Nabokov's Cinematic Sensibility and Film Strategy in The Defense
Journal: The Slavonic and East European Review
Year: 2023

Abstract: This article attempts to address two overlooked aspects concerning Nabokov's treatment of cinema in his work and his relationship to the medium. First, it considers the impact of film on Nabokov during his time in pre-revolutionary Russia, arguing that his cinematic sensibility was formed long before his arrival in émigré Berlin and that these early experiences were foundational to an interaction with cinema that continued throughout his career. Secondly, by way of Nabokov's 1928 poem,