Pale Fire
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| - | # the [[essence]] or inherent nature of a person or thing | + | '''''Pale Fire''''' ([[1962]]) is a [[novel]] by [[Vladimir Nabokov]]. The novel is presented as a poem titled "Pale Fire" by a fictional author, with an introduction and commentary by a fictional friend of his. Together these elements form a narrative in which both authors are central characters. |
| - | #:* '''1962''': My vision reeked with truth. It had the tone, / The '''quiddity''' and quaintness of its own / Reality. — [[Vladimir Nabokov]], ''[[Pale Fire]]'' | + | |
| - | # a trifle; a [[nicety]] or [[quibble]] | + | |
| - | In [[philosophy]], '''quiddity''' is [[identity (philosophy)|identity]] or "whatness," i.e., something's "what it is." The term derives from the Latin word "quidditas," which was used by the medieval [[Scholastics]] to refer to a concept of [[Substance theory|substance]] they encountered while translating the works of [[Aristotle]]. | + | The novel's unusual structure has attracted much attention, and it is often cited as an important example of [[metafiction]]. ''Pale Fire'' has spawned a wide variety of interpretations and a large body of written criticism. The Nabokov authority [[Brian Boyd]] has called it "Nabokov's most perfect novel". |
| - | The (Greek equivalent) term was used by Aristotle in reference to an entity's aspects of "matter" and "form." | + | ==Explanation of the title== |
| + | As Nabokov pointed out himself, the title of John Shade's poem is from [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Timon of Athens]]:'' "The moon's an arrant thief, / And her pale fire she snatches from the sun" (Act IV, scene 3), a line often taken as a metaphor about creativity and inspiration. Kinbote quotes the passage but does not recognize it, as he says he has access only to an inaccurate Zemblan translation of the play "in his [[Timonian|Timonian]] cave"<!--Index, Kinbote, p. 308-->, and in a separate note he even rails against the common practice of using quotations as titles. | ||
| - | It describes properties a particular substance (e.g. a person) shares with others of its kind. The question "what (quid) is it?" asks for a general description by way of commonailty. This is quiddity or "whatness" (i.e., its "what it is"). Quiddity is often contrasted with the [[haecceity]] or "thisness" of an item, which, in turn, describes the particular properties of an object or substance (e.g. a particular person). | + | Some critics have noted a secondary reference in the book's title to ''[[Hamlet]]'', where the Ghost remarks how the glow-worm "'gins to pale his uneffectual fire" (Act I, scene 5). |
| - | == Other senses == | + | The title is first mentioned in the foreword: "I recall seeing him from my porch, on a brilliant morning, burning a whole stack of them in the pale fire of the incinerator..." |
| - | *In law, the term is used to refer to a quibble or academic point. An example can be seen in Hamlet's graveside speech found in [[Hamlet]] by [[William Shakespeare]]. "Where be his quiddities now, his quillets, his cases, his tenures" says Hamlet referring to a lawyer's quiddities. | + | {{GFDL}} |
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| - | *Quiddity is the name for the mystical dream sea in [[Clive Barker]]'s novel ''[[The Great and Secret Show]]'' that exists as a higher plane of human existence. It is featured as more of a literal sea in the novel's sequel, ''[[Everville]]'' and the related short story, [[On Amen's Shore]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | *[[Essence]] | + | |
| - | *[[Substance]]{{GFDL}} | + | |
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Pale Fire (1962) is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a poem titled "Pale Fire" by a fictional author, with an introduction and commentary by a fictional friend of his. Together these elements form a narrative in which both authors are central characters.
The novel's unusual structure has attracted much attention, and it is often cited as an important example of metafiction. Pale Fire has spawned a wide variety of interpretations and a large body of written criticism. The Nabokov authority Brian Boyd has called it "Nabokov's most perfect novel".
Explanation of the title
As Nabokov pointed out himself, the title of John Shade's poem is from Shakespeare's Timon of Athens: "The moon's an arrant thief, / And her pale fire she snatches from the sun" (Act IV, scene 3), a line often taken as a metaphor about creativity and inspiration. Kinbote quotes the passage but does not recognize it, as he says he has access only to an inaccurate Zemblan translation of the play "in his Timonian cave", and in a separate note he even rails against the common practice of using quotations as titles.
Some critics have noted a secondary reference in the book's title to Hamlet, where the Ghost remarks how the glow-worm "'gins to pale his uneffectual fire" (Act I, scene 5).
The title is first mentioned in the foreword: "I recall seeing him from my porch, on a brilliant morning, burning a whole stack of them in the pale fire of the incinerator..."
