Subject: Re: [NABOKV-L] symmetry and the art of the possible
From: "jansymello" <[email-masked]>
To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2006 07:31:12 -0400

symmetry and the art of  the possible "I suspect that all these
enigmatic bio-math academic concepts ...are  mirrored by existing
philological terminology relevant to structure and morphology of
literary texts." ( V. Fet).

"Since a work of literature can usually only be experienced through time
the idea of symmetry becomes problematic." ( C. Kunin)

I wonder if Structuralism has any bearing on the particular "symmetry"
found in VN. 
Nick's (surname?) and Victor's interesting information correctly call
for additional "philological terminology" since, without adequate tools,
the present discussion might veer off onto other matters, without
enabling us to grasp a little more about VN's patent interest in
"symmetry".

C. Kunin spoke about "literature as only experienced through time" and I
thought about musical counterpoint and modern "palindromic compositions"
that offer the ear ( and probably to a musician's experienced eyes, too)
a special mirroring effect of symmetry that may be compared to "literary
time". 
Metre and rhyme certainly rely on the kind of  "order/disorder" Fet and
Nick described.

VN's theories about translation ( the necessary footnotes and literality
advised for poetry) suggest to my amateurish understanding that poetry
is untranslatable because emphasis on literality generates a break of
the "matter/form" unity that important poets achieved in their works.
Jansy

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