Humbert Humbert:
Would you like me to read you some poetry?
Lolita Haze:
Sure, why not?
Humbert Humbert:
This is my favorite poet. "It was..."
Lolita Haze:
Who's the poet?
Humbert Humbert:
The divine Edgar.
Lolita Haze:
Who's the divine Edgar. Edgar who?
Humbert Humbert:
Edgar Allan Poe, of course. "It was night in the lonesome October, Of my most immemorial year." Notice how he emphasizes this word. "It was hard by the dim lake of Auber, In the misty mid region of Weir" You see, he takes a word like "dim" in one line and twists it. You see? And it comes back as "mid region of Weir."
Lolita Haze:
"Mid region," and twists it to "dim." That's pretty good, pretty clever.
Humbert Humbert:
"Thus I pacified Psyche and kissed her, And conquered her scruples and gloom, And we passed to the end of the vista, But were stopped by the door of a tomb, And I said, 'What is written, sweet sister?' She replied, 'Ulalume, Ulalume."'
Lolita Haze:
Well, I think it's a little corny, to tell you the truth.
Humbert Humbert:
What do you object to?
Lolita Haze:
Well, the "vista-sister," that's like, "Lolita-sweeter."
Humbert Humbert:
That's very true. That's a very acute observation. If you were in my class I would give you an A plus.
