Critique and Analysis of Alexander Pushkin's Tale The Dead Princess and the Seven Knights from the Perspective of Genette's Intertextuality
Document Type : پژوهشی اصیل
Authors
1
Assistant professor, Department of Russian language, Allameh Tabatabai’ University, Tehran, Iran.
2
Associate Professor, Department of Russian language, Allameh Tabatabai’ University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Alexander Pushkin, the renowned writer of the 19th century and the golden age of Russian literature, has presented original and unparalleled works to world literature with his unique literary style and language. In the present study, after elucidating the theory of intertextuality by Gerard Genette and considering the requirements of this theory and employing the method of content and thematic analysis along with comparative reading of narrative elements, the famous tale “The Dead Princess and the Seven Knights” by Alexander Pushkin, the illustrious poet of the 19th century Russia, has been scrutinized and critiqued. The analysis indicates that Pushkin's tale has intertextual relationships with numerous texts including three tales: “Sleeping Princess” by Vasily Zhukovsky, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by the Brothers Grimm, and “Sleeping Beauty” by Charles Perrault. In other words, it serves as an echo of its predecessors. The comparative critique and analysis of these tales, besides confirming structural and narrative similarities among them, suggests that they all share a common underlying theme despite their Russian adaptations: a beautiful girl cursed by envy or revenge falls into a deep sleep but is ultimately rescued and the tale ends happily. The intertextual relationships between the tales leave no doubt about their intertextuality for Pushkin's tale, although Pushkin, by adhering to Russian narrative traditions, has deviated from mere imitation and infused the Russian spirit into this tale.
Keywords
Subjects
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Namvar Matlaq, B. (2011). An Introduction to Intertextuality: Theories and Applications, Tehran: Sokhan. (In Persian).
Afanasiev, A.N. (1985). Russian Folk Tales. In 3 Volumes. Vol. 1, Magic Mirror: Tale No. 211. Moscow: Nauka. (In Russian).
Basile, Giambattista (2016). Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones. Translated from Neapolitan by Petr Epifanov. St. Petersburg: Ivan Limbakh Publishing. (In Russian).
Barth, R. (1989). From Work to Text. In Selected Works: Semiotics. Poetics. Moscow: Progress. (In Russian).
Berezkina, S.V. (2004). Sleeping Princess. Comments. In Zhukovsky V.A. Complete Works and Letters: In 20 Volumes. Vol. 4. Moscow: Languages of Slavic Cultures. (In Russian).
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Veresaev, V.V. (1993). Pushkin's Companions. Vol. 1. Moscow: Children's Literature. (In Russian).
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm (2002). Complete Collection of Fairy Tales. Vol. 1. Moscow: OLMA-PRESS. (In Russian).
Grossman, L.P. (1960). Pushkin. Series of Biographies: Life of Remarkable Figures. Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya. (In Russian).
Gukovsky, G.A. (1957). Pushkin and Realistic Style Issues. Moscow: State Publishing House. (In Russian).
Elyonskaya, E.N. (1913). Zhukovsky – A Translator of Fairy Tales. In Russian Philological Bulletin. No. 3. pp. 161-170. (In Russian).
Ilyin, I.P. (1996). Poststructuralism. Deconstructionism. Postmodernism. Moscow. History of Russian Poetry. Volume 1. (1968). Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House). Leningrad: Nauka. (In Russian).
Kanevskaya, J.A. and Katasonova, E.N. (1980). Magic Mirror. Tales of Eastern Africa. Moscow: Children's Literature. (In Russian).
Nepomnyashchy, V.S. (1987). Poetry and Destiny. About the Pages of Pushkin's Spiritual Biography. Moscow: Sovetskiy Pisatel. (In Russian).
Nikolyukin, A.N. (2001). Literary Encyclopedia of Terms and Concepts. Moscow: NPK Intelvak. (In Russian).
Novikov, V.I. (2014). Pushkin. Series of Biographies: Life of Remarkable Figures. Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya. (In Russian).
Propp, V.Ya. (1984). Russian Fairy Tale. Moscow: Labyrinth. (In Russian).
Pushkin, A.S. (1937-1959). Collected Works: In 17 Volumes. Vol. 3. Moscow; Leningrad: Academy of Sciences of the USSR. (In Russian).
Pushkin, A.S. (2005). Collected Works in 6 Volumes, Vol. 5: Eugene Onegin. Dramatic Works. Moscow: Vagrius. (In Russian).
Semenko, I. (1975). Life and Poetry of Zhukovsky. Moscow: Khudozh. Lit. (In Russian).
Fairy Tale Encyclopedia (2005). Edited by Natalia Budur. Moscow: "OLMA-PRESS". (In Russian).
Fylin, M.D. (2008). Arina Rodionovna. Series of Biographies: Life of Remarkable Figures. Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya. (In Russian).
Tsyalovskiy, M.A. (1991). Chronicle of the Life and Works of A.S. Pushkin 1799-1826, Leningrad: Nauka. (In Russian).
Chernyshev, V.I. (1950). Tales and Legends of Pushkin Places. Moscow; Leningrad: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences. (In Russian).
Efendieva, N.R-K. (2016). Fairy Tales by V.A. Zhukovsky in the Russian and Western European Literary Context. Master's thesis, National Research Tomsk State University (NR TSU), Tomsk. (In Russian).
