Hey, guys! So, I thought I would do something kind of different and choose a passage from a book that I have NOT yet read. Sounds strange, but I do want to eventually read it, and I loved the language in this passage. Just a warning, though, the passage is from an extremely controversial book, so keep that in mind.
This week, I’m going to be analyzing a passage from Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (those brilliant Russians, am I right?) and Elvis Presley’s rendition of “Fever.”
Lolita was written by Vladimir Nabokov, published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York.
“Fever” was originally written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell and originally recorded by Little Willie John in 1956. Elvis Presley covered it and released it in 1960 on his album “Elvis is Back.”
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.
Did she have a precursor? She did, indeed, she did. In one point fact, there might have been no Lolita at all had I not loved, one summer, a certain initial girl-child. In a princedom by the sea. Oh when? About as many years before Lolita was born as my age was that summer. You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style.
Ladies and gentleman of the jury, exhibit number one is what the seraphs, the misinformed, simple, noble-winged seraphs, envied. Look at this tangle of thorns” (Nabokov 1).
As always, here’s the song to go along with the passage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Ht1q9psfY
Just a fair warning about the premise of this book (well, passage): the narrator is a middle-aged man by the name of Humbert Humbert with an addiction to nymphets and a history of mental illness. He falls in love with a young girl, as stated in the passage, and he is actually narrating this story in a jail cell while on trial for murder. If that’s incentive enough to not want to read this, I understand, but this book has always interested me because of its controversial aspect. I mean, just with the first line alone, I was immediately intrigued. It created a seductive tone at the very start, which leaves the reader confused especially if they know who the narrator is speaking about. Such words such as “light,” “fire,” “sin,” “my arms,” “seraphs,” and “tangle of thorns,” lend an extremely strong sense of that seduction and romance that he felt when he was with her. Seraphs, in regards to the Hebrew Bible, are serpents and are often referred to as the “burning ones,” thought to be because of the burning sensation of their poison. He refers to these seraphs in comparison to the burning sensation that Lolita makes him feel, powerful enough to put the burning sensation of the seraphs’ poison to shame.
Oh, now this song. It starts off with a simple bass and snapping of the fingers, which is already seductive. Once Elvis’ voice comes in, the deep tone of his voice, along with the deep playing of the bass, adds to the overall tone of the song. I mean, the title alone should give you an idea of how the song itself would sound. The first line of this passage is what made me put the two together. When I saw the passage, I immediately tried to look for a song in which I could say Lolita’s name as Humbert Humbert describes it, and I found that it was possible with this song. Every time the bass is plucked, or when the fingers snap, or even when the drums come in, Lolita’s name just happens to roll of your tongue. I would ask you to try it, but unless you’re alone like I am, you’ll probably sound weird. Say it fast, say it slow, but it works. The ending lyrics also correlate with the burning sensation that Humbert feels. In the end of the song, he repeats “what a lovely way to burn,” which is exactly what Humbert Humbert is trying to put across to his “jury” (the reader).
You guys, was I the only one that thought this passage was amazing. I mean, I know the whole premise of it is just…not okay but he really does have a way with words. It just sounds sultry and all he’s talking about is a girl. Not just that, but her name. He establishes a sense of how it feels to say her name, which is intimate in itself. Oh, and this cover of the song is just so hot. I don’t know how else to put it. Elvis’ voice is just so sexy.
Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this week’s post and I hope that no one freaked out too much over the topic of my passion blog. Oh, and if you guys ever want a song that I post on here, I have them in my music library, so I could always send them to you if you asked! Thanks again for reading!