Galaktion Tabidze and Friedrich Schiller

Abstract

One of the main goals in Galaktionology is to understand Galaktion’s poetry in the global context, to analyze his works in consideration of foreign intertexts. Galaktion’s relation with European literature have been a research subject decades ago, but in spite of existing tradition, this issue requires more comprehensive, profound and thorough study at the modern stage.

 Research Center for Galaktion of Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature has started to prepare a new academic edition of GalaktionTabidze’s works since 2014. The precious reviewing of the handwritten sources of poet’s works, decoding of written across texts and observing on the creative process have disclosed noteworthy, previously unknown facts for comparative research. Many cases have been revealed when at first glance ordinary written-across texts made on autograph hint at the origin and genesis of the work.

Our article deals with one such case.

According the background of the inspiration source - Schiller’s “Wilhelm Tall”, it is clear that Galaktion’s poem “Stormy weather” is not just the verse reflecting the enraging of the natural disaster, but it demonstrates the poet’s assessment of the Soviet 30s: consideration of the original source helps us to understand and perceive the other idea of Galaktion’s verse. With reference to Schiller’s work, „Stormy Weather“ can be interpreted as an allegory. Galaktion Tabidze points to the tyranny, the cruelty of people and the divine retribution. We believe that the endings of both pieces of writing are very significant and meaningful; in Schiller’s drama evil gets punished, and Tabidze’s poem ends on the note that suggests eternity of the stormy weather. Thus, Understanding the main message of William Tell as a primary source helps us to analise and appreciate the deeper layers of the Georgian poet’s work.