According to Kinbote, in its finished form Shade¡¯s poem should have 1000 lines (I argue that it also needs a coda, Line 1001). Anyway, we can only guess what is Shade¡¯s poem last word, but we know that its first word is ¡°I.¡± In her essay Poety s istoriey i poety bez istorii (¡°Poets with History and Poets without History,¡± 1933) Marina Tsvetaev speaks of a poet¡¯s ya (I), mentions a poem of thousand lines, Pushkin¡¯s little tragedy Mozart and Salieri (1830) and says that none of us regrets that Pushkin gave up the idea of Dead Souls and left it to Gogol:
§Á §á§à§ï§ä§Ñ §Ö§ã§ä§î §ñ §ã§ß§à§Ó§Ú§Õ§è§Ñ §á§Ý§ð§ã §ñ §ä§Ó§à§â§è§Ñ §ã§Ý§à§Ó§Ñ. §±§à§ï§ä§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ö §ñ ¡ª §ï§ä§à §ñ §Þ§Ö§é§ä§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§ñ, §á§â§à§Ò§å§Ø§Õ§×§ß§ß§à§Ö §Ó§Õ§à§ç§ß§à§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§Û §â§Ö§é§î§ð §Ú §Ó §ï§ä§à§Û §â§Ö§é§Ú §ñ§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ö¡
§±§à§ï§ä§í §ã §Ú§ã§ä§à§â§Ú§Ö§Û §á§â§Ö§Ø§Õ§Ö §Ó§ã§Ö§Ô§à §á§à§ï§ä§í §Ó§à§Ý§Ú. §²§Ö§é§î §ß§Ö §à §Ó§à§Ý§Ö, §à§ã§å§ë§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ý§ñ§ð§ë§Ö§Û §Õ§Ö§ñ§ß§Ú§Ö: §ß§Ú§Ü§ä§à §ß§Ö §å§ã§à§Þ§ß§Ú§ä§ã§ñ, §é§ä§à §ä§Ñ§Ü§Ñ§ñ §æ§Ú§Ù§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §Ô§â§à§Þ§Ñ§Õ§Ñ, §Ü§Ñ§Ü ¡°§¶§Ñ§å§ã§ä¡± §Ú§Ý§Ú §á§â§à§ã§ä§à §á§à§ï§Þ§Ñ §Ó §ä§í§ã§ñ§é§å §ã§ä§â§à§Ü, §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä §Ó§à§Ù§ß§Ú§Ü§ß§å§ä§î §ã§Ñ§Þ§Ñ §á§à §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö. §¢§Ö§Ù §å§ã§Ú§Ý§Ú§Û §Ó§à§Ý§Ú §Þ§à§Ô§å§ä §Ó§à§Ù§ß§Ú§Ü§ß§å§ä§î §Ó§à§ã§Ö§Þ§î, §ê§Ö§ã§ä§ß§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î, §â§Ö§Õ§Ü§à §Õ§Ó§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §ã§ä§â§à§Ü ¡ª §Ý§Ú§â§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §á§â§Ú§Ý§Ú§Ó §é§Ñ§ë§Ö §Ó§ã§Ö§Ô§à §á§â§Ú§ß§à§ã§Ú§ä §Ü §ß§Ñ§ê§Ú§Þ §ß§à§Ô§Ñ§Þ §à§ã§Ü§à§Ý§Ü§Ú ¡ª §ç§à§ä§ñ §Ò§í §Ú §ã§Ñ§Þ§í§Ö §Õ§â§Ñ§Ô§à§è§Ö§ß§ß§í§Ö. §¤§à§Ó§à§â§ð §à §Ó§à§Ý§Ö §Ó§í§Ò§à§â§Ñ, §à §Ó§à§Ý§Ö ¡ª §Ó§í§Ò§à§â§Ö. §° §â§Ö§ê§Ú§Þ§à§ã§ä§Ú §ß§Ö §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ã§ä§Ñ§ä§î §Ú§ß§í§Þ, §ß§à §Ú §Ú§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§à §ä§Ñ§Ü§Ú§Þ §Ú§ß§í§Þ. §° §â§Ö§ê§Ú§Þ§à§ã§ä§Ú §â§Ñ§ã§ã§ä§Ñ§ä§î§ã§ñ §ã §ã§Ö§Ô§à§Õ§ß§ñ§ê§ß§Ú§Þ §ã§à§Ò§à§Û. §²§Ö§ê§Ú§ä§î, §á§à§Õ§à§Ò§ß§à §Ô§Ö§â§à§ð §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ü§Ú: §ß§Ñ§á§â§Ñ§Ó§à, §ß§Ñ§Ý§Ö§Ó§à §Ú§Ý§Ú §á§â§ñ§Þ§à (§ß§à, §á§à§Õ§à§Ò§ß§à §Ô§Ö§â§à§ð §ä§à§Û §Ø§Ö §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ü§Ú, ¡ª §ß§Ú§Ü§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §ß§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Õ!), §±§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß, §á§â§à§ã§ß§å§Ó§ê§Ú§ã§î §à§Õ§ß§Ñ§Ø§Õ§í §å§ä§â§à§Þ, §â§Ö§ê§Ñ§Ö§ä: ¡°§³§Ö§Ô§à§Õ§ß§ñ §á§Ú§ê§å §®§à§è§Ñ§â§ä§Ñ!¡± §£§à§Ý§ñ §Ó§í§Ò§à§â§Ñ §®§à§è§Ñ§â§ä§Ñ ¡ª §à§ä§Ü§Ñ§Ù §à§ä §Þ§ß§à§Ø§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ §Õ§â§å§Ô§Ú§ç §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§Û §Ú §Õ§Ö§Ý, §Ø§Ö§â§ä§Ó§Ñ. §±§à§ï§ä §ã §Ú§ã§ä§à§â§Ú§Ö§Û §à§ä§Ò§â§Ñ§ã§í§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä §Ó§ã§Ö, §é§ä§à §ß§Ö §Ý§Ö§Ø§Ú§ä §ß§Ñ §Ý§Ú§ß§Ú§Ú §Ö§Ô§à ¡°§ã§ä§â§Ö§Ý§í¡± ¡ª §Ö§Ô§à §Ý§Ú§é§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú, §Ö§Ô§à §Õ§Ñ§â§Ñ, §Ö§Ô§à §Ú§ã§ä§à§â§Ú§Ú. §£§í§Ò§Ú§â§Ñ§Ö§ä §Ö§Ô§à §ß§Ö§á§à§Ô§â§Ö§ê§Ú§Þ§í§Û §Ú§ß§ã§ä§Ú§ß§Ü§ä §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ó§ß§à§Ô§à. §ª §á§à§ã§Ý§Ö §Ù§Ñ§Ó§Ö§â§ê§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ §á§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à §á§å§ä§Ú §å §ß§Ñ§ã §à§ã§ä§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §à§ë§å§ë§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö, §é§ä§à §±§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ô §ß§Ö §ã§à§Ù§Õ§Ñ§ä§î §ä§à§Ô§à, §é§ä§à §ã§à§Ù§Õ§Ñ§Ý, §Ú §ß§Ñ§á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§î §ä§à, §é§ä§à §à§ß §ß§Ö §ß§Ñ§á§Ú§ã§Ñ§Ý. §ª §ß§Ú§Ü§ä§à §Ú§Ù §ß§Ñ§ã §ß§Ö §Ø§Ñ§Ý§Ö§Ö§ä, §é§ä§à §à§ß §à§ä§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §à§ä §Ù§Ñ§Þ§í§ã§Ý§Ñ ¡°§®§×§â§ä§Ó§í§ç §Õ§å§ê¡±, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Ö §ß§Ñ§ç§à§Õ§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§î §ß§Ñ §Ô§à§Ô§à§Ý§Ö§Ó§ã§Ü§à§Û §Ô§Ö§ß§Ö§â§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§à§Û §Ý§Ú§ß§Ú§Ú. (§±§à§ï§ä §ã §Ú§ã§ä§à§â§Ú§Ö§Û §Ú§Þ§Ö§Ö§ä §Ö§ë§× §Ú §ñ§ã§ß§í§Û §Ó§Ù§Ô§Ý§ñ§Õ §ß§Ñ §Õ§â§å§Ô§Ú§ç. §ª §±§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß §à§Ò§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ñ§Ý §ä§Ñ§Ü§Ú§Þ §Ó§Ù§Ô§Ý§ñ§Õ§à§Þ.)
In Canto Three of his poem Shade mentions Hurricane Lolita that swept from Florida to Maine:
It was a year of Tempests: Hurricane
Lolita swept from Florida to Maine. (ll. 679-680)
Lolita (1955) is, of course, a novel by VN. It was first published in America in 1958 (Shade¡¯s ¡°year of tempests¡±) and immediately became a bestseller. Now, is there anybody to whom VN would be indebted for the idea of his most successful English novel (and for that of Pale Fire)? The answer comes at once: Sirin (the author of The Enchanter, Solus Rex and Ultima Thule)! In his EO Commentary (vol. II, p. 435) VN quotes a poem (no. LXIV, ll. 9, 11-12) from Die Heimkehr (¡°The Homecoming,¡± 1823-24) by Heinrich Heine (who expresses much better than Pushkin does in Four: XXII of Eugene Onegin the idea of self-esteem):
Braver Mann! [Er schafft mir zu essen!
Will es ihm nie und nimmer vergessen!]
Schade, da¦Â ich ihn nicht k¨¹ssen kann!
Denn ich bin selbst dieser brave Mann.
A fine man! [He gets food for me!
I will never forget him that!]
Pity that I cannot kiss him!
For I am myself this fine man.
According to Heine (an ¨¦migr¨¦ poet who lived in Paris), his French friends mispronounced his name Enri Enn which sounded almost like Rien (¡°Mr. Nobody¡±). Shade¡¯s, Kinbote¡¯s and Gradus¡¯ ¡°real¡± name seems to be Botkin. Botkin is nikto b (¡°nobody would¡±) backwards. In Pushkin¡¯s Mozart and Salieri Mozart uses the phrase nikto b:
§¬§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ò§í §Ó§ã§Ö §ä§Ñ§Ü §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§à§Ó§Ñ§Ý§Ú §ã§Ú§Ý§å
§¤§Ñ§â§Þ§à§ß§Ú§Ú! §¯§à §ß§Ö§ä: §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ò §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ô
§ª §Þ§Ú§â §ã§å§ë§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§à§Ó§Ñ§ä§î; §ß§Ú§Ü§ä§à §Ò §ß§Ö §ã§ä§Ñ§Ý
§©§Ñ§Ò§à§ä§Ú§ä§î§ã§ñ §à §ß§å§Ø§Õ§Ñ§ç §ß§Ú§Ù§Ü§à§Û §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§Ú;
§£§ã§Ö §á§â§Ö§Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î §Ò§í §Ó§à§Ý§î§ß§à§Þ§å §Ú§ã§Ü§å§ã§ã§ä§Ó§å.
If all could feel like you the power of harmony!
But no: the world could not go on then. None
Would bother with the needs of lowly life;
All would surrender to the free art.
(scene II, transl. A. Shaw)
Incidentally, in her essay ¡°Poets with History and Poets without History¡± Marina Tsvetaev mentions, among other great lyrical poets, Heine and Byron:
§¬§ä§à §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä §â§Ñ§ã§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§ä§î §à §á§à§ï§ä§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Þ §á§å§ä§Ú (§Ò§Ö§â§å §ã§Ñ§Þ§í§ç §Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ü§Ú§ç §Ú §Ò§Ö§ã§ã§á§à§â§ß§í§ç §Ý§Ú§â§Ú§Ü§à§Ó) §¤§Ö§Û§ß§Ö, §¢§Ñ§Û§â§à§ß§Ñ, §º§Ö§Ý§Ý§Ú, §£§Ö§â§Ý§Ö§ß§Ñ, §§Ö§â§Þ§à§ß§ä§à§Ó§Ñ? §°§ß§Ú §Ù§Ñ§á§à§Ý§à§ß§Ú§Ý§Ú §Þ§Ú§â §ã§Ó§à§Ú§Þ§Ú §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ó§à§á§Ý§ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ó§Ù§Õ§à§ç§Ñ§Þ§Ú §Ú §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ú§Ý§Ú §Ö§Ô§à §ã§Ó§à§Ú§Þ§Ú §ã§Ý§Ö§Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ó§à§ã§á§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§Ú§Ý§Ú §ã§à §Ó§ã§Ö§ç §é§Ö§ä§í§â§Ö§ç §ã§ä§à§â§à§ß §ã§Ó§à§Ú§Þ §ß§Ö§Ô§à§Õ§à§Ó§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ö§Þ¡
§µ§é§Ú§Þ§ã§ñ §Ý§Ú §Þ§í §å §ß§Ú§ç? §¯§Ö§ä. §®§í §Ú§Ù-§Ù§Ñ §ß§Ú§ç §Ú §Ù§Ñ §ß§Ú§ç §ã§ä§â§Ñ§Õ§Ñ§Ö§Þ.
§´§Ñ§Ü §ß§Ñ §Þ§à§Û §â§å§ã§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §Ý§Ñ§Õ §á§Ö§â§Ö§Ü§â§Ñ§Ú§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §æ§â§Ñ§ß§è§å§Ù§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §á§à§ã§Ý§à§Ó§Ú§è§Ñ: Les heureux n¡¯ont pas d¡¯histoire.
In his poem Kak v Gretsiyu Bayron ¨C o, bez sozhalen¡¯ya¡ (¡°Like Byron to Greece, oh, without regret¡¡± 1928) G. Ivanov mentions blednyi ogon¡¯ (pale fire).
All the same, schade (pity) that Sirin had to give up his magic Russian and switch to English¡
Alexey Sklyarenko