Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

At the beginning of Canto Three of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) mentions Rabelais’s great Maybe, “the grand potato:”

At the end of his almost finished poem John Shade (the poet in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962) says that he is reasonably sure that he will wake at six tomorrow, on July the twenty-second:

I'm reasonably sure that we survive

And that my darling somewhere is alive,

As I am reasonably sure that I

Shall wake at six tomorrow, on July

The twenty-second, nineteen fifty-nine,

And that the day will probably be fine;

So this alarm clock let me set myself,

According to Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla), King Alfin's question "What emperor?" has remained his only memorable mot:

Describing Villa Venus (Eric Veen's floramors), Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN's novel Ada, 1969) mentions a Chose don who has a triplet of charming twelve-year-old daughters, Ala, Lolá and Lalage:

When Ada shows to Van (Van Veen, the narrator and main character in VN's novel Ada, 1969) Ardis Hall, a toy barrel organ invitingly goes into action with a stumbling little minuet:

Describing Flavita (the Russian Scrabble), Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions an unfortunate English tourist, a Walter C. Keyway, Esq., whom Baron Klim Avidov (anagram of Vladimir Nabokov) catapulted with an uppercut into the porter’s lodge for his jokingly remarking how clever it was to drop the first letter of one’s name in order to use it as a particule, at the Gritz, in Venezia Rossa:

According to Humbert Humbert (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Lolita, 1955), he picked up Rita one depraved May evening somewhere between Montreal and New York, or more narrowly, between Toylestown and Blake, at a darkishly burning bar under the sign of the Tiger-moth:

In VN's novel Lolita (1955) Lolita’s mother dies under the wheels of a truck because of a neighbor’s hysterical dog. On the day of Charlotte’s death Humbert Humbert visits Dr Byron (the Haze family physician):

In Canto One of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) describes his childhood and says that he was brought up by dear bizarre Aunt Maud:

In Canto Two of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) describes his daughter’s tragic death and mentions the preview of Remorse:

"Was that the phone?" You listened at the door.

More headlights in the fog. There was no sense

In window-rubbing: only some white fence

And the reflector poles passed by unmasked.

"Are we quite sure she's acting right?" you asked.