As
I make my way through Pale Fire
All
I can do is seek answers dire.
Such
desperation to seek an answer to this tale,
In
comparison to other works I have inhaled,
Nabokov’s
lines are quite elusive to me.
And
the more I read the more I see
That
Pale Fire’s story lines are quite
Difficult
for me to decipher and right.
Viewing
the story by way of Kinbote’s mind
I do
not think an analysis I can find.
Meta-fictional
elements appear to be quite bizarre,
Present,
and these traits appear subpar
Within
the material’s context. Although a plot
Appears
to be presented I would rather allot
The
literary work. Therefore allowing this reader
To
better understand the contents before I teeter.
I have
voiced my personal literary self-doubt
Via
the interpretations I have found throughout.
It
seems an analytical analysis must conclude
With
a specific rationalization in order to preclude
A reader
from straying from the author’s message,
Otherwise
the novel’s plot appears as a miscarriage.
Of
Nabokov’s work I will take some ownership,
But
why should I interpret his words by my readership?
Does
the writer not desire to right the wrongs
Of
his constituency’s interpretations which it prolongs?
Nabokov’s
numerous references to literary material,
Albeit
understood by those in the know, appear criminal
To
lesser as reader. Literary works from the past require
A less
finite mind in order to detect as others conspire
With
Kinbote on his journey. A journey an educated
Scholar
acquiesces to as he becomes emancipated.
Those
with lesser literary talents are less unified
And
therefore, left to feel as if crucified.
Whether
Shade committed suicide by his own hand
And
bid adieu to his Hazel as he was unable to withstand
Such
pain one can only analyze. Nabokov’s protagonist
Appears
only to become the author’s antagonist.
Whether
a murder was perhaps perpetrated
We
the readers are left to reiterate it
During
academic debates yielding little closure.
Therefore,
the academic analysis becomes an overexposure
Of
meta-fictional elements incorporated
Within
a storyline devoid of the cooperated.
Several
passages of confusion I have found
And
throughout the pages they abound.
The
historical works I find to be to my indifference
And
considering the analytical value was of significance.
The
utterances were left for me to mire.
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ReplyDeleteLine 2 "dire"
DeleteAn anticipatory rhyme with the final word, "mire," providing context for the author's feelings about "Pale Fire"
Line 23 "Of Nabokov’s work I will take ownership"
Here the author aligns himself with Charles Kinbote, both responders to a primary text who see themselves as more than passive consumers of it. This author however has a conflicted relationship with his "ownership"; he sees it foisted upon him, as opposed to Kinbote, who eagerly takes control of Shade's work.
Line 28 "appear criminal"
An interesting choice of words to condemn Shade / Nabokov's extensive literary allusions. This author seems to be suggesting that the multiple references to other literary works are actually immoral. The "lesser reader" in the following line is then vindicated by being the law-abiding one. Or perhaps the "lesser reader" is exposed as "lesser" or misguided in the fact that he interprets the literary allusion _as_ "criminal." Is his own guilty conscience guiding him to see crime where none in fact exists? Does the author perhaps have a background in law-enforcement, which leads him to land on this vocabulary word?
Lines 37-38 "Nabokov’s protagonist / Appears only to become the author’s antagonist."
Suggestive phrase. A meditation on the condition of the divided self?
Line 41 "During academic debates yielding little closure."
A criticism of the academic process that poses questions without offering answers. The author here aspires to closure, and later indicates that the antithesis of closure is "confusion," "overexposure," or "indifference."
Line 50 "As I make my way through Pale Fire"
Clearly the intended final line for the nearly finished canto. The contradictory image of "mire" plays off of the unfinished, ongoing sense of "As I make my way through Pale Fire," repeated at the end. Despite the sense of inertia or stuck-ness, this author continues to forge ahead. The lack of closure offered by the poem becomes itself an infuriating invitation to keep moving.
JJ, I love this.
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