Dark pictures, thrones, the stones that pilgrims kiss Poems that take a thousand years to die But ape the immortality of this Red label on a little butterfly.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Nabokov contrasts fleeting human symbols with the lasting image of a red butterfly, suggesting art can achieve a kind of immortality.
- In plain terms
- Art can outlive ordinary symbols.
- What can you take from it?
- Create work that endures beyond its time.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes a symbol timeless?
- Can any art be truly immortal?
Another view
Immortality is a romantic notion; many works fade regardless.
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