Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0005469, Thu, 7 Sep 2000 19:49:35 -0700

Subject
Fw: query: VN and Tyutchev's poems
Date
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Rydel, Christine" <RydelC@gvsu.edu>

Apropos Tiutchev and Nabokov: I have written an article on the topic
(but only about the prose) that will appear in the Cornell volume that
grew out of the Centenary celebrations. .

Here are places in Nabokov where references to Tiutchev appear other
than the ones already mentioned in ITB.

1) The Nabokov-Wilson Letters--pp. 95, 97
2) Speak, Memory (1966 Putnam's edition), p. 265
3) Dar (Ardis reprint), p. 84 ("Teni sizye smesilis")
4) Defense (Putnam's, 1966) p.230 ("Letnii vecher")
5) LATH, p. 58--general allusion
6) In the poem, "On the Death of Blok" 1921, Tiutchev actually appears
to welcome Blok to the otherworld (See Alexandrov,NABOKOV'S
OTHERWORLD)

See also, Shapiro, DELICATE MARKERS for a discussion of Tyutchev in
Nabokov, and Boyd's AMERICAN YEARS,112 for a mention of the poet.

Probably the story most imbued with Tiutchev allusions is "Cloud,
Castle, Lake." Everyone is aware of the allusion to "Silentium!", but
I argue that echoes of the following also form a subtext of the story:
"Vchera v mechtakh obvorozhennykh"
"Teni sizye smesilis"
"Ital'ianskaia villa"
"Bessonitsa"
"Odinochestvo"--from Lamartine
"Zedlitz:Byron"
"Zachem gubit..." (Faust IV, 1829)
"Pesok sypuchii po koleni..."--from Goethe
I hope this helps.

Christine