Lermontov "From the mysterious cold half-mask": analysis of the poem

"From under the mysterious cold half-mask"Lermontov is a love poem that is noticeably different from other of his creations written in the genre of love lyrics. What is special about this work and who served as the prototype of this mysterious woman?

What place does the poem in the poet's work

Unfortunately, the exact date of writing is not known, butmost literary critics agree that it was the fatal year for the poet - 1841-th. Again, it is not known for sure who the image of the mysterious stranger in the half-mask is written off. Some believe that this is Varvara Lopukhina, Lermontov's last passion.

This was a married woman, but she stillresponds to the feelings of the poet. By that time, Mikhail Yurievich already bored secular society. But to meet with his lover, he had to go to balls. These meetings were held in silence, because according to etiquette in those days married women were not allowed to speak with unfamiliar men. There are suggestions that one of these meetings inspired Lermontov to write "From the mysterious cold half-mask".

This little love poem is differentfrom others in that it is not filled with raging passions, but with peaceful feelings. Perhaps this is due to the fact that by that time all the youthful passions were replaced by calm and deep feelings. After all, his relationship with Lopukhin could not develop, so Lermontov could only keep a tender affection in his heart and admire it from the outside.

Motives in the poem

When analyzing "From the mysterious coldhalfmask "Lermontov should consider the motives that are in this work in more detail.This is the motive for the meeting, because the hero meets a mysterious stranger at a ball-masquerade.In spite of the fact that she seems to him cold, he tries to capture in his heart the image of this mysterious beauty.

Then comes the motif of recognition, when the hero finds outspeech and other features. And the motive of hope for the next meeting, at which they will be old friends. But the hero would be glad about this, because he could once again see that beauty and just talk with her.

Composition of the work

Poem "From the mysterious cold half-mask" Lermontov has the following composition:

• the first part symbolizes the past. The beginning of the hero's relationship with a stranger is a chance meeting at a ball. The fact that the first part refers to the years past, can be understood from the verbs that are used in the past tense;
• The second part is devoted to dreams of the future. In it, the poet describes the face of a stranger who captivated the hero. He hopes for a future meeting in which the hero will be able to recognize a mysterious lady.

Literary tricks

In "From the mysterious cold half-mask"Lermontov uses the contrast to create the appearance of the heroine: she seems to be a cold and distant hero in a half-mask. But under it he is sure that she radiates warmth and kindness. Of course, when describing a woman's appearance, the poet uses romantic stamps, but the image still turns out to be original.

Also for the poem to be smoothand musical, Lermontov uses assonances, inversions and parallelism. In its mood, it is more optimistic than sad. This is indicated by the last line in which the poet hopes for a meeting with a stranger.

"From under the mysterious cold half-mask"Lermontov is a lyric poem, imbued with hope. There are no strong feelings, but a quiet admiration and tender affection for the image of a mysterious stranger who was accidentally met at the ball by the lyric hero of the poet. Perhaps the whole story about Lermontov and Lopukhina is true, but regardless of who was addressed to the poem, it takes a worthy place among the lyrical works.