[NPPF] Canto Three: The English stuff.. hueshade

[s~Z]

>>>Well, no...  hue = color<<<

Nabokov is not limited to the primary definition of a word. His usage of
'shadow' in the first line of the Pale Fire poem is a case in point.  If you
limit your understanding of 'shadow' to the primary definition it doesn't
lead very far. However, if you use a dictionary, as Nabokov recommends,
multiple possibilities for the use of the term and its relevance to the
novel, esp. John Shade's identity, are revealed. And its usage as 'mirrored
image' is far down the list at #9.

shadow

SYLLABICATION: shad·ow
PRONUNCIATION:   shd
NOUN: 1. An area that is not or is only partially irradiated or illuminated
because of the interception of radiation by an opaque object between the
area and the source of radiation. 2. The rough image cast by an object
blocking rays of illumination. See synonyms at shade. 3. An imperfect
imitation or copy. 4. shadows The darkness following sunset. 5. A feeling or
cause of gloom or unhappiness: The argument cast a shadow on their
friendship. 6a. A nearby or adjoining region; vicinity: grew up in the
shadow of the ballpark. b. A dominating presence or influence: spent years
working in the shadow of the lab director. 7a. A darkened area of skin under
the eye. Often used in the plural. b. An incipient growth of beard that
makes the skin look darker. 8. A shaded area in a picture or photograph. 9.
A mirrored image or reflection. 10. A phantom; a ghost. 11a. One, such as a
detective or spy, that follows or trails another. b. A constant companion.
c. Sports A player who guards an opponent closely. 12. A faint indication; a
foreshadowing. 13. A vestige or inferior form: shadows of their past
achievements. 14. An insignificant portion or amount; a trace: beyond a
shadow of a doubt. 15. Shelter; protection: under the shadow of their
corporate sponsor.
VERB: Inflected forms: shad·owed, shad·ow·ing, shad·ows

TRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To cast a shadow on; shade. 2. To make gloomy or dark;
cloud. 3. To represent vaguely, mysteriously, or prophetically. 4. To darken
in a painting or drawing; shade in. 5. To follow, especially in secret;
trail. 6. Sports To guard (an opponent) closely throughout the playing area,
especially in ice hockey.
INTRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To change by gradual degrees. 2. To become clouded
over as if with shadows: Her face shadowed with sorrow.
ADJECTIVE: Not having official status: a shadow government of exiled
leaders; a shadow cabinet.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, from Old English sceaduwe, oblique case of
sceadu, shade, shadow.
OTHER FORMS: shadow·er -NOUN

WORD HISTORY: Shade and shadow are not only related in meaning; historically
they are the same word. In Old English, the ancestor of Modern English
spoken a thousand years ago, nouns were inflected; that is, they had
different forms depending on how they were used in a sentence. One of the
inflected forms of the Old English noun sceadu, translatable as either
"shade" or "shadow," was sceaduwe; this form was used when the word was
preceded by a preposition (as in in sceaduwe, "in the shade, in shadow"). As
time went on these two forms of the same word were interpreted as two
separate words. The same thing happened to other Old English words, too: our
mead and meadow come from two different case-forms of the same Old English
word for "meadow."
http://www.bartleby.com/61/90/S0309000.html

Similarly, with 'hue,' the dictionary reveals that it can indeed signify
'shade.'

hue

NOUN: 1. The property of colors by which they can be perceived as ranging
from red through yellow, green, and blue, as determined by the dominant
wavelength of the light. See table at color. 2. A particular gradation of
color; a shade or tint. 3. Color: all the hues of the rainbow. 4.
Appearance; aspect: a man of somber hue.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, color, form, from Old English hw, ho.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/37/H0313700.html

The poem's opening line can mean many things depending on, (among other
factors) which definitions of 'shadow' and 'slain' are used.