Pale Fire
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| - | # the [[essence]] or inherent nature of a person or thing | ||
| - | #:* '''1962''': My vision reeked with truth. It had the tone, / The '''quiddity''' and quaintness of its own / Reality. — [[Vladimir Nabokov]], ''[[Pale Fire]]'' | ||
| - | # a trifle; a [[nicety]] or [[quibble]] | ||
| - | In [[philosophy]], '''quiddity''' is [[identity (philosophy)|identity]] or "whatness," i.e., something's "what it is." The term derives from the Latin word "quidditas," which was used by the medieval [[Scholastics]] to refer to a concept of [[Substance theory|substance]] they encountered while translating the works of [[Aristotle]]. | + | '''''Pale Fire''''' (1962) is a [[novel]] by [[Vladimir Nabokov]]. The novel is presented as a poem titled "Pale Fire" by a fictional author, with an introduction and commentary by a fictional friend of his. Together these elements form a narrative in which both authors are central characters. |
| - | The (Greek equivalent) term was used by Aristotle in reference to an entity's aspects of "matter" and "form." | + | The novel's unusual structure has attracted much attention, and it is often cited as an important example of [[metafiction]].{{Fact|date=March 2008}} ''Pale Fire'' has spawned a wide variety of interpretations and a large body of written criticism. The Nabokov authority [[Brian Boyd]] has called it "Nabokov's most perfect novel". |
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| - | It describes properties a particular substance (e.g. a person) shares with others of its kind. The question "what (quid) is it?" asks for a general description by way of commonailty. This is quiddity or "whatness" (i.e., its "what it is"). Quiddity is often contrasted with the [[haecceity]] or "thisness" of an item, which, in turn, describes the particular properties of an object or substance (e.g. a particular person). | + | |
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| - | == Other senses == | + | |
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| - | *In law, the term is used to refer to a quibble or academic point. An example can be seen in Hamlet's graveside speech found in [[Hamlet]] by [[William Shakespeare]]. "Where be his quiddities now, his quillets, his cases, his tenures" says Hamlet referring to a lawyer's quiddities. | + | |
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| - | *Quiddity is the name for the mystical dream sea in [[Clive Barker]]'s novel ''[[The Great and Secret Show]]'' that exists as a higher plane of human existence. It is featured as more of a literal sea in the novel's sequel, ''[[Everville]]'' and the related short story, [[On Amen's Shore]]. | + | |
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| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | *[[Essence]] | + | |
| - | *[[Substance]]{{GFDL}} | + | |
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Pale Fire (1962) is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a poem titled "Pale Fire" by a fictional author, with an introduction and commentary by a fictional friend of his. Together these elements form a narrative in which both authors are central characters.
The novel's unusual structure has attracted much attention, and it is often cited as an important example of metafiction.Template:Fact Pale Fire has spawned a wide variety of interpretations and a large body of written criticism. The Nabokov authority Brian Boyd has called it "Nabokov's most perfect novel".
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Pale Fire" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
