Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0012138, Sat, 26 Nov 2005 10:01:11 -0800

Subject
Re: Fwd: Dante & Laura..
Date
Body


----- Forwarded message from skylark05@mail.ru -----
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2005 02:56:23 +0300
From: Alexey Sklyarenko <skylark05@mail.ru>
Reply-To: Alexey Sklyarenko <skylark05@mail.ru>
Subject: Re: Fwd: Dante & Laura..
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum

Dante & Laura..La sotto i giorni nubilosi e brevi
Nasce una gente a cui il morir non dole.

(Where the days are cloudy and short
a tribe is born for whom dying is not painful).*

The lines above (from one of Petrarch's canzonas) were chosen by Pushkin as an
epigraph to Canto Six of "Eugene Onegin" (the Onegin-Lensky duel). Petrarch is
of course the famous author of "Sonnets to Laura" (by the way, was there the
original of Petrarch's Laura, or the poet invented her?).
On the other hand, we know that the subtitle (or an alternative title?) of VN's
unfinished novel is "Dying is Fun" (somehow echoing the quoted lines). So, may
be, Petrarch's Laura is meant, not Dante's?

Alexey

*I apologize for bad translation
----- Original Message -----
From: Donald B. Johnson
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2005 11:43 PM
Subject: Fwd: Dante & Laura..




----- Forwarded message from chaiselongue@earthlink.net -----
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 12:21:33 -0800
From: Carolyn Kunin <chaiselongue@earthlink.net>
Reply-To: Carolyn Kunin <chaiselongue@earthlink.net>
Subject: Dante & Laura..
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum

The name Laura too - - any Dante association there?


There do turn out to be links connecting Laura, Dante, peacocks and possibly
Can Grande. Unfortunately I won't have the time to pursue them for a while,
but for others who are interested I can refer you to a book by Mark Mirsky,
"Dante, Eros, & Kabbalah" - - particularly pages 166-167 and possibly ff.

Carolyn

----- End forwarded message -----
EDNOTE. Could be. What re the classic noir film "Laura" (1944) based on, I
think, Very Caspary's novel?



------------------------------------------------------------------------------




The name Laura too - - any Dante association there?


There do turn out to be links connecting Laura, Dante, peacocks and possibly
Can Grande. Unfortunately I won't have the time to pursue them for a while, but
for others who are interested I can refer you to a book by Mark Mirsky, "Dante,
Eros, & Kabbalah" - - particularly pages 166-167 and possibly ff.

Carolyn

----- End forwarded message -----
Attachment