SOURCE: "Lermontov's Hussar Poems," in Russian Literature Triquarterly, Vol. 14, Winter, 1976, pp. 36-47.

In the following essay, Hopkins challenges a prevalent criticism of Lermontov's "Junker" or "Hussar" poems that dismisses them as juvenile "pornography," citing evidence that they may have influenced both the poet's literary reputation and subsequent writings.

Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841) entered the School of the Ensigns of the Guards and the Cavalry Cadets in 1832 and in 1834 received a commission in the Hussars of the Guards. During the two years in the school he wrote a number of poems containing a genital semantic function, his so-called "Junker" or "Hussar" poems. [In a footnote the critic adds: "The Hussar poems are described as being 'pornographic' The problem of definition of the term is complex and cannot be dealt with at length here. However, one attribute of the category 'pornography' seems to be sexual content. In a brilliant discussion of...