The Afterlife of Timon of Athens

The Palest Fire

Authors

  • Gretchen E. Minton Montana State University

Abstract

Cluster: Shakespeare's Literary Afterlives

Edited by Mark Bayer

Vladimir Nabokov's novel about a fictional poet and his delusional commentator cleverly and consistently alludes to the relative obscurity of Timon of Athens in the Shakespearean canon. Nabokov's use of Timon as a point of reference in this novel both highlights the complexity of Pale Fire's interest in light, shade, and obscurity and serves as a metaphor for the afterlife of this infrequently referenced Shakespearean play. Timon of Athens — a shadowy, unfinished, and co-authored play — works very well as a companion piece to Pale Fire, itself constructed as a multi-authored, heavily-edited work that undergoes repeated revision.

Author Biography

Gretchen E. Minton, Montana State University

Gretchen E. Minton is an Associate Professor of English at Montana State University in Bozeman. She is the co-editor of the Arden 3 edition of Timon of Athens and has published articles on Augustine, Erasmus, John Bale, John Foxe, and contemporary film and drama. She is currently working on a critical edition of John Bale's The Image of Both Churches and the Norton 3 edition of Troilus and Cressida.

Issue Cover text: B&L, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2010. Image: A woman holds an orb with a serious facial expression.

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Published

2010-05-01

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2010): Spring/Summer

Section

Articles