I was not acknowledged by the Listserv the first time I
posted this and I'm sending it again. See below.
-----Mensagem Original-----
Enviada em: domingo, 4 de agosto de 2013 19:04
Assunto: Re: [NABOKV-L] Russian poets in LATH
Alexey Sklyarenko quotes:from LATH
"I recall regaling the company with one
of the howlers I had noticed in the "translation" of Tamara. The sentence
vidnelos' neskol'ko barok ("several barges
could be seen") had become la
vue etait assez baroque. The eminent critic Basilevski, a
stocky, fair-haired old fellow in a rumpled brown suit, shook with
abdominal mirth--but then his expression changed to one of suspicion
and displeasure. (1.11)"
Jansy Mello: AS's quote reminded me of
some other commentary by Nabokov related to a bungled translation
for "barges/boats/barok" in a poem, one which I couldn't locate.
I leafed through "Verses and Versions" trying to make
myself remember where I'd found it. This time something else caught my
eye. It's related to the lines by Nicolay M. Karamzin selected
and translated by Nabokov (V&V, 37) bearing the
title "Two Similes"
"Life? A romance. By whom?
Anonymous.
We spell it out: it makes us laugh
and weep.
And then puts
us
To sleep."
I was once again led to Pale Fire's John
Shade and his commentator, Kinbote.
The present connection has probably
been brought up here already - but I decided to
risk repetition. After all, it's worth checking the distinction between the
original similes, and Shade's or Kinbote's interpretations when they lay
stress on "commentary" and "footnotes," or to a novel's (romance)
"unfinished" nature.
"Life is a message scribbled in the
dark. Anonymous"
or: "Man’s life as commentary to
abstruse/ Unfinished poem. Note for further
use.
CK: Lines 939-940: Man’s life, etc. If I correctly understand the sense of this succinct observation,
our poet suggests here that human life is but a series of footnotes to a vast
obscure unfinished
masterpiece.