ETERNAL PROGRESS OR INEVITABLE END? THE CONCEPTS OF TIME AND HISTORY IN THE CREATIVE WORK OF PIER PAOLO PASOLINI

Abstract

Two concepts of time and history are found in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s creative work. The linear or objective concept of time can be traced back to Aristotle, as well as to Christian and New European philosophy. The cyclical or subjective concept of time can be traced back to mythology, common psychology and Aristotle’s concept of uniform circular motion. The significance of Pasolini’s use of the Friulian dialect in the “Meglio gioventù” poetry collection lies in the fact that it is a “private” language, never before used for poetry, which can obscure, estrange and thus preserve a mythical world in its wholeness. As a Marxist, Pasolini believes in the linear model of time and in progress, but, as a poet, he feels a need for a worldview in which “not a grass blade” ever changes. When he leaves Friuli, his subjective poetic view of the region evolves, and the past, reflected in poetry, seems to change with the present. This finds its expression in the final version of his Friulan poetry collection, titled “Nuova gioventù”.

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