PT Anakin's AOTC dialogue pulled from Pushkin?

So I read this article today: http://www.wookieehut.com/essay/confession.html

It goes into some detail about the idea that the fireside scene was taken mostly from a poem by Alexander Pushkin, which would explain a bit why it seemed a little "out there" in terms of dialogue. Because it wasn't really dialogue as much as it would be poetry.

It's obviously not a direct lift, but there do seem to be similarities. Has this been discussed before? What do you think?

Here's the translation in the poem in the article:

 

First!!!!

Interesting Sepra. You may be onto something

 

I love George Lucas, that's all.

 

I always figured he had poetic sort of dialogue, but didn't actually think it'd be from something. That's neato
Maybe Anakin was into poetry or something the years before Episode 2 and always wanted to tell Padme how he felt in a poetic way

 

Who?

 

This is interesting. It makes me wish I could read Russian so I could check out the original.

 

That's cool.

 

Yeah, I feel like the translation is a bit hackneyed, but that's often the case with Russian Lit.

 

Lucas made no secret that he modeled Anakin and Padme's courting after amour courtois which explains the ritualistic aspects of their relationship as well as the rather flowery language. Anakin's dialoge in the fireplace scene could just as well be lifted from Gottfried von Strassburg, Chrestien de Troyes, Thomas Malory, Chaucer and later Dante, Pushkin and so on.
This type of setting and language is fairly common in this genre so it would be difficult to pinpoint it down to one work alone.

 

I speak Russian and I can say that the translation is well made. But I cannot be sure that it was exactly Pushkin, because the love as pain and suffering can be seen even in the Jane Eyre novel , i.e. in the Victorian era. As museinwoodenshoes said, Lucas had always said that he modeled the love between Anakin and Padme as some kind of old fashioned chivalry love story. There is even an essay on the internet for the similarities between Anakin story and the Arhturiana legends.

 

I don't see any direct resemblance between the two. The AOTC love dialogue is like in any old timey romance novel.

 

Let me clarify. I think Russian literature tends to be beautiful in a way that English isn't, and so in the need to translate the two, something gets lost. Like, Master and Margarita is one of my favorite books, but I always feel like there's something I'm missing in the humor.

I also think he's probably pulling from other sources. Pushkin isn't really medieval.

 

I see. Well, different cultures, that's all. The only thing that bothers me in the translation is the word "symptoms" in Russian this is a medicine terminology, un-poetic, I would say: I recognize the signs: love fever tortures my soul, or something like that.

I think Lucas tried to do it medieval but it has more Victorian sense to me.

P.S. Speaking of Russian literature, they have amazing science fiction authors. What a pity that they are almost unknown in the West.

 

Tonyg, I agree on both counts. I think the language often reminds me of the romance novels I read in the Regency period where everyone is really uptight but love is immediate and forever.

I also agree about the sci fi. The Night Watch series was really good!

 

Also in the Victorian era the love was not romantic ( I mean with all the flowers, serenades, chocolates or whatever we understand as romantic nowadays). The love is frank and deep, no flirt, no games. Often the love is uncomfortable and full of pain. As is that of Anakin (well, also of Padme but she is more skilled in 'covering' her feelings). And I think, because of that, many people dislike their love story.

***
I like more the Strugatzki novels, they are astonishing, with absolutely realistic human characters. I have no idea if they are translated to English, but if yes, I strongly recommend them. I hope the translation is good because his style is interesting, full of humor, but very philosophical.

 

A few words from Lucas himself that seem relevant to this thread:

" ...I wanted to tell the love story in a style that was extremely old-fashioned., and, frankly, I didn't know if I was going to be able to pull it off. In many ways, this was much more like a movie from the 1930s than any of the others had been., with a slightly over-the-top poetic style - and they just don't do that in movies anymore. I was very happy with the way it turned out in the script and in the performances, but I knew a lot of people might not buy it. A lot of guys were going to see this movie, and most guys think that kind of flowery, poetic talk is stupid - 'Come on, give me a break.' More sophisticated, cynical types also don't buy that stuff. So I didn't know if people would laugh at it or throw things at the screen, or if they would accept it."

 

And that's one of the best things about GL. He acknowledges people may not receive it well. But he does it anyway because it's his vision

Inspiration, I feel

 

There are certain lines that scream Anakin's dialogue to me. I think it's completely plausible, if not expected. One of the myriad other art forms Lucas (and other filmmakers) draws from. Super interesting! Thanks for sharing this.


Sent from my brain using thumbs.

 

Yep, that's one of the things I respect most about George Lucas. He refuses to compromise his artistic vision.

Self-expression should always take precedence over popularity.