NPPF: Preliminary: The Epigraph

[Malignd]

Rob Jackson:

<<I'm inclined to reject this idea. I don't think the
poem is "first-rate" in itself. I do think it's a
first-rate parody of a type of  pseudo-Eliotesque
bombast, however. In that sense, it's Nabokov's poem,
rather than Shade's, which might be called
"first-rate".>>

and

<<... and my stance on this is that it is Nabokov's
poem, as parody and satire, which is a far greater
achievement than Shade's, *even though it's exactly
the same poem ...>>

It's interesting to consider the idea that VN in
service of the novel Pale Fire, made the poem Pale
Fire second rate, if only in specific ways; i.e., ways
that invest Shade's character and frame him in a
particular way.  One might say (although, it states
the case too crudely; nevertheless--) that the quality
of the poem as VN's is inversely proportional to the
quality of the poem as Shade's.

But a question, then:  if VN can, because of the
context, be applauded for intentional weaknesses
within the poem, can one not say the same about Shade?
 Could Shade deliberately muck about in his own poem
in response to his own aesthetic demands, e.g., a
rigorously honest self-revelation, say, to
intentionally assume a more ordinary voice, a less
refined talent than he's capable of, much as a
novelist might, writing in the first person?  

More broadly, can any poet elevate, by his own
insisted-upon context and point of view, something
that would otherwise be deemed second-rate?  Could
Shade himself not create the context that turns his
Brillo box of a poem into art?  I think the answer
must be yes, if we're going to allow that that's true
for VN's poem within the novel Pale Fire.


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