Three palm trees genre work. Learning to analyze a poem

Lermontov wrote “Three Palms” in 1838. Having resorted to the genre of legend, the poet reflects on many philosophical topics. This is not just a sad oriental fairy tale, but a thought about human life, the purpose of the individual, about man’s relationship with God. The nature of the desert helps the poet reveal all these motives.

Landscape lyrics of Lermontov

Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov is a poet of rich spiritual organization. His poems are imbued with lyricism, sorrow, and loneliness. Very often, the psychological state of the lyrical hero is revealed by Lermontov through landscape sketches. Against the backdrop of the beauty of nature, the poet reflects on life, relationships in society, and analyzes his experiences. Suffice it to recall the poems “I go out alone on the road” or “When the yellowing field is agitated.”

Lermontov imbibed love for nature and unity with it from childhood. The boy, left without parents, was raised by his grandmother, Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva. The little poet grew up as a very sick child, so he spent his childhood on the family estate; from time to time Elizaveta Alekseevna took little Misha to the Caucasus to visit relatives. Even then, the boy learned to admire the beauty of nature and even capture it in paintings. In some children's portraits you can see Lermontov as a child with a chalk in his hand. The paintings of the grown-up poet are also striking in their beauty: most often he painted the Caucasus Mountains.

Theme of the poem "Three Palms"

It is no coincidence that this time Lermontov resorts to the theme of nature. “Three Palms” is an oriental legend. It is based on a story about palm trees that grew in a wonderful oasis of the Arabian Desert. A stream with cool water adjoins the trees. They lived together for a long time, until the palm trees “murmured” against God, saying that they would like to be useful, to see gratitude.

God answers the request - immediately a caravan of traders appears in the distance. The palm trees welcome him, but the people are not grateful to them. Rather, on the contrary: they cut down and burn trees. This is how the poem ends sadly.

Man and nature in Three Palms

In one night, people destroyed a beautiful oasis that had lived here for centuries. And then the palm trees and the stream would bring people relief from the sweltering sun and give them rest. With this, Lermontov showed how fragile nature is, how easily it can be destroyed by thoughtless actions.

The barbarity of people is shown very clearly in the poem. Lermontov achieves this using the technique of personification: tree trunks are “bodies”, leaves are “clothing”, “fell without life” - this is what they usually say about heroes, warriors who died untimely.

Philosophical meaning of the poem

The problem of the relationship between man and nature lies on the surface in the poem, but if you delve deeper into the meaning, you can see the serious questions that M. Yu. Lermontov poses. “Three Palms” is the poet’s reflection on the meaning of human existence in this world. He tries to answer the question: why do we exist? Won't our life be the same as those of these palm trees: having revealed our talent to other people, won't we fall victim to them, won't they trample on our fragile soul, thereby destroying us?

Most likely, Lermontov is also thinking personally about his destiny. He is trying to understand whether society really needs his talent, and whether his gift will turn against him. Drawing the analogy of Lermontov - three palm trees, the poem can be called partly prophetic. After all, the poet dies young.

Christian symbolism in the poem

Lermontov endowed “Three Palms” with deep religious meaning. An analysis of the symbols of the Christian faith will reveal to us another idea in the poem: man’s relationship with God. Three palm trees ask God for the highest good for themselves - so they believe. God fulfills the request. But does this bring happiness? The answer is clear - no. Lermontov is thinking about whether it is necessary to ask God to intervene in fate, or let everything take its course? The poet comes to the conclusion: God himself determines the fate of a person, He knows how it will be better. There is no point in interfering with the course of fate.

The poem is full of symbols of Christianity:

1. Number 3. The divine number even appears in the title of the poem. Three palm trees, according to researchers, are the components of the human soul: feelings, will and mind.
2. The stream is the spirit of God, which gives life and nourishes the human soul. That is why, after barbaric actions, the stream remains in the desert, because it is impossible to kill God.
3. The name of the place, the land of Arabia, makes the reader think of the Garden of Eden, because its location is supposedly on the Arabian Peninsula.
4. The conflict in the poem occurs because of the pride of palm trees - this is the very first sin, it was because of it that Lucifer was overthrown.
5. The images of Arabs cutting down palm trees are something dark, black (this color is found in their descriptions). An analogy is drawn with evil spirits.

Their pride and lack of humility led to the brutal death of the palm trees. The poem “Three Palms” by Lermontov calls for trusting the will of God and not interfering with fate.

Compositional features

M. Yu. Lermontov uses a clear structure for constructing the poem. “Three Palms” has a clearly visible ring composition built on an antithesis.

Indeed, M. Lermontov begins “Three Palms” with a description of an oasis, and ends with it. But the picture is just the opposite. If in the first quatrain the reader’s gaze is presented with a serene, life-affirming picture: a green corner in the desert, blue sky, golden sand. As soon as a caravan of future killers appears on the horizon, the colors change - they become black and dark. In addition, the sounds change. Everything happens as if in a whirlwind: “exploding the sand,” “The Arab made the black horse hot,” “the horse... jumped like a leopard,” “rushing along the sand with a scream and whistle.”

The last two quatrains are directly opposed to the first: ashes remain from the life-affirming picture, sadness has settled in this place. Attention is focused on the heat, heat, while in the first quatrain the emphasis is on cold, icy water, shadow. Loneliness settles in this place: “everything is wild and empty all around,” “a kite...an unsociable steppe.”

The antithesis can be traced not only at the lexical level, but also at the phonetic level. If, when describing the serene life of palm trees and a stream, we hear a pleasant euphony, then when describing a caravan, predominantly sharp combinations of consonants with the use of sonorants are used: “Dangling, they hung between the [rb]yh go[rb]ov Uzo[rn] the hems of similar [p]ants.”

The genre of oriental legend gives the poem the status of folk wisdom. By this, Lermontov emphasizes that the topics he raised are not new - they have concerned humanity from time immemorial.

Means of artistic expression

The means of artistic expression that Lermontov uses are extensive. "Three Palms" contains:

As we can see, Lermontov’s genius made it possible to convey serious philosophical reflections to the reader with the help of the nature of the East.

“Three Palms” is a poetic parable with a deep philosophical meaning. The plot addressed by the author continues the theme heard in “Demon”, “Mtsyri”, “Hero of Our Time”. The soul, trustingly open to the world, encounters deception and ingratitude on its way. Three palm trees, waiting for their dreams to come true, die from human cruelty. The poem has a circular composition. It is based on the technique of antithesis (contrast). The pleasing landscape depicted in the first stanza (murmuring water, coolness among the hot sands) contrasts sharply with the depressing picture of complete devastation at the end. The palm trees lived happily and serenely on the banks of the stream, but over time it began to seem to them that such a life was too monotonous and boring. Perhaps they imagined that somewhere out there, in the big world, palm trees lived in a completely different way... Bright and interesting. They wanted new impressions, colors, sounds.

I wanted to find the meaning of life, to save tired wanderers from the heat and thirst. But the horizon is empty, the desert is silent, only heat and sand around. And then the palm trees thought: “Are we born to wither here? ..” To grumble against God is a great sin. But the Lord mercifully fulfills their desire - a rich caravan approaches the oasis. Finally, palm trees will benefit people! It’s so pleasant to relax under the shade of wide leaves... The water in the stream is so tasty... But people mercilessly cut down the trees and destroyed the oasis just to spend the night by the fire. It is worth noting that experienced travelers do not behave so barbarically. It is very easy to die of thirst in the desert, and water is so rare. Bedouins protect oases and wells. Caravan routes are laid through the endless desert from one source of water to another, and woe to the traveler who cannot fill his flask in time... These same people did what little children do. Without thinking about the consequences, they burned everything that could burn. Of course, it’s only hot in the desert during the day. And at night it gets very cold. In the morning, people left, leaving only ashes and dust at the place where they spent the night...

The beautiful legend is full of transparent allegories. Caravan drivers are people who do not know how to appreciate what nature gives them. They are ready to destroy the fragile planet on which they live, in the name of their own profit or momentary whim. Proud palm trees are people too. The author uses words in the description that are used only when talking about people: palm trees fell without life, their clothes were torn off, their bodies were chopped up.

The philosophical meaning of the poem “Three Palms” is of a religious nature and is based on the biblical idea of ​​​​the structure of the universe. The poet is convinced that everything can be begged from God. But will a person be happy when he gets what he wanted? After all, if life takes its course as it is destined from above, then there are reasons for this. And for those who put desires above their capabilities, life can end tragically. Maybe the palm trees were too proud and failed to understand that their main purpose was to preserve the source of life in the desert? Likewise, it is not possible for a person to comprehend all the highest laws.

The expressive means of language helped the author convey this story in a romantic style. The poet uses colorful epithets (proud palm trees; flaming chest; elastic roots; icy moisture; luxurious leaves; sonorous stream; golden sand; black eyes; rattling spring; crested kite), and comparisons (a caravan is like a shuttle at sea; people are small children ; palm trees have been pets for centuries).

Lermontov selects precise vocabulary to depict a wide variety of impressions and moods. These are the words with which he creates, for example, a feeling of chaos, disorder and bustle: “The bells rang out with triple sounds”; “The carpeted packs were full of carpets”; “rushing along the sand screaming and whistling”; “a caravan approaches, noisily.” The work has a rich intonation pattern: there are many pauses, exclamations, questions and ellipses.

Lesson notes on literature in 6th grade. Learning to analyze a lyrical work. M. Yu. Lermontov “Three Palms”.

Developed by a teacher of Russian language and literature at the Shudumar Basic Secondary School of the Sernursky District of the Republic of Mari El Afanasyeva S.N.

2013 Class: 6

Subject: Russian literature

Textbook: "Literature. 6th grade. Textbook for general education institutions with adj. per electron carrier. At 2 o'clock / V. Ya. Korovina, V. P. Zhuravlev, V. I. Korovin; edited by V. Ya. Korovina. – M.: Education, 2013

Lesson topic: Learning to analyze a lyrical work. M. Yu. Lermontov “Three Palms”.

Lesson objectives:

1. Educational: learning to analyze a lyrical work, to give an initial concept of a ballad.

2. Practical: improve skills in analyzing poetic text.

3. Educational: to cultivate a sense of beauty, a sense of respect and love for the Motherland, nature, painting, and improve reading taste.

4. Developmental: enrich students’ vocabulary; teach comparison, the ability to highlight the main thing, systematize, explain concepts; develop students' creative abilities.

Lesson type: general methodological lesson.

Planned results:

cognitive UUD: be able to synthesize the information received to compose a reasoned answer, independently highlight and formulate a cognitive goal, consciously and voluntarily construct a speech utterance in oral form; will learn to find visual and expressive means in poetic texts.

personal UUD: developing skills of self-analysis and self-control; students’ establishment of a connection between the purpose of educational activity and its motive, self-determination;

regulatory UUD: be able to determine measures of assimilation of the studied material, goal setting, planning, evaluation of work results, making the necessary additions and adjustments to the plan and method of action;

communicative UUD: be able to analyze text using studied terminology and acquired knowledge; be able to construct a monologue statement, formulate one’s point of view, and adequately use various speech means to solve communicative problems.

Means of education: computer, projector, textbook, cards with text, algorithm;

Methods and techniques: verbal, visual - practical, problem presentation, self-control.

Literature: Internet resources:

1. Festival of pedagogical ideas “Open Lesson” (http://festival.1september.ru)

2. Lesson developments, presentations, lesson notes (http://www.testsoch.com)

Interdisciplinary connections: music, fine arts

During the classes

I . Organizing time

Goal: inclusion of students in activities at a personally significant level.“I want because I can.”

Shows slides (1,2)with photos of the surrounding areayour village: birch groves, strawberry meadows, blooming apple orchards.

Take a closer look, do you recognize this area? What is captured in the photo?

What feelings do pictures of your native nature evoke in you?

You lovethe nature of your region?

II. Updating knowledge.

- “The peasant plows, the mason builds, the priest prays and the judge judges. What does a poet do? - this is how the poet N.S. Gumilyov begins his article “The Life of Verse”. So what does a poet do?

(The poet’s task is not to communicate his love, but to be able to convey to the reader the strength of his feelings and evoke similar emotions in him. To achieve this goal, poets use various artistic techniques, visual and expressive means. “Beautiful poems, like living beings, enter into a circle our life, they sometimes teach, sometimes they call, sometimes they bless. Under their influence, people love, quarrel and die.”

III. Creating a problem situation:

What topic is the poem by M.Yu. Lermontov's "Three Palms"?

It was not by chance that we started our lessonwith a conversation about the nature of his native land. For every person, nature and small homeland are inseparable from each other. So M. Yu. Lermontov devoted many poems to the theme of nature.

What role does the subtitle of the poem play - “An Eastern Legend”

III. Setting a learning task.

What goals will we set?

In the poem "Three Palms" the poet decidesproblem "man and nature". As a result of analyzing the poem, you and I must determine the main thought (idea) of the poem;

analyze the poem, find in it those figurative and expressive means of language that help the author reveal the main idea of ​​the poem;

prepare a written analysis of a poem and thereby learn to analyze a poetic text;

find out how the poet talks about what worries him.

IV . Discovery of new knowledge.

Real or fantastic events, details are described in the poem

(The poem has obvious folklore motifs: the symbolic number “three”; personification; a magical event (the appearance of a caravan immediately following the reproach of palm trees to the sky). At the same time, this event is quite realistic: the caravan is described in very detail, in detail. The picture of the caravan’s halt is also realistic, the death of proud palm trees, the disappearance of a beautiful oasis in the desert.

What is the genre of the poem?

The concept of a ballad. A poem written on a legendary or historical theme, connecting the fantastic and the real, is calledballad

V . Independent work . Study of the composition of the poem (in pairs), identification of micro-themes.

The poem consists of several picture-episodes:

1 – description of an oasis in the desert, many years of useless loneliness of palm trees (stanzas 1, 2)

2 – reproaches of palm trees to the sky, to God (3rd stanza)

3 – description of the caravan (4,5,6 stanzas)

4 – welcoming meeting of tired travelers (stanza 7)

5 – death of palm trees (stanza 8)

6. Description of the barren desert, empty and dead without destroyed palm trees (stanzas 9 and 10)

VI . Continued analysis.

Why did the three palm trees begin to murmur against God?

To be needed by someone, to be useful, to please - such is the desire of the “proud palm trees” that store the cold water of the spring “under the canopy of green leaves.”

Why were the palm trees destroyed?

They complained against God and were punished. No one appreciated their best aspirations, desires, their generosity and friendliness. The caravan got what it wanted - rest, water, firewood, and no one paid attention to the death of the beautiful palm trees. The beautiful and eternal perishes under the pressure of the utilitarian and momentary.

How are palm trees depicted?

They resemble people, but as if enchanted - the caravan did not see a living soul in the palm trees

For what purpose is alliteration used?

The concept of alliteration. Alliteration helps to “hear” the dull, methodical blows of an ax on the roots of resilient trees

Let's reread the first and last stanzas of the poem. How do they relate?

Repetition of the concept of antithesis. These stanzas are contrasted with each other. In the first there is a joyful picture of life, carefully supported by the care of palm trees, in the second there is a picture of desolation, barrenness, death, which the caravan left behind. The picture of death is enhanced by the image of a kite tormenting its prey.

Images of nature also speak about the fate of man, about his aspirations and sufferings.

Determine the poetic meter. Let's remember the size of the verse. How was the poem “Winter Morning” written? (iambically, Pushkin’s love of life is very well conveyed) And what about Lermontov? He often uses three-syllable meters when in the foot, i.e. in a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables, 3 syllables. Three syllable sizes: dactyl, amphibrachium, anapest. The poem was written by amphibrachium.

VII . Introducing the plan for analyzing a lyric work.

(Handout)

Creative story.

Theme and idea.

Composition and internal plot (if any).

Lyrical hero and system of images.

The main features of poetic language at the level of phonetics, vocabulary, morphology and syntax.

Genre.

Features of rhythm, size, rhyme.

What thoughts and feelings does the work evoke in the reader?

VIII . Generalization of new knowledge. Filling out the table. (work in groups, each group analyzes the means of expression in its part of the poem)

Trails

Personifications

Epithets

Metaphors

Comparisons

The sand swirled in a column, like a shuttle at sea

They began to grumble at God and greeted the caravan

Proud palm trees, flaming chests, sultry rays, gray ashes

Pets of centuries, their clothes torn off, steppe unsociable

Phonetics

Alliteration

P about koR yumetc ugh thenP OR behindst taught

ANDP Alib without lifeP pets of centuries

Morphology

Syntax

Reverse word order

Gray ashes,

Genre of the poem

Ballad

Antithesis

The first and last stanzas are contrasted with each other. In the first there is a joyful picture of life, carefully supported by the care of palm trees, in the second there is a picture of desolation, barrenness, death, which the caravan left behind.

IX . Conclusions on the poem.

What conclusion would you draw from the ballad “Three Palms”?

(People bring destruction to nature contrary to their own interests. The connections between people and nature are broken. Who is to blame? The person himself, because he pursues immediate goals).

What is the philosophical meaning of the poem?

(Each person is unique and inimitable and born for the common benefit, like nature; but Lermontov’s contemporary society lives according to the laws of the caravan, we already know them. He felt these laws himself, perhaps that’s why there is so much loneliness and sadness in his poems.)

X. Reflection on activity (lesson summary).

So, what task did we set for you?

Did you manage to solve the problem?

How?

* How do you evaluate the results of the class?

How do you evaluate the performance of your groups?

XI . Homework. Written analysis of the poem according to plan.

Application.

Analysis of the poem

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov “Three Palms”

The poem “Three Palms” by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was written in 1838. This is a bright poetic reflection on a philosophical theme; it has a subtitle - “An Eastern Legend”, which warns the reader about something fabulous, exotic. Indeed, real and fantastic events are intertwined in the work. This allows us to classify the poem as a ballad.

The theme of the poem “Three Palms” is revealed by the author as the plot develops. The main characters of the story are three palm trees that grew in the Arabian desert. The desert is deserted:

And many years passed silently;
But a tired wanderer from a foreign land
Burning chest to the icy moisture
I have not yet bowed under the green tabernacle...

Palm trees are unhappy that they are alone, that no one has ever seen their beauty, and that their life is already nearing the end. And they grumbled against God:

And the three palm trees began to murmur against God:
“Are we born to wither here?
We grew and blossomed uselessly in the desert,
Wavering with the whirlwind and heat of the fire,
Not pleasing to anyone's benevolent gaze?..
Yours is wrong, oh heaven, holy sentence!”

Their murmurs were heard, and soon a caravan appeared. For several centuries, palm trees grew in the desert - people appeared and cut them down, and now everything in the desert is wild and barren.
The poem consists of several parts. The first and second stanzas are devoted to the description of an oasis in the desert, the third stanza is the reproaches of the palm trees to God, the fourth, fifth, sixth stanzas are devoted to the description of the caravan, the seventh stanza is the greeting of the palm trees, the eighth stanza is the death of the palm trees, the ninth and tenth stanzas are a description of the barren desert.

The main idea of ​​the poem is that people often do not know how to appreciate the beauty of nature, they are merciless to nature, nature for them is only the source of their well-being. So the traders, finding themselves in an oasis, saw in the palm trees only fuel for their nightly fire and easily destroyed what had been growing for centuries. But there is another meaning to this ballad – religious. The palm trees complained against God and were punished. Life goes on as usual, as it is destined from above. But the palm trees do not want to put up with this, they themselves want to build their own destiny, that is, they cannot humble their pride. And the author in this poem raises the topic of pride, which is close not only to him, but to his generation. It is still relevant today.

The rhythm of the poem is leisurely, measured, smooth, musical and melodic. Everything is subordinated to the fact that the reader sees in front of him not only the pictures drawn by the poet, but at the same time he also thinks and reflects on life, on his purpose, on the benefit that he should bring to others.

In his poem, the author uses various visual and expressive means that transform the poem, making the painted pictures more vivid and expressive. To describe an oasis in the desert, the author uses the following epithets: from “barren soil”, “from the sultry rays”, “flying sands”", terry head" The oasis is contrasted with the barren desert.

Thanks to the personifications used in the text to describe the actions of the palm trees, such as “they began to murmur against God,” “the palm trees greeted the caravan,” it seems that the palm trees are living people, only enchanted. They are unhappy with their lot. They dared to “murmur” against God. But the caravan was unable to see living people in them and disenchant them.

Metaphorsin the poem “pets of the centuries”, “their clothes were torn off by small children”, “the steppe unsociable” help to understand the inner world of the heroes of the ballad.

Comparisons “sand swirled in a column”, “like a shuttle in the sea” also help to paint a vivid picture of nature. Thanks to them, we see before us a picture of a caravan slowly moving through the desert, we imagine a horse rearing up and jumping “like a leopard.”

The author uses means of expression in the field of phonetics. The alliteration “The ax clattered on the elastic roots / And the pets of centuries fell without life” helps to “hear” the dull, methodical blows of the ax on the roots of the elastic trees.

The first stanza and the last are opposed to each other. The first stanza depicts a joyful picture of life, carefully supported by the care of palm trees, the second - a picture of desolation, barrenness, death, which the caravan left behind. The picture of death is strengthened by the image of a kite, the “unsociable steppe,” tormenting its prey. This antithesis serves to better see the difference between the beauty of nature and the ruthless destruction of this nature at the hands of omnipotent man.

The poetic meter is amphibrachic, the rhyming method is paired.

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov’s poem “Three Palms” has excited more than one generation of people. Reading a poem in childhood, a person sees in it something fabulous, beautiful, learns to love, take care of nature, the world around us, our fragile planet, and also thinks about the attitude towards people, each other, and having matured, begins to think about the purpose of his life. existence in this world.

The poem about three palm trees was written in 1838. The main theme of the work is the relationship of man to nature. Man does not appreciate all the benefits of nature, he is indifferent to them and does not think about the consequences. Lermontov did not understand this attitude and tried to change people's attitude towards nature through his poems. He called for appreciating nature and preserving it.

The poem begins with the story that there are three palm trees in the desert. A stream flows next to them, they represent an oasis in the middle of the desert. They are in a place where no human has gone before. Therefore, they turn to God and complain about their fate. They believe that they are standing in the desert without any purpose, but they could save a lost traveler with their shadow.

Their request was heard, and a caravan came out to the three palm trees. The people first rested under the shade of palm trees and drank the cold water, but in the evening they mercilessly cut down the trees to light a fire. All that was left of the palm trees was ashes, and the stream was left without protection from the scorching sun. As a result, the stream dried up and the desert became lifeless. The palm trees shouldn't have complained about their fate.

The genre of “Three Palms” is a ballad, which is written in amphibrach tetrameter. The poem has a clear storyline. Lermontov used such artistic means as metaphors (flaming chest), epithets (luxurious leaves, proud palm trees), personification (leaves whisper, palm trees greet). Using personification, the poet compares palm trees with people. People are always dissatisfied with their lives and ask God to change something. Lermontov makes it clear that not everything we ask for can bring good.

(Eastern legend)

In the sandy steppes of Arabian land
Three proud palm trees grew high.
A spring between them from barren soil,
Murmuring, it made its way through a cold wave,
Kept under the shade of green leaves
From the sultry rays and flying sands.

And many years passed silently...
But a tired wanderer from a foreign land
Burning chest to the icy moisture
I have not yet bowed down under the green tabernacle,
And they began to dry out from the sultry rays
Luxurious leaves and a sonorous stream.

And the three palm trees began to murmur against God:
“Are we born to wither here?
We grew and blossomed uselessly in the desert,
Wavering with the whirlwind and heat of the fire,
Not pleasing to anyone's benevolent gaze?..
Your holy sentence is wrong, O heaven!”

And they just fell silent - blue in the distance
The golden sand was already spinning like a pillar,
There were discordant sounds of bells,
The carpeted packs were full of carpets,
And he walked, swaying like a shuttle at sea,
Camel after camel, blasting the sand.

Dangling, hanging between hard humps
Patterned floors of camping tents,
Their dark hands sometimes raised,
And the black eyes sparkled from there...
And, leaning towards the bow,
The Arab was hot on the black horse.

And the horse reared up at times,
And he jumped like a leopard struck by an arrow;
And white clothes have beautiful folds
The faris curled in disarray over the shoulders;
And, screaming and whistling, rushing along the sand,
He threw and caught a spear while galloping.

Here a caravan approaches the palm trees, noisily,
In the shadow of their cheerful camp stretched.
The jugs sounded filled with water,
And, proudly nodding his terry head,
Palm trees welcome unexpected guests,
And the icy stream generously waters them.

But darkness has just fallen to the ground,
The ax clattered on the elastic roots,
And the pets of centuries fell without life!
Little children tore off their clothes,
Their bodies were then chopped up,
And they slowly burned them with fire until the morning.

When the fog rushed to the west,
The caravan made its regular journey,
And then sad on barren soil
All that was visible was gray and cold ashes.
And the sun burned the dry remains,
And then the wind blew them away into the steppe.

And now everything is wild and empty all around -
Leaves with a rattling key do not whisper.
In vain does he ask the prophet for a shadow -
Only the hot sand carries it away
Yes, the crested kite, the steppe unsociable,
The prey is tormented and pinched above him.

Analysis of Lermontov's poem "Three Palms"

The poem “Three Palms” was created in 1838 and is a poetic parable with a deep philosophical meaning. The main characters of the story are three palm trees in the Arabian desert, where no human has ever set foot. A cold stream flowing among the sands turned the lifeless world into a magical oasis, “kept, under the canopy of green leaves, from the sultry rays and flying sands.”

The idyllic picture painted by the poet has one significant flaw, which is that this paradise is inaccessible to living beings. Therefore, proud palm trees turn to the Creator with a request to help them fulfill their destiny - to become a refuge for a lonely traveler lost in the dark desert. The words are heard, and soon a caravan of traders appears on the horizon, indifferent to the beauties of the green oasis. They do not care about the hopes and dreams of the proud palm trees, which will soon die under the blows of axes and become fuel for the fires of cruel guests. As a result, the blooming oasis turns into a pile of “gray ashes”, the stream, having lost the protection of green palm leaves, dries up, and the desert takes on its original appearance, gloomy, lifeless and promising inevitable death to any traveler.

In the poem “Three Palms,” Mikhail Lermontov touches on several pressing issues at once. The first of these concerns the relationship between man and nature. The poet notes that people are cruel by nature and rarely appreciate what the world around them gives them. Moreover, they are inclined to destroy this fragile planet in the name of their own benefit or momentary whim, not thinking that nature, not endowed with the ability to defend itself, still knows how to take revenge on its offenders. And this revenge is no less cruel and merciless than the actions of people who believe that the whole world belongs only to them.

The philosophical meaning of the poem “Three Palms” is of a pronounced religious nature and is based on the biblical concept of the processes of the universe. Mikhail Lermontov is convinced that you can ask God for anything. However will the petitioner be happy with what he receives? After all, if life takes its course as it is destined from above, then there are reasons for this. An attempt to refuse humility and acceptance of what is determined by fate can lead to fatal consequences. And the theme of pride that the poet raises is close not only to him, but also to his generation - reckless, cruel and not realizing that a person is just a puppet in someone’s hands, and not a puppeteer.

The parallel that Mikhail Lermontov draws between the life of palm trees and people is obvious. Trying to fulfill our dreams and desires, each of us strives to speed up events and achieve the intended goal as soon as possible. However, few people think about the fact that the end result may not bring satisfaction, but deep disappointment, since the goal often turns out to be mythical and does not live up to expectations at all. In turn, disappointment, which in the biblical interpretation is called despondency, is one of the greatest human sins, as it leads to self-destruction of both soul and body. This is a high price to pay for the pride and self-confidence that most people suffer from. Realizing this, Mikhail Lermontov tries, with the help of a parable poem, not only to understand the motives of his own actions, but also to protect others from the desire to get what is not intended for them. After all, dreams tend to come true, which often turns into a real disaster for those who place their desires much higher than their capabilities.