Subject
Chapman's Homer -Chapman's homer
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JM: Before almost drowning in quagmiroptics, I thought that C.Kinbote's commentary, to Shade's "Chapman's Homer," only pointed at a funny misprint,* a "drolly transposition," nstead of presenting another instance of anamorphism. If the newspaper headlines were not in capital letters most readers would distinguish between the double meaning of "Chapman's Homer" and "Chapman's homer."
I wonder now if Nabokov (but not Kinbote...) was exploiting his (pre-google) wide scholarship to add another indication related to another kind of "anamorphism," namely George Chapman's verses about this same subject: This would result from "a devilish joke" - indeed!
"..a Picture wrougbt to opticke reason,
That to all passers by, seemes as they move,
Now a woman, now a Monster, now a Divell,
And till you stand, and in a right line view it,
You cannot well judge what the maine forme is."
George Chapman, Chabot 1.1 68-72
In addition, John Keats's sonnet about the golden wonders of Chapman's translation of Homer, might indirectly suggest the dangers of "anamorphic translations." Iin my opinion, Nabokov wouldn't be in favor of that which George Steiner described (I forgot under what technical designation) as a translator's too clever appropriation of another author's poem.
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John Shade: "A curio: Red Sox Beat Yanks 5-4/ On Chapman's Homer, thumbtacked to the door."
CK's commentary to line 98: "A reference to the title of Keats' famous sonnet (often quoted in America) which, owing to a printer's absent-mindedness, has been drolly transposed, from some other article, into the account of a sports event.
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I wonder now if Nabokov (but not Kinbote...) was exploiting his (pre-google) wide scholarship to add another indication related to another kind of "anamorphism," namely George Chapman's verses about this same subject: This would result from "a devilish joke" - indeed!
"..a Picture wrougbt to opticke reason,
That to all passers by, seemes as they move,
Now a woman, now a Monster, now a Divell,
And till you stand, and in a right line view it,
You cannot well judge what the maine forme is."
George Chapman, Chabot 1.1 68-72
In addition, John Keats's sonnet about the golden wonders of Chapman's translation of Homer, might indirectly suggest the dangers of "anamorphic translations." Iin my opinion, Nabokov wouldn't be in favor of that which George Steiner described (I forgot under what technical designation) as a translator's too clever appropriation of another author's poem.
................................................................................................................
John Shade: "A curio: Red Sox Beat Yanks 5-4/ On Chapman's Homer, thumbtacked to the door."
CK's commentary to line 98: "A reference to the title of Keats' famous sonnet (often quoted in America) which, owing to a printer's absent-mindedness, has been drolly transposed, from some other article, into the account of a sports event.
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/