatible things: ““as if there is peace in storms” “gives the argument tragedy and hopelessness.

Anaphora is characteristic of Lermontov’s lyrics, due to it the effect of “elegance”, songfulness, and a kind of pathos appears: “What is he looking for in a distant country? What has he abandoned in his native land?..”…”Alas, he is not looking for happiness, and not from happiness runs..."

Antithesis: “a distant country is a native land,” “a stream of lighter azure, a ray of sun is a storm.” “The contrast in a descriptive context makes the images more expressive, emphasizes their differences, and creates opposition. Lermontov left his “native land” - Moscow, and arrived in St. Petersburg, unknown to him, where the future seems foggy and bleak.

The poetic syntax is represented by the last line of the poem, where the lyrical hero exclaims “As if there is peace in storms!”, which betrays condemnation, bewilderment, and leads to the conclusion that this is not a way out of the situation.