Pale Fire

Kinbote blames Shade’s American accent for certain awkward rhymes in “Pale Fire.” He criticizes Shade’s own criticism of “distinguished poets” and claims that previous versions of the poem were better. Kinbote also condemns a member of the English department named Professor Paul Hurley, who bears a grudge against Kinbote for exiting a concert due to a migraine. After Shade’s death, Hurley claimed that “Pale Fire” had fallen into the hands of an unqualified, “deranged” individual.

In the poem, Kinbote writes, Shade clearly uses simple pseudonyms for Jane Provost and Pete. After Hazel’s death, Jane tried to contact the Shades because she was certain that her cousin, Pete, was innocent. They never replied to her letter. As the night of Hazel’s death is described in the poem, Kinbote criticizes Shade’s clumsy, “labored” language.

Kinbote imagines that as Shade was writing Line 408, Gradus was visiting an art enthusiast named Joseph Lavender to learn King Charles’s location. According to Kinbote, a member of the working class like Gradus could not possibly have convinced Lavender that he was anything other than a spy. However, while being given a tour of the property by a young man, Gradus saw graffiti claiming that Charles had visited the villa.