Subject
Re: THOUGHTS: the need for climax in Canto 4
From
Date
Body
In a message dated 5/5/2010 9:12:33 PM Central Daylight Time,
STADLEN@AOL.COM writes:
>
> We've been through this before. Why, why, why "presumably a repetition of
> the first line at the end"? We have only Kinbote's word for it. Why should
> we accept it? He doesn't even claim Shade told him there would be such a
> repetition. As I pointed out last time round, the poem would read very oddly
> if it did in fact end with the first line. Was my instigation of the Great
> Competition on NABOKV-L to compose a last (not equal to first) line all in
> vain?
>
> Anthony Stadlen
>
As I've said before, the omission of the last line by Shade (and the "last"
line is probably the first) is part of the poem's clearly symmetrical
structure. Leaving off this line this would make line 500 the central line of
999 (only in a poem with an odd number of lines can there be a central line).
This line the marks Hazel's death, and Hazel's death is clearly the
"center" of the poem.
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/
STADLEN@AOL.COM writes:
>
> We've been through this before. Why, why, why "presumably a repetition of
> the first line at the end"? We have only Kinbote's word for it. Why should
> we accept it? He doesn't even claim Shade told him there would be such a
> repetition. As I pointed out last time round, the poem would read very oddly
> if it did in fact end with the first line. Was my instigation of the Great
> Competition on NABOKV-L to compose a last (not equal to first) line all in
> vain?
>
> Anthony Stadlen
>
As I've said before, the omission of the last line by Shade (and the "last"
line is probably the first) is part of the poem's clearly symmetrical
structure. Leaving off this line this would make line 500 the central line of
999 (only in a poem with an odd number of lines can there be a central line).
This line the marks Hazel's death, and Hazel's death is clearly the
"center" of the poem.
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/