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Features of the Reception of G. Chaucer in P.P. Pasolini’s “The Canterbury Tales” (“The Reeve’s Tale”)

https://doi.org/10.69975/2074-0832-2025-66-4-67-79

Abstract

This article examines P.P. Pasolini’s approach to Chaucer’s text, describes the logic behind its transformation, and characterises the song repertoire in “The Reeve’s Tale”. While contrasting the crisis of contemporary bourgeois culture to the integ-rity of the Renaissance worldview, the director significantly alters Chaucer’s text. By emphasising the fragmentation of reality, he avoids making any moral judg-ments. The musical intermediary code in “The Reeve’s Tale” proves to be one of the most important tools for revealing this antinomy in the world. The song lyrics are usually opposed to the plot. The multilingualismof the songs hinders the audi-ence’s understanding of the text in its relation to the plot. Aware of it, Pasolini strives to achieve emotional engagement with the plot through the expressiveness of the music and the effect of breaking the ‘fourth wall’.

About the Author

A. A. Zhitenev
Voronezh State University
Russian Federation

Alexander A. Zhitenev

Dr. Sci. (Philology), associate professor, professor of the Department of Publishing, Voronezh State University. 

1, University square, Voronezh, 394018

AuthorID: 322109



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Review

For citations:


Zhitenev A.A. Features of the Reception of G. Chaucer in P.P. Pasolini’s “The Canterbury Tales” (“The Reeve’s Tale”). Vestnik VGIK. 2025;17(4(66)):67-79. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.69975/2074-0832-2025-66-4-67-79

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ISSN 2074-0832 (Print)
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