Subject
Jerry Friedman on Index poem, cedars, italics, thanks
From
Date
Body
Thanks to Jansy and Charles for answering my somewhat rhetorical
question on the index poem. In view of that, let me put my
point somewhat better. Nabokov clearly saw nothing wrong with
mentioning something of cardinal importance to him in a poem
that uses a strained rhyme associated with "comic and curious
verse". I'm suggesting that he intended no misjudgement or
inartistry on Shade's part when he made Shade do the same
thing.
To Don Johnson: I think the "weeping cedar" is a cultivar
of the Cedar of Lebanon, maybe specifically /Cedrus libani/
"Pendula", so it's not quite "the Lebanon Cedar a.k.a. the
Weeping Cedar". I can't help wondering whether this is a
reminiscence of the obvious and hidden cedars in /Pale Fire/.
Unfortunately, I didn't find "shade" in the passage (though
"shadow" is there).
To Matt Roth: "Duke of Aros" (Conmal) is also not in
italics, whereas other titles are. Neither is Uran the
Last's note number, 681 I can't even guess what that
could mean.
By the way, do you ask your students whether they laughed
anywhere?
In an earlier post I forgot to thank Charles for mentioning
the apparatus criticus to the Dunciad, which I didn't know
about and am sure is more important to /Pale Fire/ than
Frost's /New Hampshire/ is. Thanks also to Victor Fet for
settling my very last doubt about "nikto b'".
Jerry Friedman
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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
question on the index poem. In view of that, let me put my
point somewhat better. Nabokov clearly saw nothing wrong with
mentioning something of cardinal importance to him in a poem
that uses a strained rhyme associated with "comic and curious
verse". I'm suggesting that he intended no misjudgement or
inartistry on Shade's part when he made Shade do the same
thing.
To Don Johnson: I think the "weeping cedar" is a cultivar
of the Cedar of Lebanon, maybe specifically /Cedrus libani/
"Pendula", so it's not quite "the Lebanon Cedar a.k.a. the
Weeping Cedar". I can't help wondering whether this is a
reminiscence of the obvious and hidden cedars in /Pale Fire/.
Unfortunately, I didn't find "shade" in the passage (though
"shadow" is there).
To Matt Roth: "Duke of Aros" (Conmal) is also not in
italics, whereas other titles are. Neither is Uran the
Last's note number, 681 I can't even guess what that
could mean.
By the way, do you ask your students whether they laughed
anywhere?
In an earlier post I forgot to thank Charles for mentioning
the apparatus criticus to the Dunciad, which I didn't know
about and am sure is more important to /Pale Fire/ than
Frost's /New Hampshire/ is. Thanks also to Victor Fet for
settling my very last doubt about "nikto b'".
Jerry Friedman
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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