Love occupies an important place in the work of many poets. Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov also paid much attention to this topic.
The poem “K***” (“I will not humiliate myself before you...”), written in 1832, is dedicated to Natalya Fedorovna Ivanova, with whom the young poet was then in love. The work is about disappointment, unrequited love, the betrayal of a girl who did not appreciate the sublime feelings of the lyrical hero, that is, the author himself. Offended by his feelings, the poet reproaches his beloved for the fact that she was not honest with him, did not live up to his hopes, but was only flirting, taking away the time that he could spend on creativity. This situation changed Lermontov's attitude towards women. His disappointment in love is understandable and cannot but evoke sympathy. The heroine did not appreciate the sincerity and strength of the poet’s feelings; he realized this with bitterness and now, probably, he will never be able to be happy and carefree in love.
I will not humble myself before you;
Neither your greeting nor your reproach
They have no power over my soul.
Know: we are strangers from now on.
You forgot: I am freedom
I won’t give it up for delusion;
And so I sacrificed years
To your smile and eyes,
And so I've seen for too long
You have the hope of young days,
And the whole world hated
To love you more.
Who knows, maybe those moments
What flowed at your feet,
I took away from inspiration!
What did you replace them with?
Perhaps a heavenly thought
And convinced by the strength of spirit
I would give the world a wonderful gift,
And for that immortality he gives me?
Why did you promise so tenderly?
Are you replacing his crown?
Why weren't you there at first?
What did you finally become?
I'm proud! - forgive - love another,
Dream of finding love in another:
Anything earthly
I will not become a slave.
To foreign mountains, under the sky of the south
I'll retire, maybe;
But we know each other too much
To forget each other.
From now on I will enjoy
And in passion I will swear to everyone;
I will laugh with everyone
But I don’t want to cry with anyone;
I'll start cheating shamelessly
So as not to love as I loved
Or is it possible to respect women?
When did an angel cheat on me?
I was ready for death and torment
And call the whole world to battle,
To your young hand
Madman! - shake again!
Not knowing the insidious betrayal,
I gave my soul to you;
Did you know the price of such a soul?
You knew: - I didn’t know you!
Performer: People's Artist of the USSR Leonid Markov
In 1966, Leonid Markov went to work at the Mossovet Theater. Here he played almost the entire classical repertoire: Lermontov, Turgenev, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy. Yuri Zavadsky took him in the hope that he would replace Nikolai Mordvinov in Masquerade. And if Nikolai Mordvinov played a nobleman - brilliant speech, straight back, in general, a gentleman, an aristocrat, then in Leonid Markov - Arbenin was a commoner who became a popular man, and for this he is hated in the world.
Leonid Markov knew how to focus on the personal, and not the social, drama of the hero; he created a character, not a type. He played many classical roles, but his characters, perhaps without realizing it, suffered from quite modern depression - the heavy shame of a strong man, exhausted by the grayness of Soviet “stagnation.”
In 1990, he was offered the role of Satan in the film Hotel Eden, and he accepted. Filming wrapped at the end of February 1991. However, on March 1, the technical director came running to Markov and said that during dubbing, one phrase spoken by his hero, that is, Satan, did not work out. The phrase was: “Disgrace on earth begins when a pure, bright soul appears on it.” Markov had to go to the tone studio and re-voice the phrase again. Immediately after this, he suddenly became ill and was taken to the hospital. There he died two days later.
“K* (I will not humiliate myself before you...)” Mikhail Lermontov
I will not humble myself before you;
Neither your greeting nor your reproach
They have no power over my soul.
Know: we are strangers from now on.
You forgot: I am freedom
I won’t give it up for delusion;
And so I sacrificed years
To your smile and eyes,
And so I've seen for too long
You have the hope of young days
And the whole world hated
To love you more.
Who knows, maybe those moments
What flowed at your feet,
I took away from inspiration!
What did you replace them with?
Perhaps I am thinking heavenly
And I am convinced by the strength of spirit,
I would give the world a wonderful gift,
And for that immortality he gives me?
Why did you promise so tenderly?
You replace his crown,
Why weren't you there at first?
What I finally became!
I'm proud! - sorry! love another
Dream of finding love in another;
Anything earthly
I will not become a slave.
To foreign mountains, under the sky of the south
I'll retire, maybe;
But we know each other too much
To forget each other.
From now on I will enjoy
And in passion I will swear to everyone;
I will laugh with everyone
But I don’t want to cry with anyone;
I'll start cheating shamelessly
So as not to love as I loved, -
Or is it possible to respect women?
When did an angel cheat on me?
I was ready for death and torment
And call the whole world to battle,
So that your young hand -
Madman! - shake again!
Not knowing the insidious betrayal,
I gave my soul to you;
Did you know the price of such a soul?
You knew - I didn’t know you!
Analysis of Lermontov’s poem “K* (I will not humiliate myself before you...)”
In the summer of 1830, 16-year-old Mikhail Lermontov, while relaxing on a country estate, met Natalya Ivanova, the daughter of a famous Russian writer at that time. The girl captivates him not only with her beauty, but also reciprocates the young poet’s feelings. After an unsuccessful romance with Ekaterina Sushkova, who mercilessly ridiculed her young admirer, Lermontov again feels the taste of life. He is fascinated by his beloved and devotes his first timid poems to her, in which he hints at his feelings. Now it is difficult to establish for certain whether the young people had a love affair and whether they swore an oath of allegiance to each other, but Lermontov returned to Moscow inspired and completely cured of despondency.
It is known that the poet and his chosen one met several times at balls during 1830, which became the reason for Lermontov’s deep disappointment. He became convinced that he was just a passing hobby for Natalya Ivanova, and at parties she preferred to spend time in the company of more successful gentlemen, with whom she openly flirted. However, the final break between the lovers occurred in the summer of 1831. It is no longer possible to establish for certain what exactly happened between Lermontov and Ivanova. However, after returning to Moscow, the 17-year-old poet unexpectedly writes a play called “Strange People”, the prototype of the main character in which is his chosen one. According to the plot, a girl who has sworn an oath of fidelity to her beloved subsequently takes back her words and gives preference to another. It is likely that the same thing happened in real life, and Natalya Ivanova simply became interested in another young man.
One way or another, in the winter of 1832, 5 months after the fateful events, Mikhail Lermontov creates the poem “K* (I will not humiliate myself before you...),” a handwritten version of which he sends to the one he loved. In this work, the author seems to draw a line under this short novel, emphasizing: “we are strangers from now on.” Explaining his decision to finally break off relations with his beloved, the poet notes that he made too much of a sacrifice in the name of high feelings for someone who does not deserve it. “And the whole world hated you so that it could love you more,” the poet notes. At the same time, Lermontov considers the year and a half that this novel lasted to be irretrievably lost for poetry, since he indulged in pipe dreams instead of honing his literary style.
The poet considers himself deceived and insulted. But he blames this not only on his beloved, who was not at all what she wanted to appear to be. First of all, the author calls himself a “madman,” because he was led by his own feelings, which overshadowed the voice of reason. However, insight came quickly enough, and Lermontov wishes only one thing for his chosen one - “dream of finding love in another.”
As in the play, the poet directly indicates that the reason for the break in relations was that Natalya Ivanova preferred another young man to him. And this discouraged Lermontov so much that he finally became disillusioned with the fairer sex, asking: “Is it possible to respect women when an angel cheated on me?” However, from now on, the poet no longer intends to indulge himself in illusions and remain in delusions, believing that it is better to put an end to this love story than to sacrifice freedom for the sake of the illusion of happiness.
No one in the poet’s circle knew about the romance between Lermontov and Ivanova, so for a long time the poems marked with the initials of Natalya Ivanova, which in a year and a half totaled more than 30 pieces, remained the poet’s posthumous secret. Only in the middle of the last century did the literary critic Irakli Andronnikov manage to decipher the name of the mysterious stranger with whom Lermontov was in love, who shed light on the tragic love story of the young poet.
In his youth, Lermontov was quite keen on the daughter of the famous writer, N.F. Ivanova. Their relationship did not last long. You can find out what the young poet thought about the breakup if you thoughtfully read the poem “I will not humiliate myself before you” by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov.
The poem was created in 1832. The period is from 1830 to 1832. was the pinnacle of the poet’s youthful creativity. Trying to find himself in literature, Lermontov wrote in many genres. Byron had a great influence on his early work. Trying to keep up with the times, Lermontov created many fatalistic works imbued with gloomy romance. The text of Lermontov’s poem “I will not humiliate myself before you,” which is taught in a literature lesson in the 8th grade, is imbued with youthful maximalism. “We are strangers from now on,” the poet exclaims, having learned that his flighty lover chose someone else over him. The lines that young Lermontov dedicated years to the “smile and eyes” of his beloved bring a smile. In fact, their relationship lasted several months and cannot be called romantic. N. Ivanova, rather, was the “beautiful lady” of the young poet, who for a long time saw his ideal in her.
Initially, Lermontov misinterpreted N. Ivanova’s sympathy and attention. Therefore, her coldness, with which she met the poet’s impulse in love, caused him pain. She was so strong that Lermontov was ready to be disappointed in all women. Offended by the “angel’s” refusal, he bitterly reproaches the girl for giving him false hope. “Why weren’t you at first what you finally became?” - he complains. The pain from this wound remained for the rest of my life. Lermontov, calling N. Ivanova “an insensitive, cold deity,” dedicated a whole series of works to her. It consisted of forty poems. You can download this work in full or study it online on our website.
I will not humble myself before you;
Neither your greeting nor your reproach
They have no power over my soul.
Know: we are strangers from now on.
You forgot: I am freedom
I won’t give it up for delusion;
And so I sacrificed years
To your smile and eyes,
And so I've seen for too long
You have the hope of young days
And the whole world hated
To love you more.
Who knows, maybe those moments
What flowed at your feet,
I took away from inspiration!
What did you replace them with?
Perhaps I am thinking heavenly
And I am convinced by the strength of spirit,
I would give the world a wonderful gift,
And for that immortality he gives me?
Why did you promise so tenderly?
You replace his crown,
Why weren't you there at first?
What I finally became!
I'm proud! - sorry! love another
Dream of finding love in another;
Anything earthly
I will not become a slave.
To foreign mountains, under the sky of the south
I'll retire, maybe;
But we know each other too much
To forget each other.
From now on I will enjoy
And in passion I will swear to everyone;
I will laugh with everyone
But I don’t want to cry with anyone;
I'll start cheating shamelessly
So as not to love as I loved, -
Or is it possible to respect women?
When did an angel cheat on me?
I was ready for death and torment
And call the whole world to battle,
So that your young hand -
Madman! - shake again!
Not knowing the insidious betrayal,
I gave my soul to you;
Did you know the price of such a soul?
You knew - I didn’t know you!