Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

In Canto One of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) mentions his frame house between Goldsworth and Wordsmith on its square of green:

I cannot understand why from the lake

I could make out our front porch when I'd take

In Canto Two of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) describes his daughter’s tragic death and mentions an empty emerald case, squat and frog-eyed:

Life is a message scribbled in the dark.

Anonymous.

                         Espied on a pine’s bark,

In his Commentary and Index to Shade’s poem Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade's mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions Nodo, the half-brother of Odon (pseudonym of Donald O'Donnell, b. 1915, world-famous actor and Zemblan patriot who helps the king to escape from Zembla):

In Canto Two of his poem John Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) describes his daughter’s tragic death and mentions the preview of Remorse:

"Was that the phone?" You listened at the door.

More headlights in the fog. There was no sense

In window-rubbing: only some white fence

And the reflector poles passed by unmasked.

Describing the death of Alexander Yakovlevich Chernyshevski, Fyodor Godunov-Cherdyntsev (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Dar, "The Gift," 1937) says that life is not a journey and that we are sitting at home:

In his Commentary to Shade’s poem Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions a decrepit emeritus from Boston whom Professor Hurley described with deep respect as "a true Patrician, a real blue-blooded Brahmin:"

Describing the death of Queen Blenda (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, the mother of Charles Xavier Vseslav), Kinbote (Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions Countess de Fyler who beat all seven councilors by one alin and spat out the news about the Queen’s death:

In his Commentary to Shade’s poem Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions Assistant Professor Misha Gordon, a red-haired musician:

Describing the death of Queen Blenda, Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions Fifalda and Fleur de Fyler, daughters of Countess de Fyler (Queen Blenda's favorite lady in waiting):

Before the family dinner in “Ardis the Second” Demon Veen (in VN’s novel Ada, 1969, Van’s and Ada’s father) tells Van that a good son should put up with a little paternal repetitiousness: