Subject
Re: The Pale Fire of Boswell? (fwd)
Date
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To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@UCSBVM.UCSB.EDU>
Subject: Re: The Pale Fire of Boswell? (fwd)
From: Matthew Morris <mmorris@netunlimited.net>
I did my dissertation on _Pale Fire_ and Boswell's _Life of Johnson_. It
turns out there are a number of fascinating correspondences between the two
works. Boswell's largely spurious adventures in Corsica are in particular
very illuminating to read next to Kinbote's Zemblan tales. And of course
_PF_ is littered with references to Boswell and Johnson. Shade is said to
resemble Johnson, Kinbote walks around with a copy of Boswell in his
pocket, the novel often shifts into a Boswellian question-and-answer style
etc.
Considering that Nabokov chose to open his novel with a passage from
Boswell, I am often surprised that more research has not been done in this
area. Writing the dissertation was somewhat like being on a treasure
hunt. I discovered many baubles.
And a good reading of _PF_ certainly influences future readings of
Boswell!
E-mail me if you like and I can give you all the gories....
Matt Morris
Subject: Re: The Pale Fire of Boswell? (fwd)
From: Matthew Morris <mmorris@netunlimited.net>
I did my dissertation on _Pale Fire_ and Boswell's _Life of Johnson_. It
turns out there are a number of fascinating correspondences between the two
works. Boswell's largely spurious adventures in Corsica are in particular
very illuminating to read next to Kinbote's Zemblan tales. And of course
_PF_ is littered with references to Boswell and Johnson. Shade is said to
resemble Johnson, Kinbote walks around with a copy of Boswell in his
pocket, the novel often shifts into a Boswellian question-and-answer style
etc.
Considering that Nabokov chose to open his novel with a passage from
Boswell, I am often surprised that more research has not been done in this
area. Writing the dissertation was somewhat like being on a treasure
hunt. I discovered many baubles.
And a good reading of _PF_ certainly influences future readings of
Boswell!
E-mail me if you like and I can give you all the gories....
Matt Morris