Vladimir Nabokov, also known as Vladimir Sirin, was a renowned novelist. His poetic prose writing and unorthodox and complex plots, helped pave the way for his success; whether he was writing poetry or novels. Although some of his earliest works are in Russian, when they were translated, he became a distinguished author in English as well. (Vladimir Nabokov Biography)
Vladimir Nabokov was born into a rich, old aristocratic family of minor nobility. He was an only child and lived a peaceful and happy childhood until his father died. His father was the leader of a pre-Revolutionary Democracy Party and was assassinated while shielding another man. His family, then fled to England. While in England he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he originally studied zoology but then switched to literature, specifically, French and Russian. During his studies at Cambridge his family moved to Berlin. After he finished College in 1922, he followed them. (Albert) In 1923, he …show more content…
(Albert) However, he doesn’t have a traditional writing style. He has a more flashy writing style; he cares deep for the sound, shape, and color of his words. Normally poetry is associated with the audio and visual qualities of words. Nabokov, however, didn’t care, his style of writing is filled with poetic flair. This love of poetic flair led him to add French phrases in his writing. For example in Lolita, he writes, “and with one beat of her lashes: “Tant pis,”” (Nabokov 21). (Lesser Analysis) Not only is his writing style weird but he the subjects of his books is about the problem of art itself disguised as something else. The Defense, Despair, and Invitation to a Beheading, all seems to be about its respective topics, comments about art that are critical to understanding the book as a whole. The problem of art appears again in his novel, The Gift, which is about a young artist’s development in post-World War 1