The Real Life of Sebastian Knight Lesson Plan

Commentary Corner

Kind of Activity:

Collaborative Writing

Objective:

As groups, students will write a brief commentary on a famous poem.

Structure:

V.'s commentary on Sebastian's life is inherently flawed: his close relationship with Sebastian makes it difficult, if not impossible, for V. to provide an objective commentary on the author's life. This theme of an unreliable narrator presenting themselves as an authority arises frequently throughout Nabokov's oeuvre: Pale Fire is the closest point of comparison to Sebastian Knight, but Lolita also delves into this fairly significantly.

In order to understand what Nabokov is trying to do with this novel, it is important...