Reception of the Works by the Provencal Troubadours in E. Pound’s Poem The Cantos

Abstract

The article examines one of the parts of E. Pound's poem "The Cantos", which most fully reflected the American author's almost professional interest in the epoch and the works of the troubadours of Provence. The text of Canto VI traces various aspects of the reception of the culture of the Provençal poets: references to their works, including in the original language and in the form of stylizations; information from the legendary biographies of the most famous troubadours; images of historical figures of the epoch. The special role of the image of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the connecting mention of Provencal culture in Pound's text, is emphasized. Individual images and poetic texts of the troubadours are considered in the context of their correlation with Dante's "Divine Comedy". Attention is also paid to the images of ancient mythology and literature, compared in the text of Canto VI with the plots of the Provencal courtly love. The conclusion is made about the ambivalence of the understanding of love revealed by Pound through the reception of the troubadours' works.