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Author's Notes: I completed this Double Dactyl write on April 21, 2017. The subject of this particular write concerns the tragic ending of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov's classic romantic poem "The Demon." This famous poem was written in several succeeding versions during the years 1829 - 1839, with the final version not published until 1842, the year after Lermontov's untimely death at the very young age of 26. Using the specialized Double Dactyl format with its defined poetic strictures, I focused on the end-story result of this wondrously dark and evil Russian masterpiece narrative poem, when "The Demon," who is in love with the radiant Georgian Princess Tamara, eventually kisses her when she falls for his embrace, and then dies after his fatal kiss. With Princess Tamara's unfortunate and untimely death, she goes to Heaven, but "The Demon," who is immortal, is forced to wander the Earth in a state of perpetual isolation and utter hopelessness. Without Princess Tamara, The Demon is abandoned and left alone in the universe. This format seemed like the perfect vehicle for briefly highlighting one of Lermontov's famous poems in the European romantic poetry genre. Particularly seeing this poem in its original Russian version with its English translation, makes the whole literary experience even more interesting -- especially if one has previously studied the Russian language before. I hope this information helps explain the back-story for my defined use of the Double Dactyl format in this instance. (Using this normal "light-verse" format actually allowed me to capture the end-essence of "The Demon" and the Demon's ultimate fate at the hands of an impersonal universe.) Lermontov died young, before he could realize his full literary potential. He has been unfortunately overshadowed by other Russian greats such as Turgenev, Pushkin, and Pasternak -- to name a few. (Gary Bateman - April 21, 2017) (Double Dactyl)
Categories: allegory, dark, death, destiny, evil, heartbroken, and symbolism.