The Last Son of Freedom

A strong, extraordinary person, opposing circumstances, conventions, and society itself and its laws, not bowing to the opinion of the crowd and entering into a battle with fate, — this is the unchanging hero of the early works of Lermontov that make up this collection, regardless of time and place. More often than not, his rebellion is doomed from the start, yet he continues the fight — and it does not matter what its outcome will be, even if death turns into a kind of celebration of poetic justice. Lermontov's youthful works are largely naive and influenced by Byron and Pushkin, however, they already clearly reflect the exceptional talent of the young poet and, even more interestingly, the circle of themes is already distinctly formed, which will become the main ones for Lermontov throughout his brief life.