The Captivating Language of Persuasion in Lolita Daniel Arizpe College

Vladimir Nabokov’s work Lolita is a reflection of his aesthetic literature. Nabokov is able to construct a character who can stimulate and appeal to his audience through his fluid and articulate use of language. A language that is able to mask the taboo relationship between a man and a young girl. For more than half a century Nabokov’s Lolita has been seen as the quintessential perverse love story romanticized into something beautiful through the careful use of poetic, deceptive, and contrasting language, illustrating the power words have to influence others.

Humbert Humbert begins his narration with his vivid description of Lolita, “light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul, Lo-lee-ta.” (Nabokov 1) In doing so the tone is already set. Humbert Humbert’s passion is already identified through his poetic description of his love. The initial introduction places the reader right into the mindset and understanding of H.H’s feelings toward his love. In doing so he is able to already make a connection with the reader. The feeling of love and immense passion or even lust is one that most everyone is familiar with. As Mulready points out, “in only the first paragraph of the novel, the reader gets a sense of how truly...