Among him famous works We can highlight the novel in verse by Eugene Onegin, where, in addition to the main character, Vladimir Lensky plays an important role. Let's look at our characterization of Lensky from the novel Eugene Onegin, using quotes from the work.

Vladimir Lensky brief description

In general, when creating the image of Onegin, the writer revealed the theme of disappointment with reality that progressive youth experienced, but having met Vladimir Lensky on the pages of the novel, we see a completely different image. He was a lively and sincere character. He can even be called an ideal person.

From brief information, which the author gives about Lensky’s past, we understand that he is from the nobility and was born on the Krasnogorye estate. That's just most his life was spent in Germany under the skies of Schiller and Goethe. Under the influence of their creativity, Lensky’s soul was also ignited. And when he arrived from foggy Germany, bringing the fruits of his learning, he became an enviable half-Russian groom in his homeland.

Lensky immediately stands out from secular society. He does not like the feasts that young people love so much, so he constantly runs away from the noisy crowd. Wanting to find like-minded people, he comes to Onegin’s house, where two opposites begin. As Pushkin writes, they were ice and fire, people with different views on life, where Lensky was a romantic, while Onegin was a pragmatist. But these opposites attracted each other, and therefore a friendship began between the young people, which Lensky treasured very much.

Being a romantic, Lensky often lived in his own world, not seeing the essence of things from their depths, therefore, having fallen in love with Olga, he saw only her beautiful eyes and slim figure, but did not notice her frivolous nature. After all, in essence, she was like other girls in secular society. However, Lensky believes in love, just as he believes in the power of friendship, so he took Onegin’s joke very seriously. Unable to forgive his friend's advances, he challenges him to a duel, where he dies.

In general, having become acquainted with Pushkin’s novel and having met Vladimir Lensky on the pages of the work, we saw in his image a romantic, a dreamer and an ardent young man. The young man was not corrupted by the world and society; he is simple-minded, naive, bashful and even timid. This is a person who believes in goodness and a bright feeling of love. He values ​​friendships.

Vladimir Lensky is one of the main characters of the novel in verse by A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”, Onegin’s friend and his antipode, Olga Larina’s fiancé. Lensky was only eighteen years old when he returned from Germany, where he was interested in Kant's philosophy and romantic poetry. He was handsome and rich, for which he immediately became known as an eligible bachelor. Being an educated man, he did not find friends among the surrounding ignorant landowners, but quickly became friends with Onegin, who, like him, was new to life in the village. Vladimir knew the Larins from childhood. In particular, he had tender feelings for Olga. She seemed to him like a feminine ideal, a kind of romantic heroine from books. The hero was cruelly mistaken in this.

By nature, Lensky was naive, romantic and simple-minded. Onegin, on the contrary, was a sophisticated womanizer who had long been bored with love affairs. It was he who saw in Olga an ordinary and frivolous nature, but was in no hurry to disappoint his friend. After meeting the Larins, he only said that Olga’s sister seemed more interesting and deep to him. As a result, Lensky had to pay with his life for his mistake in choosing his beloved. After his death, the author speculated about what would have come out of him had he been alive. One way or another, the hero’s dual personality is obvious. Despite many years spent in Germany, the spirit of the Russian landowner still lived in him. If he became a poet, the landowner traits would break through in him. If I became a county landowner, I would still write poetry from time to time. In any case, he would not be happy, since it is impossible to combine such opposites in character.

The novel in verse by A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin” is not just a beautiful work about love. The poet raises important issues that worried society in his era. And the novel is written in an elegant and beautiful style. In Pushkin's era, the main problem of the progressive younger generation was disappointment in the surrounding reality. The central character should also be included in the group of these people. But the image of Lensky in the novel "Eugene Onegin" is the complete opposite central character. And the more surprising their friendship seemed to those around them. The personality of the romantic poet will be discussed below. Further, for a more complete disclosure of the image, several quotes about Lensky from “Eugene Onegin” will be used.

Connection with the personality of the poet

The image of Lensky in the novel “Eugene Onegin” is a self-portrait of Pushkin the romantic, although Pushkin scholars note that the prototypes for this character were others and individuals from the poet’s circle. This is an idealist for whom honor and high ideals, pure feelings were above all. These qualities were inherent in Alexander Sergeevich himself.

Outwardly, the poet was skeptical about manifestations of romanticism. He, like Onegin, strove to be one step ahead of the rest of society. But Pushkin was never able to completely abandon the romantic side of his nature.

Brief biography of the hero

To fully reveal the image of Lensky in the novel "Eugene Onegin", you need to give brief description his biography. He was a young landowner, rich, and therefore considered an eligible bachelor. He was 18 years old and had recently returned to his estate, which was located in Krasnogorye. Lensky lost his parents early, and had known the Larin family since childhood.

They were alien to the poet social entertainment. Therefore, he was not spoiled by secular society, like main character. He knew how to appreciate inner beauty and see beauty. He was not interested in his neighbors, who saw in him only a profitable match for their daughters.

He spent a lot of time abroad and graduated from the University of Göttingen, known at that time for being the center of liberalism in Europe. Therefore, the young man returned from there as a freethinker, an idealist and a fan of romanticism. Lensky always talked about lofty things, so his speech was emotional. Thus, he was the complete opposite of the main character.

Lensky's appearance in the novel "Eugene Onegin"

The work gives a brief description of the young poet. He was a handsome young man:

"A handsome man in full bloom."

"And shoulder-length black curls."

This length of hair (at that time young people rarely let their curls reach their shoulders) is a sign of a freethinker, a liberal. This fashion came from mysterious Germany, where Vladimir Lensky studied.

Friendship with a socialite dandy

In describing the image of Lensky in the novel "Eugene Onegin" it is necessary to talk about his relationship with Onegin himself. Against the background of the cynical, indifferent Eugene, the sensitive and sublime nature of the romantic poet, who idealizes those around him, stands out more strongly.

Despite the fact that there was always room for disputes in their conversations (because their judgments were different in everything), the young people enjoyed their communication. Lensky attached great importance to this friendship. Brought up in the best traditions of romanticism, an idealist who placed love and friendship above all else, the poet was sincerely attached to Onegin.

Lensky needed a faithful friend with whom he could share his dreams, reason philosophical topics. The ardent poet lived in his own special world and sincerely believed that other people would answer him in the same way.

For Onegin, everything in Lenskoye was new. Disappointed in life, tired of entertainment, he was interested in listening to the poet’s inspired speeches. He listened to his revelations with condescension. For Vladimir, Onegin stood out from all his neighbors in his judgments and manners; he was unlike the others. Therefore, the romantic Lensky idealized his friend.

Love for Olga

Of great importance in the characterization of Lensky in the novel "Eugene Onegin" is the description of his attitude towards younger sister Tatiana - Olga. Living in his own special world, idealizing those around him, he created a romantic image of his beloved. Vladimir was not experienced in matters of the heart, so it is not surprising that his heart was captivated by a lovely rural girl with an angelic appearance.

"Oh, he loved, as in our summer

They no longer love; as one

The Mad Soul of the Poet

Still condemned to love."

With all the ardor and passion of his nature, he surrendered to this first bright feeling. Olga was his whole world, his ideal. Only such sublime and dreamy people are capable of experiencing such a feeling. And Vladimir did not notice the shortcomings of his chosen one at all. Because he believed that his beloved possessed all the qualities of a romantic and sublime heroine.

Drama of a young poet

The characterization of Lensky in the novel "Eugene Onegin" is a description of an idealist, impressionable and sublime romantic nature. Therefore, Vladimir could not react differently to his friend’s cruel joke. Living in your own world, counting all your loved ones ideal people, he did not notice their shortcomings.

The poet did not attach any importance to the fact that Onegin was an indifferent, cynical person who treated him with condescension and patronage. Olga, like most young girls, was a coquette who took the sighs of her admirer lightly.

Therefore, Lensky regarded Onegin’s joke and Olga’s act as betrayal. All his ideas about high ideals, friendship and love were destroyed. And Vladimir challenged Evgeny to a duel, where he, frightened by the opinion of society, shot the young poet. But perhaps what was scary for Lensky was not the duel itself, but the fact that all his illusions and dreams were destroyed in an instant at the ball.

Lensky's role in the plot

So who is Lensky in the novel "Eugene Onegin"? What role did he play in the work? The death of the young poet is symbolic: it shows that a romantic, living only by his illusions, dies when confronted with reality. A. S. Pushkin, using the example of Vladimir, showed that in secular society there is no place for the lofty ideals of Lensky.

With the help of this character, Pushkin showed that sincere feelings were not in fashion; feigned manners and indifference were valued in society. Alexander Sergeevich created a vivid image of an intelligent nobleman, lyric poet, romantic, who highly valued love, friendship and honor.

Reading the novel “Eugene Onegin”, you admire not only the perfection of the form of the work, the beauty and ease of the language, but also the variety of problems raised by the poet that worried Russian society 20s of the XIX century. Main tragedy progressive youth of that time - this was disappointment in the reality around them, in the empty social life. Onegin is one of these disappointed people.

And here is another hero of the novel: Vladimir Lensky. Pushkin paints an unusually bright and lively image, striking in its sincerity, decency and vulnerability from any blows of fate. Let's get to know this hero better. It was

Handsome man, in full bloom,
Kant's admirer and poet.
He's from foggy Germany
He brought the fruits of learning:
Freedom-loving dreams
The spirit is ardent and rather strange,
Always an enthusiastic speech
And shoulder-length black curls.

From these lines we learn that Lensky spent his childhood far from Russia. He lived and studied in Germany, “under the skies of Schiller and Goethe,” where “their soul ignited in him with their poetic fire.” Lensky is a romantic poet, “who had not yet had time to fade from the cold debauchery of the world,” “he sang the faded color of life at almost eighteen years old.” We see a dreamy person who strives to express his moods and dreams in poetry. He's alien secular society and stands out sharply against the background of trifles, brawlers, cockerels and harlicks:

He didn't like feasts
He ran away from their noisy conversation.

Lensky cannot find like-minded people in the society around him. And maybe this is what brings the hero to Onegin’s house. A friendship is born, so unusual and strange:

They got along. Wave and stone
Poetry and prose, ice and fire
Not so different from each other.

Despite the fact that “everything between them gave rise to disputes and led to reflection,” these people experience mutual sympathy. For Lensky this friendship was especially great value, since at that moment he needed a faithful friend, to whom he could entrust all his feelings, experiences, and talk on philosophical topics:

Tribes of past treaties,
The fruits of science, good is evil,
And age-old prejudices,
And the grave secrets are fatal.
Fate and life in their turn,
Everything was subject to their judgment.

Pushkin shows Lensky’s idea of ​​friendship, honor, nobility in this way, confirming that the hero highly valued friendly relations with Onegin:

He believed that his friends were ready
It is his honor to accept the shackles,
And that their hand will not tremble
Break the slanderer's vessel.

The author draws attention to the fact that Lensky lives in his own romantic world. “A dear ignoramus at heart,” the hero does not understand the full depth of the essence of things, and therefore falls in love with Olga, noticing only “eyes like the sky blue, a smile, flaxen curls, movements, a voice, a light figure...” According to Belinsky, Vladimir “ adorned her with virtues and perfections, ascribed to her feelings and thoughts that were not in her.” Yes, that's how it is. But he loved:

Oh, he loved like in our summer
They no longer love; as one
The Mad Soul of the Poet
Still condemned to love...

But we see that Olga is by no means ideal. She is the same as her peers, a frivolous girl, an ordinary person.

From the pages of the novel you read, you understand that the essence and purpose of Lensky’s life was faith in love, friendship and freedom. And maybe that’s why the hero perceives Onegin’s bad joke as treason and betrayal of his best friend. “Unable to bear the deception,” Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel, “deciding to hate the coquette.”
And here it is:

Onegin fired... They struck
Time clock: poet
Silently drops the gun."

The death of the hero is symbolic; it involuntarily leads to the idea that a romantic, a dreamer who does not know reality, must die when faced with life. For the poet himself, death is deliverance from life among ordinary people, a way out of the moral emptiness that reigns in secular society.
A. S. Pushkin created an amazing image of a representative of the advanced noble intelligentsia, the image of a lyric poet who romantically perceives life and people, who believes in high friendship, in eternal, ideal love.

Unlike Onegin, Lensky is not spoiled by metropolitan life. His childhood years were spent in a provincial estate wilderness, close to nature, surrounded by patriarchal landowners with their simplicity, hospitality, and sincere goodwill. Even in his adolescence, he experienced the first glimpses of love, devoid of secular theatricality and metropolitan affectation:

A little boy
Captivated by Olga,
Having not yet known heartache,
He was a touched witness
Her infant amusements;
In the shadow of a guardian oak grove
He shared her fun
And crowns were predicted for the children
Friends, neighbors, their fathers.

By objectifying and separating Lensky’s character from himself, Pushkin less often resorts to describing the external circumstances of the hero’s life, as was the case with Onegin. He often portrays peace of mind Lensky, creating a realistic image of his romantic worldview. The author permeates Lensky’s poems from the inside with good humor or light irony: “Will I fall pierced by an arrow”;

And I, perhaps I am the tomb
I'll go down into the mysterious canopy"
Will you come, maiden of beauty,
Shed a tear over an early urn,” etc.

A living image of a romantic poet appears, independent of the author. With the skillful hand of a realist, Pushkin typifies romantic style with his pretentious periphrases, with his predilection for archaic details: a romantic arrow instead of a prosaic bullet, “maiden of beauty,” “early urn,” complicated syntactic inversion. Researcher of Pushkin’s realistic style G. A. Gukovsky says that “Lensky combines the characteristics of both trends of Russian romanticism of Pushkin’s time - the psychological, “ideal” romanticism of Zhukovsky and his school, and civil romanticism of the Decembrist type. This is explained, of course, by the fact that the essence of Lensky’s image is generally “romanticism”, as a single principle of culture.”

To this we can also add that Lensky’s romanticism is romanticism in general, as a universal and eternal sign of youthful worldview. In Lenskoye, Pushkin creates the image of a young, poetically gifted young man who has not yet found himself, but has rich potential. Like the petals of a flower in an unopened bud, they have not yet opened in him, but, if realized, they can turn Lensky’s character in a variety of directions. From this point of view, Pushkin’s entire novel resembles a bud that has not yet blossomed, has not burst, enclosing future self the flower and fruit of Russian life, all the leaves and petals of which, with their inherent vital energy, have not yet unfolded, but are already ready for self-revelation.

It is there, in the tempting, promising, but also mysterious future, that Pushkin’s “distance of free novel” is directed. At the core of this bud is the not yet fulfilled, but already ripening love of Onegin and Tatiana, symbolizing the fundamental forces and elements of Russian life that had diverged far in the post-Petrine period, but are now striving to unite: the intellectual pinnacle of Russian society “boiling in empty action” and remaining faithful to the traditions and to the shrines of thousand-year-old Russia its provincial depth.

To my village at the same time
The new landowner galloped up
And equally strict analysis
The neighborhood provided a reason.
Named Vladimir Lensky,
With a soul straight from Göttingen,
Handsome man, in full bloom,
Kant's admirer and poet.
He's from foggy Germany
He brought the fruits of learning:
Freedom-loving dreams
The spirit is ardent and rather strange,
Always an enthusiastic speech
And shoulder-length black curls.

Pushkin gives this description of his hero. A young landowner of noble origin, Vladimir Lensky could not evoke any feelings other than sympathy, respect, and condescension for his youth. He was one of the most profitable suitors in the entire province, and therefore the landowner families where their daughters grew up willingly accepted and welcomed him. In addition to his wealth, he was handsome. His black wavy hair and light, flexible figure could excite any girl’s heart.

But Olga Larina managed to take possession of the young man’s heart,

...he loved like in our summer
They no longer love; as one
The Mad Soul of the Poet
Still condemned to love:

Lensky was smart, talented, and wrote lyrical poetry. Not a groom, but a dream. He studied and received an education in Germany, in Göttingen, where, in addition to knowledge, he gained freedom-loving idealistic ideas and was a supporter of Kant’s philosophy. He had not yet become disillusioned with the life he looked at through rose-colored glasses.

Lensky was youthfully sentimental. Love for was his first and only love, it was pure and bright, like a forest spring.

A little boy, captivated by Olga,
Having not yet known heartache,
He was a touched witness
Her infant amusements;
In the shadow of a guardian oak grove
He shared her fun
And crowns were predicted for the children
Friends and neighbors, their fathers.

Vladimir speaks about Olga with the delight of an unspoiled youth.

And Olga herself never gave any reason for jealousy or anxiety. Perhaps the prerequisites and conditions for this simply did not arise.

The image of Lensky was necessary in the novel, as an antipode to Onegin. And although they became close and became friends, Lensky and Onegin are completely different people.

They got along. Wave and stone
Poetry and prose, ice and fire.

But it was not the same male friendship for which people are ready to go through fire and water. At least, such a feeling of attachment to Lensky was not born in Onegin’s soul. And what kind of friendship is this if people are ready to become enemies because of a misunderstanding?

Because of his ignorance and inexperience, the young poet perceived the joke, perhaps an evil one, as betrayal and deceit. But when the next morning he met Olga, still as sweet and spontaneous, he realized that he had gone overboard. And not finding the spirit or reason in myself to make peace with Onegin,

He thinks: “I will be her savior,
I will not tolerate the corrupter
Fire and sighs and praises
He tempted the young heart;
So that the despicable, poisonous worm
Sharpened a lily stalk;
To the two-morning flower
Withered still half-open.”
All this meant, friends:
I'm shooting with a friend.

On the eve of the fight, the young man did not sleep all night. Either it was excitement before the first duel in his life, or he was oppressed by the premonition of death. Most likely, the second one. This premonition resulted in his elegiac lines:

And I, perhaps I am the tomb
I'll go down into the mysterious canopy,
And the memory of the young poet
Slow Lethe will be swallowed up,
The world will forget me; but you
Will you come, maiden of beauty,

IN quotation characteristics, used in this article, Lensky is shown from all sides; Pushkin’s lines clearly depict his thoughts, actions, and emotional impulses.

Literary critics reproach the young man for ignorance of life. What could a young man know at 18? Is it his fault that Vladimir Lensky grew up like a hothouse plant in a closed educational institution, where there was book theory, philosophy, art, but no one ever spoke to him about life, about the fact that there are and dark sides: greed, hypocrisy, cunning, meanness.

Pushkin nowhere describes the state of his estate. How was it managed? By whom? How did its peasants live? But this fact could show whether the young man applied his knowledge in practice, or whether he used it only in disputes with Onegin and others like him, if he suddenly happened to meet an educated person.

Pushkin sees two prospects for Lensky’s future: the first - having found meaning in life, he could develop his literary talent and turn into a “life-giving voice”, and the second -

The youthful summers would have passed:
The ardor of his soul would cool.
He would change in many ways
I would part with the muses, get married,
In the village, happy and horny,
I would wear a quilted robe;
I would really know life
I would have gout at the age of forty,
I drank, ate, got bored, got fat, grew sickly,
And finally in my bed
I would die among children,
Whining women and doctors.

And why exactly were you bored? After all, Lensky could apply his knowledge in practice, find the meaning of life in the development of his economy, in the application of progressive technologies and economic programs, and raised his children. Yes, he could be happy because his people, his family, are happy. What's wrong with that?

Why should the meaning of life for progressive youth be to shoot kings? True, Belinsky saw a portrait of Lensky in the would-be writers who besieged the magazines.

“The Lenskys are not extinct even now; they have just been reborn. There was nothing left in them that was so charmingly beautiful in Lensky; they do not contain the virgin purity of his heart, they only contain claims to greatness and a passion for dirtying paper.”