Introduction to Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita/Proper names
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Proper names emploed as a stylistic device are a type of pun, but due to the number of these names we can discuss them seperately. Nabokov uses his characters' names for much more purposes than just identification[1]. What is more, rarely any name is used by Nabokov at random. The names perform various functions in Nabokov's texts, including:
- Allusive names - Names of Lolita's characters often allude to, for example, children's books and fairy tales, but also to much more serious and gloomy works of art, such as Edgar Allan Poe's texts. Allusions to Poe are numerous, for example, the name of Humbert's first love - Annabel Leigh and the Rivera where Humbert grew up - "princedom by the sea" allude to Poe's poem Annabel Lee. What is more, Humbert sometimes calls himself names that refer to Poe (Mr. Edgar H. Humbert, for example).
- Thematic names - Humbert Humbert and Dolores Haze posses names that "are plays on shadows and shades": Humbert's name, when pronounced as in French, becomes a homonym for ombre (shade)[2].
- Ironic (or humorous) names
- Self-descriptive names
- Alliterative names - Also in this case Humbert Humbert's name may serve as an example.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Lokrantz, Jessie Thomas. The Underside of the Weave: Some Stylistic Devices Used by Vladimir Nabokov. Uppsala. Doctoral dissertation at Uppsala University, 1973. Print. p. 63
- ↑ Lokrantz, Jessie Thomas. The Underside of the Weave: Some Stylistic Devices Used by Vladimir Nabokov. Uppsala. Doctoral dissertation at Uppsala University, 1973. Print. p. 75