NPPF -- Doubts on the incest business

[s~Z]

I'm just beginning my exploration of the first 20 pages of the commentary
and INCEST has laready imbedded itself twice, once in Kinbote's name and
again in his abbreviated mention of the poem's first line.

[C]harl[es] k[in]bo[t]e

[s]la[in], [etc]

One more tidbit, then I'll hush until it's my turn.

This Zembla 'burning' in Kinbote's brain, 'bursting' with rhymes ready to
'spurt' at the brush of an eyelash (p. 80), may have something to do with:

mblaze

TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: em·blazed, em·blaz·ing, em·blaz·es
1. To set on fire. 2. To cause to glow; light up.

blaze

PRONUNCIATION:   blz
NOUN: 1a. A brilliant burst of fire; a flame. b. A destructive fire. 2. A
bright or steady light or glare: the blaze of the desert sun. 3. A
brilliant, striking display: flowers that were a blaze of color. 4. A sudden
outburst, as of emotion: a blaze of anger. 5. blazes Used as an intensive:
Where in blazes are my keys?
VERB: Inflected forms: blazed, blaz·ing, blaz·es

INTRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To burn with a bright flame. 2. To shine brightly. 3.
To be resplendent: a garden blazing with flowers. 4. To flare up suddenly:
My neighbor's temper blazed. 5. To shoot rapidly and continuously: Machine
guns blazed.
TRANSITIVE VERB: To shine or be resplendent with: eyes that blazed hatred.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English blase, from Old English blæse. See bhel-1 in
Appendix I.

bhel-1
DEFINITION: To shine, flash, burn; shining white and various bright colors.

Derivatives include blue, bleach, blind, blond, blanket, black, flagrant,
and flame.
   I. Suffixed full-grade form *bhel-o-. 1a. beluga, from Russian bely,
white; b. Beltane, from Scottish Gaelic bealltainn, from Old Irish beltaine,
"fire of Bel" (ten, tene, fire; see tep-), from Bel, name of a pagan Irish
deity akin to the Gaulish divine name Belenos, from Celtic *bel-o-. 2.
phalarope, from Greek phalaros, having a white spot.
   II. Extended root *bhle1-, contracted to *bhl-. 1. Suffixed form
*bhl-wo-. blue, from Old French bleu, blue, from Germanic *blwaz, blue. 2.
Suffixed zero-grade form *bh-wo-. flavescent, flavo-; flavin, flavone,
flavoprotein, from Latin flvus, golden or reddish yellow.
   III. Various extended Germanic forms. 1. bleach, from Old English blcan,
to bleach, from Germanic *blaikjan, to make white. 2. bleak1, from Old Norse
bleikr, shining, white, from Germanic *blaikaz, shining, white. 3.
blitzkrieg, from Old High German blëcchazzen, to flash, lighten, from
Germanic *blikkatjan. 4a. blaze1, from Old English blæse, torch, bright
fire; b. blesbok, from Middle Dutch bles, white spot; c. blemish, from Old
French

ble(s)mir, to make pale.

a-c all from Germanic *blas-, shining, white. 5a. blind; blindfold,
purblind, from Old English blind, blind; b. blende, from Old High German
blentan, to blind, deceive; c. blend, from Old Norse blanda, to mix; d.
blond, from Old French blond, blond. a-d all from Germanic *blendaz,
clouded, and *bland-, *bland-ja-, to mix, mingle (< "make cloudy"). 6a.
blench1, from Old English blencan, to deceive; b. blanch, blank, blanket;
blancmange, from Old French blanc, white. Both a and b from Germanic
*blenk-, *blank-, to shine, dazzle, blind. 7. blush, from Old English
blyscan, to glow red, from Germanic *blisk-, to shine, burn.
   IV. Extended root *bhleg-, to shine, flash, burn. 1. O-grade form bhlog-.
black, from Old English blæc, black, from Germanic *blakaz, burned. 2.
Zero-grade form *bhg-. a. fulgent, fulgurate; effulgent, foudroyant,
refulgent, from Latin fulgre, to flash, shine, and fulgur, lightning; b.
fulminate, from Latin fulmen (< *fulg-men), lightning, thunderbolt. 3a.
flagrant; conflagrant, conflagration, deflagrate, from Latin flagrre, to
blaze; b. chamise, flambé, flambeau, flamboyant, flame, flamingo, flammable;
inflame, from Latin flamma (< *flag-ma), a flame. 4. phlegm, phlegmatic,
Phlegethon, from Greek phlegein, to burn. 5. O-grade form *bhlog-.
phlogiston, phlox; phlogopite, from Greek phlox, a flame, also a wallflower.
(Pokorny 1. bhel- 118, bheleg- 124, bhleu-(k)- 159.)

ZEMBLA <=> PALE (WHITE) FIRE
_______________________________

Nabokov says a good reader must have:

(1) imagination
(2) memory
(3) artistic sense
(4) a dictionary

I suspect he recommends a dictionary, not because one does not know the
meanings of words, but because he makes use of less common definitions, and
pays close attention to etymologies.