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The Transformation of Narrative: An Exploration of Alliteration’s Function in
Vladimir Nabokov’s Autobiography
By Rebecca Block
Abstract
The following is a project that aims to achieve a greater understanding of
Vladimir Nabokov—the author, the man, his story, and his art—by bringing a greater
understanding to the relationship between these aspects of his life. In the end, it is an
attempt to honor his words. In the following pages, I intend to closely examine
Nabokov’s autobiography. In specific, I will focus questions that revolve around the
function that repetition may have played in the creative processes he employed to write
and revise that particular piece of work. Nabokov published three different English
language versions of the autobiography over the years, each time making edits to improve
the piece. Here, I will consider each to be a progressive “draft” of the work, comparing
them for any differences found between the three. More specifically, I will consider
alliteration as an example of repetition. In closely examining Nabokov’s use of
alliteration, I will analyze the both the role and the function it may have served in
assisting him to transform his autobiographical, narrative drafts. Throughout the project, I
will apply a psychoanalytic lens to the material in order to elucidate the workings of his
creative process in ways that may not have been so apparent without the benefit of such a
perspective. In doing so, I hope to achieve a deeper understanding of Nabokov’s creative
processes and the function that repetition may have served him in transforming a piece of
creative work.
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/
Vladimir Nabokov’s Autobiography
By Rebecca Block
Abstract
The following is a project that aims to achieve a greater understanding of
Vladimir Nabokov—the author, the man, his story, and his art—by bringing a greater
understanding to the relationship between these aspects of his life. In the end, it is an
attempt to honor his words. In the following pages, I intend to closely examine
Nabokov’s autobiography. In specific, I will focus questions that revolve around the
function that repetition may have played in the creative processes he employed to write
and revise that particular piece of work. Nabokov published three different English
language versions of the autobiography over the years, each time making edits to improve
the piece. Here, I will consider each to be a progressive “draft” of the work, comparing
them for any differences found between the three. More specifically, I will consider
alliteration as an example of repetition. In closely examining Nabokov’s use of
alliteration, I will analyze the both the role and the function it may have served in
assisting him to transform his autobiographical, narrative drafts. Throughout the project, I
will apply a psychoanalytic lens to the material in order to elucidate the workings of his
creative process in ways that may not have been so apparent without the benefit of such a
perspective. In doing so, I hope to achieve a deeper understanding of Nabokov’s creative
processes and the function that repetition may have served him in transforming a piece of
creative work.
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/