Pale Fire, a poem in heroic couplets are nine hundred ninety-nine verses, divided into four quarters, was written by John Francis Shade (born July 5, 1898 and died on 21 July 1959) during the last twenty days of life, at her home in New Wye, Appalachia, USA. The manuscript, almost entirely a fair copy from which this feature has been faithfully printed text. consists of eighty cards medium size ....
looks like a beginning of a boring book, written by a professor "trombone" picky, but, in reality, the second reading (which I consider essential) everything looks wonderful and exciting, a challenge that gladdens the heart and brain.
called a "metaromanzo" is actually composed of four works that require jumping, hard (but worth it!) From one page another.
The first work is the Preface, signed by Charles Kimbote, a character in the novel turns out to have been the king of Zembla, who fled from their land so daring. But perhaps it could be hiding behind Kimbote other identity than the king of Zembla, Professor Botkin (an anagram of Kimbote), a madman, or the same Shade pretending to be other than the author of the poem, and the commentator also prefacer .
The second work is the poem "Pale Fire", in four quarters, beginning:
I was the shadow of the waxwing slain
by the false azure in the glass:
was the thick smoke of burnt hair - and I
I lived, I was flying in the sky reflected.
And from then I would duplicate
myself ...
I the poem speaks of the life of Shade (shadow), the love for his wife Sybil (hated by Kimbote), the suicide of her daughter.
The third work and commentary of Kimbote, which occupies most of the pages of the book. It appears as commentary on the poem, but it is the vision of a disappointment and sometimes polemical commentator who is expected to have influenced their stories with the poetry of Shade, but realizes that the work speaks to the contrary.
Kimbote and she takes it in the comments, eg about most of the history of the King of Zembla (ie himself), his imprisonment after the Revolution extremist, his escape into the mountains, the attempt to an assassin (Gradus) to kill the king, after a long search to find him.
I main characters of the novel are thus John Shade (the poet admired by Kimbote maybe that will be killed by mistake by Gradus), Kimbote (former King of Zembla) and Gradus: their stories are at the heart of the book that fit or, better, confused. Kimbote trying to find hints in the poem to its history, but emerge clearly ridiculous forcing. Here lies also the satire of Nabokov commentators who would force the writers and take them on roads outside LRO.
In Nabokov's beautiful writing notes emerge often ironic and satirical, sometimes subtle, sometimes tough, but especially his ability to make clear the central small details, the small objects. His writing is a "Photo" and his favorite target and the "macro", which enlarges and distorts the details and, thus, makes them fascinating, sometimes disturbing.
last part is the index that summarizes the issues and references to various characters and places in which it highlights another key aspect of Nabokov's writing : love for language, a penchant for puns, offsets etymological. Among the other important characters in addition to those already mentioned, there Disa, the sad queen, wife of Charles II, the Beloved King of Zembla and also the country of Zembla, completely invented, with its mountains, castles, city assumes the role of character.
Pr give an idea of \u200b\u200bthe things that fascinated me in reading this and have rewarded the hard work and patience, it is useful to point out some steps. In this step, Kimbote tells the story of his taking possession of the house, rented by Judge Goldsworth, near the villa of the poet Shade:
Judge Goldsworth had a wife and four daughters; portraits family welcomed me in the hall, then persecuting them from room to room and although I am convinced that Alphina (9), Betty (10), Candida (12) and Dee (14) [note the alphabetical order of names!] will become shortly by schoolgirls horribly pretty young ladies in elegant and excellent mothers, I must confess that their naughty pictures irritated me to such a degree that eventually picked them up one by one and threw it all in a closet, neatly lined up in the forms of their winter clothes wrapped in cellophane shrouds [this is not a photograph?] ... What surprised me was that he was very, instructed my landlord, to lead the house, and "his lady". Besides me find a detailed inventory of all those objects, who gather around a new tenant as a tumultuous crowd of menacing natives, had given the enchanting worth writing about pieces of paper recommendations, explanations, and lists additional orders. Whatever I touch, that first day of stay in the house, provided a premium of Goldsworthiana. I turned the key cabinet of Medicines of the second bathroom, and there fluttering out a message that the collector of razor blades was too full and you could not use, I opened the refrigerator, and one with a bark, beware of me 'introduce "National specialty whose smell is hard to eliminate" I opened the middle drawer of the desk in the study. and found a catalog raisonné of his poor content, which included a number of ashtrays, a letter opener damascened ... un'agendina pocket and old and never used, who was there. to mature, optimistic expectations that recurrence of the matches due calendaring. In the pantry, a panel designated for the purpose, ra communications detailed instructions to hydraulic, electrical disquisitions, dissertations, papers and so on, I found the diet of the new cat in the house included:
Mon ., Wed., Fri.: liver
Tues, Thurs., Sat.: fish
Sun: ground beef
... But perhaps the most ridiculous statement concerned the handling of window curtains, which were closed essre differently depending on time of day so the sun does not posasse upholstery on the sofas and armchairs. for each of the many windows were provided a description of the position of the sun, both daily and seasonal, and if I had never taken account of that story, I was engaged as a sailor in a race. However, a postscript Geneose suggested that, rather than to hoist and lower the curtains, maybe I would have preferred to move back and forth out of the reach of the sun, the most valuable mobile ... I can not, alas, we report here the meticulous program of travel, but I think I should do before going to bed to castle long and short castling in the morning, first thing "
How ironic and how many "objects" loved and photographed, which seem to have a life and soul.
I also suggest you read the beautiful passage on suicide, on which system is preferable to avoid unnecessary and ridiculous attempts to pages 215-218 (Adelphi edition)
In conclusion, it is a "book-mine", because c 'is much material to be excavated and you can always find a new trend. Congratulations to the translators who have accepted a great challenge but fascinating,
Being a "book-mine", there have been many "digs", especially in English. Li the following:
No comments:
Post a Comment