Biographies Characteristics Analysis

Poem by M.Yu. Lermontov "When the yellowing field is agitated ..." (perception, interpretation, evaluation)

The poem "When the yellowing field is agitated ..." is not only about the beauty of nature, as it might seem at first glance. It is about the fact that only in unity with nature can a person find harmony.

Lermontov's early and late lyrics differ markedly. If at the very beginning of the poet's career she was naively enthusiastic, then later he began to worry about public issues. That is why this work stands out from others. Below is an analysis of the poem "When the yellowing field is agitated ..."

Brief history of writing

An analysis of the poem "When the yellowing field is agitated ..." should begin with a historical remark: in 1837 Lermontov was taken into custody because of his other creation. He wrote "The Death of a Poet", dedicated to the death of Pushkin, and many officials did not like it. The poet was in custody until the extent of the revolutionary nature of the poem was ascertained.

At that time, despite his young age, Mikhail Yurievich was already skeptical about life and understood that society was not yet ready for change. The proof of this was the Decembrist uprising. During the arrest, he creates a poem that looks like an internal monologue.

This is one of the last lyric works he wrote. According to eyewitnesses, he wrote it without using ink and paper. To create the lines "When the yellowing field is agitated ..." Lermontov had to use charred matches, and as paper, take a food wrapper that an old servant brought him. Despite the fact that the poet sings of the beauties of his native land, the key idea is that the places where he spent his childhood give him strength to continue to create.

Construction features

The next point in the analysis of the poem "When the yellowing field is agitated ..." is about what meter it is written in and what rhyme is used. The work has a ring and the first stanza is written in iambic six-foot, in the second and third - the alternation of iambic six-foot and pentameter. But the distinctive feature of the poem "When the yellowing field is agitated ..." is that the last line is written

Lermontov usually did not use this technique, but thanks to him one gets the feeling that the poet was in a hurry to convey all his emotions and did not care about which rhyme would be more harmonious. This gives the poem a resemblance to the Russian folk songs that Lermontov liked.

Literary devices

When analyzing the poem "When the yellowing field is agitated ..." it is important to clarify by what means of expression the poet managed to create an atmosphere of mystery and tranquility. In order to show the beauty of the landscape, the poet uses epithets that fill the work with colors characteristic of his poetry.

To give the poem lyricism, Lermontov turns to poetic epithets. All of the above means of expression help the reader to be transported to the described region and admire the light landscape sketches. To convey tender affection and admiration, Lermontov resorts to personification.

All of these techniques help the reader not only to present landscapes in a naturalistic way, but also to feel the breath of the breeze, and see how the field sways, and hear how the forest rustles. The reader feels peace, as once Lermontov at the sight of familiar landscapes.

Poetic images

The next point in the analysis of the poem is the definition of the images created by the poet. Of course, there is a lyrical hero in the work. Anxiety and confusion are felt in his soul, he is trying to find answers to his questions tormenting him ... And only nature is able to give him harmony and calm him down.

Nature here acts as the guardian of harmony and peace. She is always glad for the arrival of the hero and gives her beauty to make him feel enlightened. Nature always remains beautiful and majestic.

The analysis of "When the yellowing field is agitated ..." will help schoolchildren to take a deeper look at the poet's work and learn more about Lermontov's personality. This poem is the poet's monologue about what he feels, only unity with the outside world will help bring his emotions and thoughts in order. A person should not forget that man and nature are one, so you need to take care and appreciate the environment.

The formation of landscape lyrics in Russian poetry is strongly associated with the name of M. Yu. Lermontov. The poet grew up near Penza, and the sight of modest Russian fields always evoked in his soul a nagging feeling of melancholy and hopelessness. That is why all his landscape lyrics are imbued with motives of loneliness. An analysis of the poem “When the yellowing field is agitated” will show the beauty of the form and content of M. Yu. Lermontov’s poetry and reveal the depths of his soul.

The history of the creation of the work

Any poem cannot be fully understood without knowing the history of its creation. When A. S. Pushkin dies in 1837, Lermontov begins to stifle hatred for the high society and the murderers of the great poet. He writes the poem "The Death of a Poet", for which he is imprisoned. While in prison, the poet misses his native expanses very much and writes “When the yellowing field is agitated.” We briefly analyze the analysis of the poem in this article. In prison, Lermontov had no paper or pen, and he wrote down lines with burnt matches and charcoal on the food wrapper that was brought to him. And so the well-known poem was born. These lines brought relief to the poet's soul. After imprisonment, he is awaited by house arrest and exile to the Caucasus.

Determining the genre of a work

We will continue the analysis of the poem “When the yellowing field is agitated” by determining its genre. In general, M. Yu. Lermontov is classified as a romantic poet. This means that his lyrical hero is lonely, aloof and does not find a place for himself in the world of people.

At first glance, the work can be attributed to the usual landscape lyrics. The first stanzas contain the anaphora "when", they give a description of nature.

But the last stanza changes everything: it says that a person is happy only when he sees calm nature in front of him. Here lies the main idea of ​​the poem: nature gives impetus to reflection on philosophical topics. That is why a number of researchers attribute the work to philosophical lyrics. After all, the lyrical hero here enters into a dialogue with nature as with the plan of God and finds himself, finds God.

The composition of the poem and its main theme

We will continue the analysis of the verse “When the yellowing field is agitated” by considering its composition and subject matter. A poem is a period, that is, a sentence that expresses a multifaceted and complex thought. The first and third stanzas are complex sentences, and the second is a simple sentence with participial turnover and homogeneous members.

These stanzas describe different nature: cornfield, forest and garden. They delight the hero, making him think.

The main idea and theme of the work, without which it is impossible to analyze the poem “When the yellowing field is agitated”, lies in the final - fourth - stanza. Observation of nature and unity with it gives a person the opportunity to approach God. It was while in prison that M. Yu. Lermontov realized the happiness of freedom, the charm of seeing a world without borders.

Written analysis of the poem "When the yellowing field is agitated": size and rhyme

The work was created on the basis of iambic iambic (mostly the poet uses iambic six-foot). Pyrrhicia are present, which creates an uneven rhythm of the verse. This happens because Lermontov uses rather long words, some iambic accents are missing.

The hero is not static: in the first stanza he rushed through familiar places, in the second he leaned over, in the third he rushed off to a peaceful land. In the fourth stanza, the lyrical hero changes the trajectory of his movement, mentally rushing up to God. This last stanza is already written in iambic tetrameter, shortened. The author uses this technique, since the thought brought the work to its logical conclusion.

The first stanzas are written with a cross rhyme, the last one with a ring rhyme. Feminine and masculine rhymes alternate throughout the verse.

Analysis of the poem "When the yellowing field is agitated": artistic means

One can only be amazed at what an amazing picture of nature appeared before Lermontov's eyes when he was imprisoned in a prison in St. Petersburg. The whole poem is saturated with epithets. In the first stanza it is “yellowing field”, “sweet shadow”, in the second “ruddy evening”, “fragrant dew”, “silver lily of the valley”. It is noticeable that the colors have become duller, softer.

The third stanza already draws us into the inner world of the hero and his experiences, he heard the narration of the key about peaceful lands. The most striking epithet here will be the combination "a vague dream." Nature faded into the background, becoming conditional.

The fourth stanza, different from the others, uses the metaphors “wrinkles on the forehead diverge”, “anxiety is reconciled”. Here the author also applied syntactic parallelism (the first and last lines).

Throughout the poem, Lermontov uses personification, he enlivens the nature around him.

The meaning of the poem for the poet's work

The poem “When the yellowing field is agitated” has taken a special place in the entire creative heritage of M. Yu. Lermontov. It refers to landscape and at the same time to philosophical lyrics (opinions differ). It is this work that many researchers consider to be a model of Lermontov's poetry as a landscape romantic lyricist.

The analysis of classic poems is very useful for schoolchildren. This is an important skill that allows you to reveal in the work a lot of new things that were not noticed with simple reading. To begin with, the student must draw up a plan for analyzing the poem “When the yellowing field is worried”, this greatly simplifies the work. In addition to terminological nuances, the student can include his opinion about the work in the analysis. It is better to issue it as the end of the analysis.

The landscapes of M. Yu. Lermontov are mostly filled with a bitter feeling of loneliness. He grew up near Penza, and the modest Russian landscape always evoked in his heart, wherever he was, a aching feeling of love and abandonment. Only one piece falls out of this series. We will analyze Lermontov’s poem “When the yellowing field is agitated ...”, we will tell you how it was created and what methods the author used.

Time and place of its creation

After a tragic duel and the death of the “sun of our poetry”, the 23-year-old poet began to stifle hatred for the killers of a genius, for all high society. Twelve days later, the poem “To Kill the Poet” was already circulating in the capital. A criminal case was opened, and six days later the troublemaker was put in a prison cell.

During the investigation, the poet was comforted by memories of his small homeland. M. Yu. Lermontov gave himself to them with all his heart. “When the yellowing field is agitated ...”, which appeared as a result, brought consolation to the restless heart of the poet and left an indelible mark on Russian landscape and philosophical lyrics.

The poet did not have paper, pens and ink - he wrote with coals on food wrappers. After prison, house arrest awaited him, and then - the first exile to the Caucasus.

Genre of the poem

The first three stanzas can clearly be attributed to the lyrical landscape. A complete analysis of Lermontov's poem "When the yellowing field is agitated ..." allows the reader to understand that it is also of a philosophical nature.

So, the last stanza shows where peace flows into the soul of the lyrical hero and why sorrowful wrinkles diverge: only God in heaven grants happiness on earth. The hero, observing the perfect creation of the Creator - nature, involuntarily subdues his anxiety and finds peace and tranquility, otherwise - happiness.

Composition and disclosure of the main idea

Let's continue the analysis of Lermontov's poem "When the yellowing field is agitated ...". The first stanza shows how the poet carefully peers into the cornfield, the fresh forest and the garden. It's the end of summer. The second stanza, spring, is dedicated to the silver lily of the valley sprinkled with fragrant dew.

He comes into contact with the lyrical hero when he nods his small white head in a friendly way. The third stanza shows an icy spring that gives rise to a stream and sings a mysterious tale. Water enters into a dialogue with a person. The key babbles about the peaceful land where he was born. Here you can already see the dynamics and movement.

The lyrical hero watches the flow of cold water, which leads him to further reflections. That is, three stanzas do not create a real corner of nature, but its image in full.

And in the last stanza, Lermontov concludes his main thought (“When the yellowing field is agitated ...”). The theme of the poem takes on a general meaning. Only in confinement and prison does a person learn how beautiful freedom and the whole of God's world, created without chaos, but according to uniform laws and design.

Rhyme and meter used by the author

In his work, the poet used iambic. Mostly six-footed. Words are used long. All this creates, together with the pyrrhic, an uneven rhythm. The first three stanzas have a cross rhyme. This is how the verse “When the yellowing field is agitated ...” is built in the first three parts.

First, the lyrical hero passes through places familiar from childhood, then bends down to examine the lily of the valley under a bush, then stops at the key. His gaze suddenly changes direction and rushes up, to heaven, to God.

And it is here, in the fourth stanza, that the verse “When the yellowing field is agitated…” changes its size to an iambic, consisting of four feet, and the rhyme, unlike the previous ones, becomes circular.

Artistic means of expression: images and paths

One can only be amazed at what a colorful picture of nature is revealed to a person sitting in four walls, in confinement. We continue the analysis of Lermontov's poem "When the yellowing field is agitated ...".

The poet uses bright epithets in the first stanza: his cornfield is turning yellow, the forest is fresh, the plum is raspberry, the leaf is green, the shadow is sweet. Everything is filled with the sounds of the rustling of the fields, the noise of the forest and the silence of the midday garden.

The second stanza is no less picturesque. Evening - ruddy, morning - golden, lily of the valley - friendly and silvery. We smell its aroma, as well as the smell of fragrant dew, with which it is sprinkled.

The third stanza touches on the inner life of the lyrical hero, his feelings that are not related to a specific time. His thought plunges into a vague dream, he hears the story of the key about his peaceful native land.

This is how the transition to the fourth stanza is made: the humility of anxiety in the soul is revealed through metaphors. This ends the lyrical miniature of the poet.

Each stanza uses personifications that enliven the surrounding world: a plum tree hides in the garden, a lily of the valley nods its head, playing, a key babbles in a ravine.

The lyrical hero did not place himself in this world. He admires them a little aloof and is looking for his place, which will be in harmony with him. He finds happiness only when he sees God in heaven - the Creator of the world of existence and all others that one can only guess about. This is the infinity and greatness of the aspirations of his soul.


1. History of creation. The poem “When the yellowing field is agitated…” Lermontov wrote in 1837, being arrested for his Protestant poem “The Death of a Poet”.

2. Theme. The poem belongs to the landscape lyrics of Lermontov, since most of the poem is filled with landscape images.

3. The main idea. In my opinion, Lermontov shows in this poem the role of nature in the spiritual world of man, since the last stanza of the work is devoted to this.

3. Composition.

The poem consists of four lines of four verses. But what is interesting is that the poem consists of only one exclamatory sentence. We can say that in the first three stanzas a description of nature is given, and in the last the author draws a conclusion.

4. Rhythm, rhyme, size. The poetic size is iambic multimeter, mostly six-foot. The first three stanzas have a cross rhyme, and the fourth has a ring rhyme. The lyrics are quite melodic.

5. Mood. This poem differs from other poems by Lermontov in its mood. When reading the poem, I had only positive emotions.

I didn't feel sad or sad. This is not typical of Lermontov's poems.

6. Lyrical hero. The lyrical hero is calm, he does not feel anxiety, fear. The hero was left alone with nature, which prompts him to think.

But the main place in the poem is still occupied by nature. In the first stanza, it is generalized, since the author speaks of a field, forests, or gardens. In the second stanza, we see only one element of nature - the lily of the valley:

“From under the bush I have a silver lily of the valley

He nods his head in greeting.

In the third stanza, nature helps the lyrical hero calm down, gives him the opportunity to think:

And, immersing the thought in some kind of vague dream,

He babbles a mysterious saga to me."

So we are back to the lyrical hero. It is in the last stanza that all his feelings are revealed. Looking at the calm and peaceful nature, the hero loses his anxiety, and, finally, he realizes that he is happy:

"And happiness I can comprehend on earth."

7. Artistic means. And of course, how can one describe nature without using the means of artistic expression. They are here at every turn, in every verse there is at least one epithet. Epithets: “sweet shadow of a green leaf”, “silver lily of the valley”, “golden hour in the morning” -, metaphors: “the key plays along the ravine, babbles a mysterious saga to me”, “the forest makes noise” -, personifications: “the plum is hiding”, “lily of the valley nods his head” - all this gives expressiveness to the poem, fills it with images of Russian peaceful nature.

8. My opinion. I admire the way Lermontov describes nature. I believe that he is a master at this, as he spent a lot of time alone with nature as a child. I also really liked the philosophical ending of the poem. I agree with Lermontov, because only alone with nature and with yourself can you understand what happiness is and how to achieve it. In my opinion, in this poem Lermontov presented himself to us from the other side. He showed that he can not only be sad, but also love and appreciate the moments spent in nature. Well, you can’t mention that the poem “When the yellowing field is agitated ...” is recognized as a masterpiece of Lermontov's landscape lyrics.

Updated: 2017-02-03

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