An aspect of Nabokov's Pale fire : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in English at Massey University

Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author.

AN ASPECT OF NABOKOV'S PALE FIRE

A thesis submitted in partial fulfiloent of the recu~re~en~s

for ~he degree of ~aster of Ar~s

in English at Massey University.

Stanley Roche

1971

CONTENTS

Chapter Page

Prefatory Note 1

I Introduction

..

²

II Poet and Pattern 9

III A Note on Nabokov's word-Play

17

IV Poet and Parasite 22

v Shade and Kinbote 36

VI An Anatomy of Man· 45

VII The Creative Compost 68

VIII A Tentative Interpretation 81 Notes on the Text 86

Bibliography 90

Prefatory Note

Quotations frow. and references to Pale Fire are iuentified in the text as either page references to Pale Fire ·(New York, 1962)

or line references to the poem "Pale Fire" . All other citations are identified in the

1 .