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Re: new in Zembla
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Alexey: working through your wonderful essays (³And still the wonder grows
that one smart head could hold the things he knows²), I meet Derzhavin¹s
death-bed last-gasp. What a way to go. My last words (due soon) will
probably be ³You¹re standing on my bleedin¹ oxygen-supply pipe ...²
The river of time in its rush
Carries away all human cares
And drowns in the abyss of oblivion
Peoples, kingdoms and kings.
is taken (together with other verses and clues) to ³imply² a crushing human
mortality, albeit with some relief for poets whose choicest words may ³live
on.² VN¹s view of the Life Hereafter is more complex, of course, and subject
to ongoing debate.
It¹s interesting to compare Derzhavin¹s lament with the Anglican hymn O GOD
OUR HELP IN AGES PAST, by Walter Greatorex (1873-1949) [that Gaulish name
seems straight out of Obelisk, Asterisk & Assurancetoutrisk?], widely (&
tunelessly) sung here before England purchased the ³God Delusion² in
chart-topping numbers, deserted the Church and reverted to Paganism (Synods
are asking ³how to put more bums on our pews!²)
Time like an ever-rolling stream bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten as a dream dies at the ending day.
The two stanzas share the same imagery, not just the cliché of flowing Time,
but Time as the rapid, inexorable torrent sweeping us all away to oblivion,
forgotten like a fleeting dream. The metaphors drip with problems,
theological and philosophical. That is, if you aim to discuss seriously the
Nature of Time and the possible meanings of ³survival-after-death.² As
annoying lecturers say: Come back when you¹ve read David Deutsch (MWI,
MultiWorld Interpretation of Quantum Theory) and Leszek Kolakowski
(restoring Religion as a valid branch of Philosophy see NYRB, Oct 9,
2008).
Stan Kelly-Bootle
On 18/02/2009 09:44, "Alexey Sklyarenko" <skylark05@MAIL.RU> wrote:
> Three more essays in English ("ADA as a Mystical Novel," "The Themes of
> Turgenev's Life and Work as Reflected in Nabokov's ADA" and "ADA as Nabokov's
> Anti-Utopia Set on Antiterra") are now available in Zembla. Here is a direct
> link: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/sklyarenko8.doc.
>
> Alexey Sklyarenko
>
> P. S. When speaking, in my previous posting, of Georgia and (female)
> homosexuality, I forgot to mention that TBILISI = BILITIS.
>
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that one smart head could hold the things he knows²), I meet Derzhavin¹s
death-bed last-gasp. What a way to go. My last words (due soon) will
probably be ³You¹re standing on my bleedin¹ oxygen-supply pipe ...²
The river of time in its rush
Carries away all human cares
And drowns in the abyss of oblivion
Peoples, kingdoms and kings.
is taken (together with other verses and clues) to ³imply² a crushing human
mortality, albeit with some relief for poets whose choicest words may ³live
on.² VN¹s view of the Life Hereafter is more complex, of course, and subject
to ongoing debate.
It¹s interesting to compare Derzhavin¹s lament with the Anglican hymn O GOD
OUR HELP IN AGES PAST, by Walter Greatorex (1873-1949) [that Gaulish name
seems straight out of Obelisk, Asterisk & Assurancetoutrisk?], widely (&
tunelessly) sung here before England purchased the ³God Delusion² in
chart-topping numbers, deserted the Church and reverted to Paganism (Synods
are asking ³how to put more bums on our pews!²)
Time like an ever-rolling stream bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten as a dream dies at the ending day.
The two stanzas share the same imagery, not just the cliché of flowing Time,
but Time as the rapid, inexorable torrent sweeping us all away to oblivion,
forgotten like a fleeting dream. The metaphors drip with problems,
theological and philosophical. That is, if you aim to discuss seriously the
Nature of Time and the possible meanings of ³survival-after-death.² As
annoying lecturers say: Come back when you¹ve read David Deutsch (MWI,
MultiWorld Interpretation of Quantum Theory) and Leszek Kolakowski
(restoring Religion as a valid branch of Philosophy see NYRB, Oct 9,
2008).
Stan Kelly-Bootle
On 18/02/2009 09:44, "Alexey Sklyarenko" <skylark05@MAIL.RU> wrote:
> Three more essays in English ("ADA as a Mystical Novel," "The Themes of
> Turgenev's Life and Work as Reflected in Nabokov's ADA" and "ADA as Nabokov's
> Anti-Utopia Set on Antiterra") are now available in Zembla. Here is a direct
> link: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/sklyarenko8.doc.
>
> Alexey Sklyarenko
>
> P. S. When speaking, in my previous posting, of Georgia and (female)
> homosexuality, I forgot to mention that TBILISI = BILITIS.
>
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/