Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

In Canto One and then again at the end of Canto Four of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962) mentions the windows of old Dr. Sutton's house:

And there's the wall of sound: the nightly wall

Raised by a trillion crickets in the fall.

Impenetrable! Halfway up the hill

I'd pause in thrall of their delirious trill.

That's Dr. Sutton's light. That's the Great Bear.

A thousand years ago five minutes were

Equal to forty ounces of fine sand.

Outstare the stars. Infinite foretime and

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), on his deathbed Conmal (the Zemblan translator of Shakespeare) called his nephew, the King Charles the Beloved, "Karlik:"

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), on his deathbed Conmal (the Zemblan translator of Shakespeare) called his nephew, the King Charles the Beloved, "Karlik:"

Describing Izumrudov's visit to Gradus (Shade's murderer) in Nice, 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) mentions the Umruds (an Eskimo tribe) and their umyaks (hide-lined boats):

In Canto One of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN's novel Pale Fire, 1962) speaks of his childhood and mentions the svelte stilettos of a frozen stillicide:

All colors made me happy: even gray.

My eyes were such that literally they

Took photographs. Whenever I'd permit,

Or, with a silent shiver, order it,

Whatever in my field of vision dwelt -

An indoor scene, hickory leaves, the svelte

Stilettos of a frozen stillicide -

Was printed on my eyelids' nether side

Where it would tarry for an hour or two,

In his Commentary and Index to Shade's poem 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) mentions a mad Mandevil who had lost a leg in trying to make anti-matter:

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), the King saw Disa for the first time at a masked ball in his uncle’s palace:

In his Commentary and Index to Shade's poem 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) mentions Aros and Grindelwod, fine towns in East Zembla:

Describing the torments of poor mad Aqua (in VN’s novel Ada, 1969, the twin sister of Van’s, Ada’s and Lucette’s mother Marina), Van Veen mentions the clothes hangers that looked to Aqua like the shoulders of decapitated Tellurians:

In a conversation at the Faculty Club 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) tells Professor Pardon that he is confusing him with some refugee from Nova Zembla:

Professor Pardon now spoke to me: "I was under the impression that you were born in Russia, and that your name was a kind of anagram of Botkin or Botkine?"