! – Censorship was even used prior to Stalin.
? – In comparison to other times and regions, do Russian poets have more freedom or power towards the public?
Notes during our Zoom session
- Thomas more poetic words and stronger motifs, stronger imagery
- The tense of the poems are different which cause different emotions
- Rhyming in Anderson – trying to translate Russian rhyming
- Thomas’ poem lacks a line that shows an outside knowledge.
- Anderson is more reminiscent, much more active. Thomas was more passive.
- Ikon? With a c? Who is this icon Stalin?
- Holy candle in comparison to just a candlelight
- Anderson tries to stretch into a rhyme, Anderson much more artistic. Thomas seems more direct
My overall preference in reading translations was Anderson’s because I felt as it was translated to portray the same feel as the original poems. I would say that some people struggled to have a preference, yet agreed on many points.
For Thomas people agreed that he translated the poems word for word, and that Anderson translated to express equal meaning. We also analyzed some key things that Anderson did to try to portray the same emotions such as have a common attempt of rhyming. Also with how Anderson worded his translation seemed more active and in the moment, rather than Thomas’ passive voicing. We also talked about flow and how well we could read it and all agreed that Anderson’s had a easier read, yet Thomas’ comparisons and examples give more detail.