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Re: THOUGHTS on the Pale Fire poem
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Thanks to all who have made this such a lively thread. I think Jim Twiggs' points are excellent. My own position can be summed up this way: VN intended John Shade to be exactly as good a poet as he (VN) believed himself to be. And on that question -- just how good a poet was VN? -- there are widely divergent opinions. I strongly favor a reading of the novel in which Shade is a decent and sympathetic character, also an almost-but-not-quite-first-rate poet. I believe, and have argued, that this would have been VN's evaluation of his own character and poetic talents. I can't see how to read the novel in a way that reduces this identification between Shade and VN, but I know many others have, and the debate will go on as long as there are good readers. (And by the way, I think this interpretation would hold true whether or not one is a "Shadean" -- a proponent of Shade as author of both poem and commentary.)
Best,
J.
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Best,
J.
Search archive with Google:
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