Blodgett Waxwing and Pale Fire

[Jade Becker]

Noticed on the first line of Nabokov's Pale Fire (the poem part), we've got a mention of "the shadow of the waxwing slain."

Do you think this adds any meaning to our friend Blodgett Waxwing's name/role in Gravity's Rainbow? Or is it just for fun? I remember hearing rumors about Pynchon taking a class or two by Nabokov. I haven't finished Pale Fire yet, so perhaps the significance will become apparent. 

Or perhaps not. Unless there was something I missed about Mucho, Oedipa's name seemed to have little to do with the Complex.

Jade-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l