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 -----
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