Lermontov, Mikhail Yuryevich (1814-1841)

Russian poet and novelist, whose eloquent works combine lyric romanticism with a passionate espousal of liberty. He was born in Moscow and educated at Moscow State University and a military school in Saint Petersburg. He became an officer of the guards, but his real interest was poetry. In 1837 he first gained recognition when he addressed to the czar an impassioned elegy called "On the Death of a Poet" as a protest against the death of the Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin. In the poem Lermontov charged that the czar was suppressing freedom and art. As a result, Lermontov was exiled to the Caucasus. After his return in 1838, he published a collection of poems and wrote his famous autobiographical novel, A Hero of Our Time (1840; trans. 1886). Among his other well-known works are the narrative poems The Demon (1829-41; trans. 1930) and The Circassian Boy (1840; trans. 1875).

The sail

A lone white sail shows for an instant
Where gleams the sea, an azure streak.
What left it in its homeland distant?
In alien parts what does it seek?
The billows play, the mast bends, creaking,
The wind, impatient, moans and sighs...
It is not joy that it is seeking,
Nor is't from happiness it flies.
The blue waves dance, they dance and tremble,
The sun's bright rays caress the seas.
And yet for storm it begs, the rebel,
As if in storm lurked calm and peace!...