Часть текста: almost overnight from high repute among the literary cognoscenti-- which you bad enjoyed for more than 30 years-- to both acclaim and abuse as the world-renowned author of a sensational bestseller. In the aftermath of this cause celebre, do you ever regret having written Lolita? On the contrary, I shudder retrospectively when I recall that there was a moment, in 1950, and again in 1951, when I was on the point of burning Humbert Humbert's little black diary. No, I shall never regret Lolita. She was like the composition of a beautiful puzzle-- its composition and its solution at the same time, since one is a mirror view of the other, depending on the way you look. Of course she completely eclipsed my other works-- at least those I wrote in English: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, Bend Sinister, my short stories, my book of recollections; but I cannot grudge her this. There is a queer, tender charm about that mythical nymphet. Though many readers and reviewers would disagree that her charm is tender, few would deny that it is queer-- so much so that when director Stanley Kubrick proposed his plan to make a movie of Lolita, you were quoted as saying, "Of course they'll have to change the plot. Perhaps they will make Lolita a dwarfess. Or they will make her 16 and Humbert 26. " Though you finally wrote the screenplay yourself, several reviewers took the film to task for watering down the central relationship. Were you satisfied with the final product? I thought the movie was absolutely first-rate. The four main actors deserve the very highest praise. Sue Lyon bringing that breakfast tray or childishly pulling on her sweater in the car-- these are moments of unforgettable acting and directing. The killing of Quilty is a masterpiece, and so is the death of Mrs. Haze. I must point out, though, that I had nothing to do with the actual production. If I had, I might have...

2. Чарльз Кинбот: Серебристый свет. Подлинная жизнь Владимира Набокова. Chapter Eight. Dying Is No Fun

Входимость: 3. Размер: 11кб.

Часть текста: drafts are superfluous: the tale can be extruded in a single, extremely long, growing ever longer, parti-colored stream, like the endless rope of silk handkerchiefs a conjuror extracts with mock amazement from his black satin sleeve, or, for that matter, from the mouth of a compliant, if somewhat sheepish, volunteer. But Nabokov's death still comes as an unpleasant shock, an absurdly anomalous element at the end of the series, as if the final section of the streamer were not one last, particularly colorful piece of silk, but a live worm, a rotting plum, or some other equally strange bit of inexplicable detritus. Thank you, Madam, you may return to your seat. That Nabokov did not die of natural causes is only now beginning to be publicly acknowledged. His "mysterious" death, variously attributed to a fall, a viral infection, pneumonia, or mundane cardiac arrest, is now known to have been caused, or at least hastened along, by a special, nearly untraceable poison whose unpronounceable name I will not reveal here for fear that some unbalanced individual bearing a grudge against a family member, former love, noisy neighbor, or Department Head 1 might seek it out. The substance is readily available. It is odorless, flavorless, and difficult to detect unless a thorough autopsy is performed by an experienced medical examiner soon after the victim's death. Nabokov, who had been in and out of hospitals for the two years preceding his passing, was known to be in ill health. No foul play was suspected and so no autopsy was performed. The body, I learned too late to spare me the fruitless nocturnal foray recounted in my Chapter One, was cremated only days after its owner had, so to speak, vacated the premises. Alas, no forensic evidence of the crime remains. But the path of infamy that leads, like an infernal connect-the-dots, across the maps of Germany, France, and...

3. Комментарий к роману "Евгений Онегин". Глава седьмая. Пункты XXXII - LV

Входимость: 2. Размер: 75кб.

Часть текста: в августе 1824 г. Пушкин бывал там дважды, летом 1817 г., вскоре после выпуска из Лицея, и летом 1819 Во время первого визита он познакомился с семейством Осиповых, своих тригорских соседей, и 17 августа 1817 г., перед возвращением в Петербург, посвятил им небольшую элегию из шестнадцати стихов, написанную четырехстопным ямбом, которая начинается так (стихи 1–2, 5, 11–12): Простите, верные дубравы! Прости, беспечный мир полей… …………………………………… Прости, Тригорское!… …………………………………… Быть может (сладкое мечтанье!) Я к вашим возвращусь полям… И конечно, именно в Тригорское, а не в свое Михайловское поэт возвращается в последнем, ретроспективном отступлении в «Путешествии Онегина» (1830). Ср. также с элегией Ленского в гл. 6, XXI–XXII. Кроме того, см. мой коммент. к гл. 7, XXVIII, 5–9. 13—14 И слез ручей / У Тани льется из очей. — Ср. у Козлова, «Княгиня Наталья Долгорукая», ч. II, конец строфы V: …и вдруг у ней Ручьями слезы из очей… Здесь та же самая рифма: очей — ручей {161} . См. коммент. к гл. 7, XV, 8—14; XVI, 1–7 и XXIX, 5—7. Ср. схожую концовку стихового абзаца в «Эде» (1826) Баратынского, стихи 262–265: «Ах, где ты, мир души моей? Куда пойду я за тобою?» И слезы детские у ней Невольно льются из очей. XXXIII Когда благому просвещенью Отдвинем более границ, Со временем (по расчисленью 4 Философических...

4. Чарльз Кинбот: Серебристый свет. Подлинная жизнь Владимира Набокова. Chapter Nine. Zashchita Luzhina

Входимость: 2. Размер: 23кб.

Часть текста: is a book about chess, "a game of skill played by two persons, each having sixteen pieces to move in different ways, on a board divided into 64 squares, alternately light and dark." (I owe this pithy definition to Webster.) If the reader does not know, or has forgotten, the rules to the game, he or she is invited to consult one of the many pamphlets devoted to chess that must surely exist in every language written and read in the civilized world. The word chess derives from Middle English ches or chesse , thence from Old French eschec (francophones will hear here an echo of the French word for failure, a not irrelevant observation for the case under discussion), or echac ,2 thence from Persian shah , a king, the most important piece in the game. Luzhin, the eponymous hero, is our king: He remembered especially the time when he was quite small, playing all alone, and wrapping himself up in the tiger rug, to represent, rather forlornly, a king (p. 70, 4). (Indeed. A young and pretty princelet, I too played at being king. Note the tiger rug, which will reappear later as a "belaia medvezh'ia shkura, raskinuv lapy, slovno letia v blestiashchuiu propast' pola" (p. 68, 8) ["a white bearskin with spread paws... as if flying in the shiny abyss of the floor" (p. 119, 8)], an image which links, alas, the raiments of royalty with a flying leap into the void.) Even as a young child, then, our lonely king has his mantle, but it is not until he reaches seedy manhood that he ...

5. Eugene Onegin. A Novel in Verse by Aleksandr Pushkin. Chapter three

Входимость: 2. Размер: 61кб.

Часть текста: that's a fine thing. Mercy, man — and you don't find it difficult thus every evening to kill time?” 8 “Not in the least.” “I cannot understand. From here I see what it is like: first — listen, am I right? — a simple Russian family, 12 a great solicitude for guests, jam, never-ending talk of rain, of flax, of cattle yard.” II “So far I do not see what's bad about it.” “Ah, but the boredom — that is bad, my friend.” “Your fashionable world I hate; 4 dearer to me is the domestic circle in which I can…” “Again an eclogue! Ah, that will do, old boy, for goodness' sake. Well, so you're off; I'm very sorry. 8 Oh, Lenski, listen — is there any way for me to see this Phyllis, subject of thoughts, and pen, and tears, and rhymes, et cetera? 12 Present me.” “You are joking.” “No.” “I'd gladly.” “When?” “Now, if you like. They will be eager to receive us.” III “Let's go.” And off the two friends drove; they have arrived; on them are lavished the sometimes onerous attentions 4 of hospitable ancientry. The ritual of the treat is known: in little dishes jams are brought, on an oilcloth'd small table there is set 8 a jug of lingonberry water. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV They by the shortest road fly home at full career. ...

6. Eugene Onegin. A Novel in Verse by Aleksandr Pushkin. Chapter five

Входимость: 2. Размер: 54кб.

Часть текста: roofs, and fence; delicate patterns on the panes; the trees in winter silver, gay magpies outside, 12 and the hills softly overspread with winter's brilliant carpeting. All's bright, all's white around. II Winter! The peasant, celebrating, in a flat sledge inaugurates the track; his naggy, having sensed the snow, 4 shambles at something like a trot. Plowing up fluffy furrows, a bold kibitka flies: the driver sits upon his box 8 in sheepskin coat, red-sashed. Here runs about a household lad, upon a hand sled having seated “blackie,” having transformed himself into the steed; 12 the scamp already has frozen a finger. He finds it both painful and funny — while his mother, from the window, threatens him... III But, maybe, pictures of this kind will not attract you; all this is lowly nature; 4 there is not much refinement here. Warmed by the god of inspiration, another poet in luxurious language for us has painted the first snow 8 and all the shades of winter's delectations. 27 He'll captivate you, I am sure of it, when he depicts in flaming verses secret promenades in sleigh; 12 but I have no intention of ...

7. Комментарий к роману "Евгений Онегин". "Десятая глава"

Входимость: 2. Размер: 148кб.

Часть текста: дописать роман за него. «Гамлет» был закончен не только потому, что принц Датский умер, но и потому, что умерли все те, кого мог тревожить его призрак. «Госпожа Бовари» была закончена не только потому, что Эмма покончила с собой, но и потому, что Омэ получил наконец свой орден. «Улисс» был закончен потому, что все уснули (хотя хорошему читателю интересно, где же проведет остаток ночи Стивен). «Анна Каренина» была закончена не только потому, что Анну раздавил товарный поезд, но и потому, что Левин нашел своего Бога. Но «Онегин» закончен не был. Заметил Байрон капитану Медуину (То было в Пизе, в двадцать первом, в октябре): «Жуан, бедняга, угодит под гильотину Во Франции… Уж угодил…» …А наш О. Е.? Однажды, в июне 1829 г., Пушкин сказал капитану Юзефовичу, что «Онегин должен был или погибнуть на Кавказе, или попасть в число декабристов». Комментаторы полагают, что через столько лет в мемуарах Михаила Юзефовича, второстепенного поэта, в свое время адъютанта генерала Раевского, написанных в июле 1880 г. (и в том же году напечатанных в «Русском архиве», т. XVIII, № 3), возникла некоторая путаница: вероятно, Пушкин хотел сказать, что Онегина за участие в декабристском движении сошлют на Кавказ и там он будет убит в схватке с черкесами {239} . Байрон, перед тем как отплыть из Италии в Грецию, начал (8 мая 1823 г. по н. ст.) семнадцатую песнь «Дон Жуана», четырнадцать полных строф которой были найдены в комнате поэта в Миссолунги после его...

8. Eugene Onegin. A Novel in Verse by Aleksandr Pushkin. Chapter eight

Входимость: 2. Размер: 71кб.

Часть текста: would eagerly read Apuleius, 4 did not read Cicero; in those days, in mysterious valleys, in springtime, to the calls of swans, near waters shining in the stillness, 8 the Muse began to visit me. My student cell was all at once radiant with light: in it the Muse opened a banquet of young fancies, 12 sang childish gaieties, and glory of our ancientry, and the heart's tremulous dreams. II And with a smile the world received her; the first success provided us with wings; the aged Derzhavin noticed us — and blessed us 4 as he descended to the grave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III And I, setting myself for law only the arbitrary will of passions, sharing emotions with the crowd, 4 I led my frisky Muse into the hubbub of feasts and turbulent discussions — the terror of midnight patrols; and to them, in mad feasts, 8 she brought her gifts, and like a little bacchante frisked, over the bowl sang for the guests; and the young people of past days 12 would turbulently dangle after her; and I was proud 'mong friends of my...

9. Эссе о драматургии ("Playwriting", на английском языке)

Входимость: 2. Размер: 59кб.

Часть текста: of 1941. We had arrived in America in May of 1940; except for some brief guest appearances, this was Father's first lecturing engagement at an American university. The Stanford course also included a discussion of some American plays, a survey of Soviet theatre, and an analysis of commentary on drama by several American critics. The two lectures presented here have been selected to accompany Nabokov's plays because they embody, in concentrated form, many of his principal guidelines for writing, reading, and performing plays. The reader is urged to bear in mind, however, that, later in life, Father might have expressed certain thoughts differently. The lectures were partly in typescript and partly in manuscript, replete with Nabokov's corrections, additions, deletions, occasional slips of the pen, and references to previous and subsequent installments of the course. I have limited myself to what editing seemed necessary for the presentation of the lectures in essay form. If Nabokov had been alive, he might perhaps have performed more radical surgery. He might also have added that the gruesome throes of realistic suicide he finds unacceptable onstage (in "The Tragedy of Tragedy") are now everyday fare on kiddies' TV, while "adult" entertainment has long since outdone all the goriness of the Grand Guignol. He might have observed that the aberrations of theatrical method wherein the...

10. Anniversary notes

Входимость: 2. Размер: 33кб.

Часть текста: prepare it and remembered how firmly the guest co-editor, when collecting the ingredients of this great feast, refused to show me any plum or crumb before publication. BUTTERFLIES Butterflies are among the most thoughtful and touching contributions to this volume. The old-fashioned engraving of a Catagramma- like insect is delightfully reproduced twelve times so as to suggest a double series or "block" of specimens in a cabinet case; and there is a beautiful photograph of a Red Admirable (but "Nymphalidae" is the family to which it belongs, not its genus, which is Vanessa-- my first bit of carping). ALFRED APPEL, JR. Mr. Appel, guest co-editor, writes about my two main works of fiction. His essay "Backgrounds of Lolita" is a superb example of the rare case where art and erudition meet in a shining ridge of specific information (the highest and to me most acceptable function of literary criticism). I would have liked to say more about his findings but modesty (a virtue that the average reviewer especially appreciates in authors) denies me that...

Поиск по творчеству и критикеCлово "FORCE"

Поиск по творчеству и критике
Cлово "FORCE"