Subject
L'Envoi
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At the end of Nabokov's "Lectures on Literature" we encounter a short "offering", "L'Envoi", from which I recently selected one or two quotations.
The editor F.Bowers wrote: "The final "L'Envoi" is abstracted from his untitled closing remarks at the end of the semester after completing the last lecture on 'Ulysses' ..." I couldn't understand if Bowers meant that the expression "L'Envoi" was chosen by VN or if it was later appended by him or one of his editors.
Aside from the meaning of "remittance", "delivery" and even "match-point" in French, "l'envoi" suggests an address (at the begining or at the end) of medieval troubadour songs. The title chosen could imply a short address that stands apart from the body of the work and where the author expresses his hopes or well-wishes. It could mean VN's closing statement issued by "fountain of his voice to the garden of student's ears".
Could anybody help clarify the choice of this title?
Jansy
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The editor F.Bowers wrote: "The final "L'Envoi" is abstracted from his untitled closing remarks at the end of the semester after completing the last lecture on 'Ulysses' ..." I couldn't understand if Bowers meant that the expression "L'Envoi" was chosen by VN or if it was later appended by him or one of his editors.
Aside from the meaning of "remittance", "delivery" and even "match-point" in French, "l'envoi" suggests an address (at the begining or at the end) of medieval troubadour songs. The title chosen could imply a short address that stands apart from the body of the work and where the author expresses his hopes or well-wishes. It could mean VN's closing statement issued by "fountain of his voice to the garden of student's ears".
Could anybody help clarify the choice of this title?
Jansy
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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