Oppen, Isabella Healy. Musical Counterpoint in Thematic and Analytical Application in Nabokov’s Pale Fire. 2018

Oppen's essay analyzes the processes of reading and understanding in the text through the model of musical counterpoint. Following the work of Brian Boyd and Gerard de Vries in her analysis she takes into account the intrinsic differences between a musical composition and a textual work. Oppen shows how the use of musical counterpoint functions as an illustration of the texture of the text in the structural interpretation of Pale Fire and allows one to see centers and crossings of plot “melodies,” characters, and leitmotivs.