The Reader and the Author

Nabokov's novel is structured as a literary commentary on a poem, and because of this the central dynamic of the story is between an author, John Shade, and a reader, Charles Kinbote. Kinbote, as the reader and critic, has the final say about the meaning of John Shade's work. He serves as the interpreter because he is the audience who experiences John Shade's poetry.

As Kinbote begins talking about Shade's poem, the reader realizes that Kinbote is a poor interpreter of Shade's work. Kinbote is unable to imagine any perspective other than his own, and he inserts his own personality, point of view, and ideas into Shade's work at every possible moment. Kinbote's self-absorbed reading of Shade's poetry is an exaggeration, but it serves to remind the reader that every reader inserts his or her own experiences and knowledge into something that he or...