Nabokov Essay- Question #6 Introduction/Conclusion

In Nabokov's lecture, "Good Readers and Good Writers" he uses two different methods of introduction.  First, he gives the reader a brief summary of what his lecture is going to discuss.  In this summary he says, "my plan is to deal lovingly, in loving and lingering detail, with several European Masterpieces."  Next Nabokov quotes a man named Flaubert to grab the reader's attention saying, "What a scholar one might be if one knew well only some half a dozen books."  The use of both a summary and a quote in this introductory paragraph helps to both catch the readers attention and give the reader an impression of what is going to be discussed in the lecture.

In the conclusion of this lecture Nabokov connects all the points he makes throughout the entire piece.  He summarizes his thoughts on the proper way to enjoy and learn from literature by saying, "It seems to me that a good formula to test the quality of a novel is, in the long run, a merging of the precision of poetry and the intuition of science."  This is the basic idea of the entire lecture-the balance between logic and passion.  The conclusion helps to clarify the entire meaning of Nabokov's essay and summarizes his ideas in a creative way using imagery in the last lines which read, "Then with a pleasure which is both sensual and intellectual we shall watch the author build his castle of cards and watch the castle of cards become a castle of beautiful steel and glass."


Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." 1948. Lecture.