Characteristics of Mtsyri as a romantic hero. "Mtsyri as a romantic hero" - an essay based on Lermontov's poem. What features of a romantic hero are inherent in Mtsyri and why Mtsyri is a romantic hero

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, a romantic tradition developed in Russia, replacing classicism. If the previous literary movement focused on the development of society and sought to describe the ideal world order, then for romanticism something completely different becomes important. In the works of the romantics, man comes first, his inner world, aspirations and sensations. Romantic writers firmly believe that every person is unique and of primary value, so they focus their attention on the depiction of feelings and experiences. This is how a romantic hero appears, for whose portrayal quite clear literary canons are soon formed.

The first rule of romanticism is literary direction becomes the image of an unusual hero in unusual conditions. As a rule, romantic writers choose an atypical setting for their works: a forest, mountains, desert, or some ancient castle. Placed in a mysterious place unusual hero having all the best human qualities: He is handsome, proud and noble. He is better than the people around him and at the same time arouses their hostility. From here follows the second condition: the opposition of the hero and society, the hero and the surrounding reality. Romantic hero is always in opposition, since he clearly sees the imperfection of the world and, due to his moral purity, does not want to come to terms with it. This is what the romantic conflict is built on. Another prerequisite for the literature of romanticism is detailed description thoughts of the hero. For this, the form of a diary, lyrical monologue or confession is chosen.

A classic example of a romantic hero in the works of Russian writers can be the heroes of the works of M. Lermontov. These are Pechorin and Arbenin, Demon and Mtsyri... Let's consider Mtsyri as a romantic hero.

Mtsyri as a romantic hero

In his works, Lermontov took into account the creative experience of Byron, the former for many years his idol, which is why we can talk about Lermontov’s heroes as Byronic heroes. The Byronic hero is a romantic hero of the highest quality, a rebel hero with a fiery nature. No circumstances can break him. These qualities especially attracted Lermontov, and it is them that he writes out in his heroes with special care. Such is the romantic hero Mtsyri, who can be called the ideal of a romantic hero.

We learn about Mtsyri’s life, or rather about its key moments, first-hand, since Lermontov chose the form of confession for the poem. This is one of the most popular genres of romanticism, since confession allows you to reveal depths human soul, making the story both emotional and sincere. The hero is placed in an unusual place: in a monastery in the Caucasus, and the Caucasus for Russian people then seemed like a very exotic land, a center of freedom and free-thinking. The features of the romantic hero “Mtsyri” can already be seen in how little the reader is told about previous life the hero - just a few meager phrases about his childhood. His life in the monastery is shrouded in mystery, so characteristic of romantic works. Little Mtsyri was captured by a Russian general and brought to the monastery, where he grew up - that’s what the reader knows. But Mtsyri himself is not an ordinary monk, he has a completely different character, he is a rebel by nature. He was never able to forget his homeland and abandon it, he yearns real life and is ready to pay any price for it.

Was it easy for Mtsyri to decide to escape from the quiet existence in his cell? It is obvious that the monks who cured and raised Mtsyri did not wish him harm. But their world cannot become Mtsyri, since it was created for another life. And in her name he is ready to take risks. In accordance with the romantic tradition, life in the monastery and life outside it are contrasted here, with the first symbolizing the lack of freedom and constraint of the human personality, while the second is an ideal life. It is precisely this that Mtsyri, born for freedom, strives for. His escape is a rebellion against tradition; it is significant that it takes place on a stormy, stormy night, when monks are supposed to pray, fearing the “wrath of God.” For Mtsyri, the thunderstorm evokes delight, a desire to become related to the rebellious elements: “I’m like a brother...”. The hero's sincerity overcomes his ostentatious monastic humility - Mtsyri finds himself free.

Tragedy of Mtsyri

The romantic hero is almost always doomed to defeat in the fight against the world, since this fight is unequal. His dreams, as a rule, do not come true, and his life ends early. In this, the romantic hero of Lermontov’s poem “Mtsyri” turns out to be an exception: he still managed to fulfill part of his dream and breathe in the air of freedom. Another thing is that, as the epigraph to the poem tells us, he “tasted little honey,” and freedom was given to him for only three days - but the more vividly they will experience this time. Mtsyri is happy with his merging with nature. Here memories of his family, his native village and happy childhood. Here his blood awakens, the blood of the warlike highlanders, and he turns out to be capable of feats. During the battle with the leopard, Mtsyri appears before the reader as a brave warrior, fully aware of his strength and able to use it. He is beautiful, just like the wild nature around him: he is part of it and its child.

But Lermontov could not rightfully be called a great romantic poet if he had turned his poem into a happy fairy tale. Mtsyri is defeated by circumstances, he is wounded and again brought to his cell. Freedom only beckoned him, but his main dream: to return to his homeland, to the distant, free Caucasus, did not come true. And, if you think about it, it was not feasible at all, because no one was waiting for him there. Mtsyri's relatives were long dead, the house was destroyed, and in his own home he would have turned out to be exactly the same stranger as in the monastery. This is where true romantic tragedy manifests itself: the hero is completely excluded from this world and is equally alien to everyone in it. Happiness may await him only beyond the limits of life, but Mtsyri does not want to give up. He would willingly exchange “Paradise and Eternity” for a few minutes at home. He dies unbroken and his last gaze is turned to the Caucasus.

The image of Mtsyri is the image of a romantic hero, with deep tragic story, which rightfully enjoys the love of many generations of readers. “...You see what a fiery soul, what a mighty spirit, what a gigantic nature this Mtsyri has!” - this is how the critic Belinsky spoke about him, and the critic’s words really fully characterize the hero. Years go by and change literary movements, the romantic tradition is a thing of the past, but the image of Mtsyri still inspires deeds and awakens love for the most valuable: life and homeland.

The given image of the romantic hero of the poem and a description of his features will be useful to 8th grade students when searching for materials for an essay on the topic “Mtsyri as a romantic hero of Lermontov’s poem”

Work test

Lermontov was always fascinated and attracted by the Caucasus. The majesty of the mountains, the crystal purity and dangerous power of the rivers, the bright unusual greenery and, of course, the freedom-loving and proud people fed the imagination of the romantic poet. And the Caucasus was also chosen as the setting for the poem “Mtsyri”.

This is a work about courage and freedom. The poet almost completely excluded the love motive - it is present only in the episode of Mtsyri’s brief meeting with a Georgian woman at a mountain stream. The hero, defeating the involuntary impulse of the young heart, refuses excellent happiness in the name of his homeland and freedom. Lermontov does not share these concepts: love for the motherland and thirst for will merge into one, but “fiery passion.”

The monastery becomes a prison for Mtsyri, the cells seem stuffy to him, the walls seem gloomy and dull, the guards-monks are cowardly and pitiful, he himself is a slave and a prisoner. His desire to find out whether “we were born into this world for freedom or prison” is due to a passionate impulse for freedom. The short days of escape are his whole life. Only outside the monastery he lived, and did not vegetate. Only these days he calls bliss.

Mtsyri’s freedom-loving patriotism is least like a dreamy love for family beautiful scenery and dear graves, although the hero yearns for them too. It is precisely because he truly loves his homeland that he wants to fight for the freedom of his homeland. And the poet with undoubted sympathy sings of the warlike dreams of the young man.

Mtsyri remembers his father and acquaintances first of all as warriors; It is no coincidence that he dreams of battles in which he wins; it is not for nothing that his dreams draw him into the “wonderful world of anxiety and battles.” He is convinced that he could be “in the land of his fathers, not one of the last daredevils.” Although fate did not allow Mtsyri to experience the rapture of battle, with all his feelings he is a warrior. He was distinguished by his stern restraint even from his childhood. The young man, proud of this, says: “Do you remember, in my childhood I never knew tears.” He gives vent to tears only while running, because no one sees them. Tragic loneliness in the monastery strengthened Mtsyri’s will. He fled from the monastery into a stormy night: what frightened the fearful monks was close to him - Mtsyri feels a kinship with the elements.

The hero’s courage and fortitude are most clearly demonstrated in the battle with the leopard. Mtsyri is not afraid of death, because he knows: returning to the monastery means continuing his previous suffering. The tragic ending indicates that the approach of death does not weaken the spirit of the hero and the power of his love of freedom. The old monk's admonitions do not make him repent. Even now he would “trade paradise and eternity” for a few minutes of life among his loved ones. It was not his fault if he failed to join the ranks of the fighters for what he considered his sacred duty: the circumstances turned out to be insurmountable, and he “argued with fate” in vain. Defeated, Mtsyri was not spiritually broken, his courage, integrity, heroism are traits that Lermontov did not find among his fearful and inactive contemporaries.

The true hero of the poem is the Caucasus. The landscape in the work serves as a means of revealing the image of Mtsyri. Despising his surroundings, the hero feels a kinship only with nature. Imprisoned in a monastery, he compares himself to a pale greenhouse leaf that has grown between damp slabs. Having broken free, he wakes up along with the flowers. A child of nature, he falls to the ground and learns how fairy tale hero, the secret of bird songs. He understands the dispute between the stream and the stones, the thought of separated rocks yearning to meet. Mtsyri sees what others do not notice: the shine of snake scales and the shimmer of silver on the fur of a leopard, the jagged teeth of distant mountains and the pale stripe “between the dark sky and earth”; it seems to him that his “diligent gaze” could follow through the transparent blue of the sky behind the flight of angels.

Mtsyri, full of fiery passions, gloomy and lonely, reveals his soul in a confessional story. The lines about Mtsyri’s unhappy childhood and adolescence help to better understand his experiences and thoughts. The author sought to reveal as fully as possible - to “tell the soul” of his amazing hero.

So, in Lermontov’s poem all the features of romanticism are present: the place of action is the Caucasus, exotic and magnificent; the poet's attention is focused on the psychology of the protagonist; The plot of the work consists of bright, far from ordinary events. But the main thing is that in the center of the poem is the image of Mtsyri, an extraordinary, strong, brave, freedom-loving person - the author endowed him with all the qualities of a romantic hero, wonderful, but impossible.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, a romantic tradition developed in Russia, replacing classicism. If the previous literary movement focused on the development of society and sought to describe the ideal world order, then for romanticism something completely different becomes important. In the works of the romantics, man, his inner world, aspirations and feelings come first. Romantic writers firmly believe that every person is unique and of primary value, so they focus their attention on the depiction of feelings and experiences. This is how a romantic hero appears, for whose portrayal quite clear literary canons are soon formed.

The first rule of romanticism as a literary movement is the depiction of an unusual hero in unusual conditions. As a rule, romantic writers choose an atypical setting for their works: a forest, mountains, desert, or some ancient castle. An unusual hero is placed in a mysterious place, possessing all the best human qualities: he is handsome, proud and noble. He is better than the people around him and at the same time arouses their hostility. From here follows the second condition: the opposition of the hero and society, the hero and the surrounding reality. The romantic hero is always in opposition, since he clearly sees the imperfection of the world and, due to his moral purity, does not want to come to terms with it. This is what the romantic conflict is built on. Another prerequisite for the literature of romanticism is a detailed description of the hero’s thoughts. For this, the form of a diary, lyrical monologue or confession is chosen.

A classic example of a romantic hero in the works of Russian writers can be the heroes of the works of M. Lermontov. These are Pechorin and Arbenin, Demon and Mtsyri... Let's consider Mtsyri as a romantic hero.

Mtsyri as a romantic hero

In his works, Lermontov took into account the creative experience of Byron, who was his idol for many years, which is why we can talk about Lermontov’s heroes as Byronic heroes. The Byronic hero is a romantic hero of the highest quality, a rebel hero with a fiery nature. No circumstances can break him. These qualities especially attracted Lermontov, and it is them that he writes out in his heroes with special care. Such is the romantic hero Mtsyri, who can be called the ideal of a romantic hero.

We learn about Mtsyri’s life, or rather about its key moments, first-hand, since Lermontov chose the form of confession for the poem. This is one of the most popular genres of romanticism, since confession allows you to open the depths of the human soul, making the story both emotional and sincere. The hero is placed in an unusual place: in a monastery in the Caucasus, and the Caucasus for Russian people then seemed like a very exotic land, a center of freedom and free-thinking. The features of the romantic hero of “Mtsyri” can already be seen in how little the reader is told about the hero’s previous life - just a few meager phrases about his childhood. His life in the monastery is shrouded in mystery, so characteristic of romantic works. Little Mtsyri was captured by a Russian general and brought to the monastery, where he grew up - that’s what the reader knows. But Mtsyri himself is not an ordinary monk, he has a completely different character, he is a rebel by nature. He was never able to forget his homeland and abandon it; he longs for real life and is ready to pay any price for it.

Was it easy for Mtsyri to decide to escape from the quiet existence in his cell? It is obvious that the monks who cured and raised Mtsyri did not wish him harm. But their world cannot become Mtsyri, since it was created for another life. And in her name he is ready to take risks. In accordance with the romantic tradition, life in the monastery and life outside it are contrasted here, with the first symbolizing the lack of freedom and constraint of the human personality, while the second is an ideal life. It is precisely this that Mtsyri, born for freedom, strives for. His escape is a rebellion against tradition; it is significant that it takes place on a stormy, stormy night, when monks are supposed to pray, fearing the “wrath of God.” For Mtsyri, the thunderstorm evokes delight, a desire to become related to the rebellious elements: “I’m like a brother...”. The hero's sincerity overcomes his ostentatious monastic humility - Mtsyri finds himself free.

Tragedy of Mtsyri

The romantic hero is almost always doomed to defeat in the fight against the world, since this fight is unequal. His dreams, as a rule, do not come true, and his life ends early. In this, the romantic hero of Lermontov’s poem “Mtsyri” turns out to be an exception: he still managed to fulfill part of his dream and breathe in the air of freedom. Another thing is that, as the epigraph to the poem tells us, he “tasted little honey,” and freedom was given to him for only three days - but the more vividly they will experience this time. Mtsyri is happy with his merging with nature. Here, memories of his family, his native village and a happy childhood return to him. Here his blood awakens, the blood of the warlike highlanders, and he turns out to be capable of feats. During the battle with the leopard, Mtsyri appears before the reader as a brave warrior, fully aware of his strength and able to use it. He is beautiful, just like the wild nature around him: he is part of it and its child.

But Lermontov could not rightfully be called a great romantic poet if he had turned his poem into a happy fairy tale. Mtsyri is defeated by circumstances, he is wounded and again brought to his cell. Freedom only beckoned him, but his main dream: to return to his homeland, to the distant, free Caucasus, did not come true. And, if you think about it, it was not feasible at all, because no one was waiting for him there. Mtsyri's relatives were long dead, the house was destroyed, and in his own home he would have turned out to be exactly the same stranger as in the monastery. This is where true romantic tragedy manifests itself: the hero is completely excluded from this world and is equally alien to everyone in it. Happiness may await him only beyond the limits of life, but Mtsyri does not want to give up. He would willingly exchange “Paradise and Eternity” for a few minutes at home. He dies unbroken and his last gaze is turned to the Caucasus.

The image of Mtsyri is the image of a romantic hero with a deeply tragic story, who rightfully enjoys the love of many generations of readers. “...You see what a fiery soul, what a mighty spirit, what a gigantic nature this Mtsyri has!” - this is how the critic Belinsky spoke about him, and the critic’s words really fully characterize the hero. Years go by, literary trends change, the romantic tradition is a thing of the past, but the image of Mtsyri still inspires heroic deeds and awakens love for what is most valuable: life and homeland.

The given image of the romantic hero of the poem and a description of his features will be useful to 8th grade students when searching for materials for an essay on the topic “Mtsyri as a romantic hero of Lermontov’s poem”

Work test

In almost every one of his works, the famous Russian writer Lermontov tried to take into account Byron’s experience and not just experience, but a creative approach to work. Of course, many may ask the question, who is he? But not those who are familiar with the poet’s work. After all, people who are well acquainted with the work of Mikhail Yuryevich know that this man was his idol for many years. That is why almost every hero can be spoken of as a Byronic hero. Let's be clear and say that the Byronic hero is actually romantic image, having the most highest qualities, a rebel hero with a natural nature and a difficult fate.

This is a person who tries to live an honest life, without succumbing to any circumstances of fate.

Experts and critics in the field of literature are sure that it was precisely these qualities that attracted Lermontov so much because he himself, by nature, was such a character.

The romantic hero “Mtsyri” was no exception, whom Lermontov tried with all his authorial strength to make the ideal of a romantic hero.

About the life of the main character of this work we learn as if from first-hand, since the writer chose confession as the form of narration of this work.

It is worth noting that confession is the most popular genre of the romantic style. It will also be important to take into account the fact that confession is usually filled tragic fate. Our hero is no exception; it is his tragic and to some extent unfair fate that attracts the author, and the author is also seriously attracted by the hero’s frankness. He honestly and truthfully tells his whole life, as if cleansing his soul from the suffering and torment that tormented him for so many years.

Oddly enough, it is romanticism that attracts a large number of readers, because it is so lacking in everyday life.

In the 18th – 19th centuries in Russia in full swing Romanticism develops, which replaced the classical traditions. If before that literary works were aimed at developing the social side, and wanted to show a certain ideal of the structure, then for the romantic side the main thing becomes completely different. In the work of such writers, the main focus is on the person himself, his thoughts, goals, how he lives, and what he thinks about.

Romantics are confident in their beliefs that every person is unique and special, and he himself represents first and foremost main value, because writers are trying to pay attention to the feelings and experiences of their characters. Thus, a character full of romanticism is created, and very quickly precise literary rules are created, which our famous writer did not exclude.

Mtsyri’s life, or rather about its main moments, can be learned from him himself, since Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov chose the form of confession for his poem. After all, such a genre very well helps to reveal the entire essence of a person’s soul, and the work itself comes out colorful and bright. Mtsyri lives in an unusual place, in a monastery in the Caucasus. This place at that time it was considered quite unusual, where there is freedom and free-thinking.

The very character of the hero is visible even in how little is highlighted about what the young man’s life was like before he entered the monastery, everything is very brief and concise. Staying in a monastery is a mystery, very typical for such poems. When he was still a child, he was captured. A Russian general captured him and placed him in a monastery, where young Mtsyri lived for many years. But the young man is not a simple monk, he has a completely different character, he rebels from such a life. He can't forget his native land, to renounce the place where he was born and where he definitely wants to return at any cost.

How long did our hero think about his escape? After all, it goes without saying that the monks did not think of harming him, of causing any harm. But the way they live young man this is all alien, since he wants a completely different world for himself and for the sake of it he can undertake any risky business. He runs - this is a rebellion against the rules. As the work shows, this happened during a stormy stormy night, when the clergy prayed that God would stop being angry with them. For a young man, thunderstorms are a joy; he wants to join the flow of stormy elements and become free!

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In Lermontov's poem "Mtsyri" a young man who escaped from a monastery is shown as a romantic hero. The author develops in his work the ideas of protest and courage. Mikhail Yuryevich almost completely excluded from his creation the love motif, which played a large role in his poem “Confession”. This motif in “Mtsyri” was reflected only in the fleeting meeting of the protagonist with a Georgian woman, which took place near a mountain stream.

Defeating the impulse of his young heart, Mtsyri renounces personal happiness for the sake of the ideal of freedom. In the poem, the patriotic idea is inextricably linked with the theme of freedom. This is also observed in the works of the Decembrist poets. Mikhail Yuryevich does not share these concepts. In his work, thirst for will and love for the Fatherland merge into “fiery passion”. Mtsyri is very attractive as a romantic hero. The plan for analyzing this character must include his relationship to the monastery. This is what we will talk about now.

Mtsyri's relationship to the monastery

The monastery for our hero is a prison. The cells seem stuffy to him, and the walls seem dull and gloomy. The monk guards appear to the main character as pitiful and cowardly, and he himself - as a prisoner and slave. The impulse for freedom is determined by his desire to find out why we were born into the world, “for freedom or prison.” For the young man, his will turns out to be the few days he spent in the world after escaping from the monastery. He lived outside the blank walls life to the fullest, and did not vegetate. The hero calls the time. It is during the days spent in freedom that the image of Mtsyri is fully revealed. As a romantic hero, he manifests himself behind the walls of the monastery.

Patriotism of the protagonist

The freedom-loving patriotism of the main character is least similar to the love of expensive graves and beautiful native landscapes, although Mtsyri yearns for them. He truly loves his Fatherland and wants to fight for its freedom. With undoubted sympathy, Mikhail Yuryevich sings of these youthful dreams. The work does not fully reveal the aspirations of the main character, but in hints they are quite palpable. The young man remembers his acquaintances and his father mainly as warriors. It is no coincidence that this hero dreams of battles in which he is victorious. It is not for nothing that his dreams draw him into the world of battles and anxieties.

Character of the main character

Mtsyri as a romantic hero is shown to be brave and courageous. He himself is convinced that “in the land of his fathers” he could be one of the “dares”. And although this hero was not destined to experience the rapture of battle, he is a real warrior by nature. More from youth Mtsyri was distinguished by stern restraint. Proud of this, the hero says that he has never known tears. Only during his escape does the young man give free rein to his tears, since no one can see them. The will of the protagonist was strengthened by loneliness within the monastery walls. It is no coincidence that it was on a stormy night that Mtsyri decided to escape: the fearful monks were frightened by the rampant elements, but not this young man. Before the thunderstorm, all he had was a feeling of brotherhood.

The resilience and courage of a young man

Mtsyri's fortitude and masculinity are manifested with greatest force in the episode of the battle with the leopard. The grave did not frighten him, since he understood that returning to the monastery would be a continuation of suffering. The tragic ending created by the author shows that the hero’s spirit does not weaken due to the approach of death. His freedom-loving patriotism does not disappear in front of her. Mtsyri is not forced to repent by the monk’s exhortations. He says that he would trade eternity and paradise again for a few minutes spent among loved ones. It is not Mtsyri’s fault that the circumstances could not be overcome, and he could not join the ranks of the fighters. The hero tried in vain to argue with his fate. He was defeated, but not broken internally. Mtsyri is positive hero Russian literature. His integrity, masculinity, and courage were a reproach to the inactive and fearful representatives noble society, contemporary to Lermontov.

The role of landscape in revealing character

The Caucasian landscape serves to reveal the image of the young man from the poem "Mtsyri". Like a romantic hero, despising his surroundings, he feels kinship only with nature. Having grown up within the walls of a monastery, he compares himself to a greenhouse leaf. Having broken free, he raises his head along with the flowers at sunrise. Being a child of nature, Mtsyri falls to the ground and, like the hero of fairy tales, learns the secret of the prophetic chirping of birds, the riddles of their songs. He understands the thoughts of those separated rocks eager to meet, arguing with the stones of the stream. The young man’s gaze is sharpened: he notices how the leopard’s fur shimmers with silver, how the snake’s scales glisten, he sees a pale stripe between earth and sky and the jagged teeth of distant mountains. Mtsyri, as the romantic hero of the poem, thinks that through the blue sky he could see the flight of angels.

Traditions of romanticism and new features of Lermontov’s poem

Of course, Mikhail Yuryevich’s poem continues the traditions of romanticism. This is evidenced, in particular, by the central image of the work. Full of fiery passions, Mtsyri, as a romantic hero, lonely and gloomy, reveals his soul in a confessional story. In this, Mikhail Yuryevich followed tradition. All this is typical of romanticism. Nevertheless, Lermontov, who wrote his poem during the years when he was working on realistic work“Hero of Our Time” introduced features into “Mtsyri” that were not characteristic of his earlier poems. Indeed, the past of the heroes of “Boyar Orsha” and “Confession” remains unknown to us. We don't know which ones social conditions influenced the development of their characters. And in the work “Mtsyri” we find lines that the protagonist’s childhood and adolescence were unhappy. This helps us gain a deeper understanding of his thoughts and experiences. It should also be noted that the form of confession, so characteristic of poems in the style of romanticism, is associated with the desire to “tell the soul,” that is, to reveal it as deeply as possible. Such detailing of experiences and the psychologism of the work are natural for Lermontov, since he simultaneously created a socio-psychological novel.

The combination in the confession of numerous metaphors of a romantic nature (images of flame, fire), with the poetically sparse and precise speech of the introduction, characteristic of realism, is very expressive. The poem begins with the lines: “Once upon a time, a Russian general...” The work, romantic in its form, indicated that realistic tendencies were becoming more and more distinct in Lermontov’s work.

Lermontov's innovation

So, we have revealed the topic “Mtsyri as a romantic hero”. Lermontov entered domestic literature as a successor of the Decembrist poets and the traditions of Pushkin. However, he also introduced something new into the development of Russian artistic expression.

Belinsky said that we can talk about the so-called Lermontov element. The critic explained that it means, first of all, “original living thought.” Of course, it is also felt in the creation of such an image as Mtsyri. This young man was briefly described by us as a romantic hero. You saw that the work also has some realistic features.