Invitation to a Beheading

Style and Technique

«Invitation to a Beheading» by Vladimir Nabokov is characterized by a complex and multilayered style. The language is rich with metaphors, symbols, and allegories, creating an atmosphere of absurdity and unreality. Nabokov employs wordplay, puns, and literary allusions, requiring readers to be highly attentive and culturally aware. The narrative structure is nonlinear, with frequent shifts between reality and fantasy, emphasizing the inner world of the protagonist, Cincinnatus C. Literary techniques include stream of consciousness, intertextuality, and elements of magical realism. The work is also filled with philosophical reflections on freedom, identity, and the absurdity of human existence.