Classics Retold

In Chapter 44 of Far From The Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy connects the life of Bathsheba to the poem "Ode to the Westwind" by Percy Bysshe Shelly.  The autumn wind violently scatters dead leaves, comparing them to terrified spirits fleeing a powerful magician.  Shelly uses this metaphor to establish the West Wind as a powerful, almost supernatural force. Here is the break down of the first stanza.  • The Enchanter: The fierce Westwind, acts as the untamable breath of autumn. • The Ghosts: The dead leaves of various colours (yellow, black, pale and hectic red) being swept away. • The Meaning: The wind acts as a destroyer and preserver. While it destroys the old, it carries the winged seeds to their winter beds, ensuring the rebirth in the spring. Because of its vivid imagery, it is frequently used to describe any mass exodus or frantic scattering of people, animals, or objects. The simile reflects Bathsheba's emotional condition after shocking discoveries about Sergeant Tro...

A brake of fern refers to dense overgrown thicket or cluster of ferns. The phrase combines the word "fern" with an archaic noun "brake"for  brushwood or thicket.  Depending on the context, the phrase can refer to: Dense Thicket: An area heavily overgrown with large, coarse fern (പന്നാദി, പന്ന) A specific plant variety:  The brake fern (pteris genus) is a popular, feathery evergreen fern often grown as indoor house plant or indoor shade garden. They are also called braken, and noted for their large highly divided fronds and are found on all continents except Antartica; their typical habitat is moorland or moor differently called as prairie in North America, pampas in South America, veld in South Africa, and steppe in Asia. They are characterized by short grasslands in semi arid climates.  Heathes and pastures are respectively shrublands and grasslands.

At a later hour of the same evening Bathsheba was sitting alone and cheerless beside the first fire of the season in the large parlour.  Liddy came and stood at the door with a chamber candle stick in her hand.  "Do you want me any longer, ma'am," inquired Liddy.  "No more tonight, Liddy."  "I will sit up for master if you like, ma'am.  I am not at all afraid of Fanny, if I may sit in my own room and have a candle.  She was such a childlike  nesh  young thing that her spirit couldn't appear to anybody, I am quite sure."  "Oh, no, no!  You go to bed.  I'll sit up for him myself till twelve o'clock, and if he has not arrived by that time I shall give him up and go to bed too."  "It is half past ten now."  "Oh! Is it?"  "Why don't you sit upstairs ma'am?"  "Why don't I?" said Bathsheba desultorily.  "It isn't worthwhile --- there is a fire here.  Liddy," she sudden...

In Chapter 43 of Far From The Madding Crowd, sergeant Troy makes one of the most revealing statements about himself when he says to Bathsheba: "If Satan had not tempted me with the face of yours, and those cursed coquetries, I should have married her."  And then turning to Fanny: "In the sight of Heaven you are my very very wife."  This reference of Satan and Heaven (God) have several layers of meaning.  1. Troy shifts blame on to Bathsheba When Troy says that Satan tempted him through Bathsheba's beauty, he is making biblical image of temptation.  In Christian tradition Satan tempts people away from the right path.  Troy is effectively saying:  Fanny Robin was the woman he should have married.  Bathsheba's beauty tempted him away from that duty. His marriage to Bathsheba therefore is a kind of moral fall. But Troy's claim is untrue and unfair. He is avoiding his responsibility for his own choice.  He chose to abandon Fanny and pursue Bathsheba, a...

In Chapter 43 of Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy the reference to the "Mosaic law" means the laws traditionally believed to have been given by Moses to the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament.  Mosaic simply means "of Moses."  Hardy uses the phrase in moral and emotional context connected with marriage, fidelity, and punishment.  The allusion especially evokes the ancient and severe legal code of Old Testament - a system associated with justice devoid of mercy and compassion.  In this chapter of the novel, the emotional atmosphere is dominated by Bathsheba's sufferings, Troy's cruelty and recklessness, and the shadow of Fanny Robin's death. Questions of guilt and morality pervade the emotional atmosphere.  Bathsheba see her fate as a retribution for the death of Fanny and her child. Fanny through her death takes revenge on Bathsheba.  There is an implied contrast between harsh Mosaic laws and soft Christian ideas of forgiveness and...

In Chapter 43 of Far From The Madding Crowd, the phrase "Esther to this poor Vashti is a biblical comparison. It exposes a dramatic change in Bathsheba's position in Sergeant Troy's eyes.  Both Esther and Vashti are queens from Biblical book of Esther.  Vasti was the first queen of King Xerexxes, the ruler of Achaemenid Empire. She loses the King's favour and was removed. Esther became the queen and gained king's affection.  So the expression "Esther to this poor Vashti" means one woman replacing the other in affection, favour, or status.  At this point in the novel Bathsheba realizes that Troy's feelings have shifted towards the memory of Fanny Robin.  Bathsheba feels displaced.  Hardy's comparison suggests:- • Bathsheba has become Vashti, the neglected queen. • Fanny even in death becomes like Esther -- the woman who enjoys Troy's emotional devotion.  The phrase reflects jealousy, emotional dethronement and the painful realisation that love ...

Nesh is a dialect adjective meaning unusually sensitive to cold weather, because of being physically weak or frail in constitution.  Example: Put a coat on, you are being nesh.  The term is predominantly used in Northern England, the Midlands, and  North Wales. It is derived from Old English "hnesc" meaning weak, feeble or infirm.  It is a dialect in regional lexicon, and is still used by the locals.

A wall bounded the site of Casterbridge Union House. A long portion of the site was unwalled at the end. Here stood a gable, and it was covered by ivy, and a small door stood beyond the expanse of dark green leaves. The sill of the door was three or four feet above the ground. The ruts on the ground beneath indicated that the door was meant for vehicles carrying goods and passengers; it was not for pedestrians.  The entry and exit by the door was only at rare intervals: tufts of grass were growing undisturbed in the chinks of the sill. The clock on the tower of St George's Church pointed at three minutes to three, and a blue spring wagon, picked out with red [1] containing boughs and flowers turned from the highroad and halted on this side of the gable.  The chimes were yet stammering out a shattered form of Malbrook [2]; Joseph Poorgrass rang the bell, and received direction to back his wagon against the high door under the gable. The door then opened, and a plain elm coffin ...

In Chapter 42 of Far From The Madding Crowd, the phrase "I am a stanch Church of England" is a dialogue rendered by Jan Coggan.  Here:  Stanch is an archaic form of staunch, meaning firm, loyal, steadfast or strongly devoted. Church of England is Anglican church.  The speaker means that I am a firm and loyal supporter or the member of the Church of England.  Hardy's folk characters often speak with exaggerated seriousness about religion while sitting in taverns drinking ale or gossiping.  The religious identity is more cultural and social than theological. The conversations also reflect village pride, and attachment local traditions. 

Chapter 42 of Far From The Madding Crowd byThomas Hardy. Context: Joseph Poorgrass in Buck's Head inn, enjoying a mug of ale with his neighbours Jan Coggan and Mark Clark.  Poorgrass is entrusted with the coffin of Fanny Robin, and during his tedious journey in the wagon, he takes a break.  "Have gone to dogs -- upon my carcass" aired by Mark Clark is part of a rustic emotional dialogue typical of Hardy's farm folks. "Have gone to dogs"  This is an old English idiom meaning to deteriorate, to be ruined, or to fall into disarray or misery. Mark Clark means that life or circumstances have become very bad. "Upon my carcass"  Here it means not a dead body. Its meaning is "upon my soul" or "on my life" or "I swear it" The combined meaning of the phrase is: "Things have completely gone wrong, I swear they have."  The speech pattern reflects Hardy's Wessex folks' dramatic, earthy, and humourous even in distr...

Whop and slop are two entirely different words but when they are used together it means doing a messy, sloppy job or carelessly dishing something out, throwing things clumsily around.  They are used together in casual English as a rhyming phrase.  Example: He just threw the books on the table with a quick whop and slop. It may also mean rough, noisy, careless eating. Whop: To hit, strike, or defeat someone or something with a lot of force.  It can also mean to do something quickly and violently. It is often used informally in sports or rough physical contexts.  Example: The team completely whopped their opponents in the championship. Spill: • To splash liquid over the edge of a container. Example: Be careful!  Don't spill your coffee on the floor. • It also means unappetising, watery or low quality food. It is also used as a slang to refer to low quality digital content. In Chapter 42 of the Far From The Madding Crowd, The phrase means to work energetically....

Context: Buck's Head Inn, in Chapter 42 of Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. Joseph Poorgrass has been carrying the coffin of Fanny Robin in a wagon, and he stops the wagon before Buck's Head inn, enters it for a mug of ale. There he meets his neighbours Jan Coggan and Mark Clark at a round table enjoying liquor.  The present dialogue is taken from their conversation. "Horned man in the smoky house" is a rustic proverbial expression used by farm folks in their dialect. A horned man means a cuckold - a husband whose wife has been unfaithful.  In old European folklore and local dialect horns means sexual betrayal.  To wear horns means publicly shamed by wife's infidelity. The smoke house is a poor, dark, uncomfortable cottage, leading to confusion, misery, or unhappiness. The phrase reflects villagers earthy humour through proverbs drawing images. The idiom shows the nineteenth century tradition of Wessex.  It warns a man against the infidelity of his part...

In Chapter 42 of the Far From The Madding Crowd the expression that "Everything goes on like sticks a-breaking" is a rustic idiom used by Mark Clark to Joseph Poorgrass when the latter meets the former and Jan Coggan. All of them are neighbours and Joseph Poorgrass has been carrying the coffin of Fanny Robin back to Weatherbury. On the way he enters Buck Head inn for a mug of ale. It means:  Things are collapsing, falling apart or going wrong. The image behind the phrase is that of dry sticks snapping one after another -- quickly and disorderly.  Hardy often gives his rural charecters vivid speech drawn from rustic dialogue. The phrase reflects the events at the household and farm of Bathsheba Everdene, where the death of Fanny Robin exposes her relationship with sergeant Troy.  Life, order, and happiness of Bathsheba Everdene and her home seem to be breaking apart. The tone is similar to saying "Everything is going to pieces" or "things are falling apart....

A very small quantity, typically of liquid. The quantity of liquid that can be held inside a sewing thimble. The term combines thimble and the suffix ful (meaning full of), and dates back to early 1600s. It is often used informally as a figure of speech to describe a small pour of liquor or a minuscule of an abstract concept (e.g., "not a thimbleful of common sense.") Synonyms include a dash, a splash, tad, drop, or modicum. 

Joseph Poorgrass had been carrying the coffin of Fanny Robin. On the way he entered an inn (Buck's Head) for a mug of ale. His neighbours Mark Clark and Jan Coggan were there, already enjoying drinks at a round table. Mark Clark aired the dialogue, "your face don't praise your mistress's table."  It means this:  Joseph Poorgrass looked thin, miserable or underfed, and his presence did not advertise Bathsheba's hospitality very well.  If a servant's face appeared pale hungry and unhappy, people might think the mistress of the house did not feed or treat her workers properly.  The phrase "praise your mistress's table" means: • To show by one's healthy appearance, that the employer used to keep a good table. • That food and drinks are plentiful and generous. Mark Clark was teasing Joseph, "You don't look like a man well fed."  Poorgrass was often anxious, timid, and self pitying. Hardy uses such a rustic dialogue to show the ea...

A classic literary metaphor for Death.  It describes an indiscriminate, ultimate equaliser that spares no one -- regardless of wealth, social class or power -- making everyone equal in the end.  The phrase gained immense popularity in Victorian English literature, most notably in Thomas Hardy's classic novel Far From The Madding Crowd to describe the approaching spectre of death during a funeral procession in a rainy autumnal forest. 

Located just east of Dorchester in Dorset, in England. In Under The Greenwood Tree it appears as Yalbury Wood. The forest is primarily known as Yellowham wood. In Hardy's fictional Wessex, this woodland is often described as the village of Mellstock's  backyard.  It even inspired his well-known poem Yell'ham Wood's story.  It is located near the hamlet of Lower  Bockhampton where Hardy was born.

Atmospheric fungi are microscopic spores and cellular fragments suspended in the air.  Emitted from soil, decaying vegetation, and agricultural operations they act as massive organic aerosols.  They influence regional weather by triggering cloud formation, but can pose significant respiratory and allergic problems to human health. Ecological and atmospheric roles:- • Cloud Nucleation: Fungal spores act as highly efficient condensation and ice nuclie.  Water vapour in the atmosphere freezes or condenses around them, driving the hydrological cycle and precipitation patterns. • Organic Aerosols:  Fungi comprises a staggering around 23 percent of total organic Aerosols emitted into the earth's atmosphere. Environmental and climate impact: Fungi spores act as highly effective cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nuclie (IN).  They actively trigger water droplets and ice crystals to form, significantly influencing precipitation patterns. Fungi spores are released i...

Both Bathsheba and her husband remained silent after their return from the market. Troy was restless too.  The next day, which was a Sunday the silence continued.  Bathsheba went to church in the morning and afternoon.  This was the day before the Budmouth races.  In the evening Troy said suddenly, "Bathsheba, could you let me have twenty pounds?"  Her countenance instantly sank.  "Twenty pounds? "The fact is I want it badly," said Troy, his face marked his unusual anxiety. He had been living with the anxiety, all the day. "Ah! for those races tomorrow." Troy, for the moment made no reply. "Well, suppose I do want it for races?" he said at last. "Oh, Frank!" Bathsheba replied, and there was such an entreaty in her words.  "Only a few days ago you said that I was far sweeter than all your other pleasures put together, and you would give them all up for me, and now won't you give up this one, which is more a worry than a ple...

Pantomime, often called panto in UK is a theatrical performance based on fairy tale, featuring music, comedy, and audience participation.  It also refers to the art of acting through physical gestures and body movements without words. It is a form of family theatre, especially during Christmas season based on familiar tales like Cinderella, Aladdin or Jack and the Beanstalk.  The audience is expected to cheer the hero, boo the villian, and shout out comments.  The leading male is often played by a woman, while an older comedian figure (the dame ) is played by a man. It is a kind of dumb show. The word is often used to describe any confusing, ridiculous or exaggerated situation.  In Chapter 41 of Far From The Madding Crowd, Bathsheba Everdene sees Boldwood meeting Gabriel at long distance, and Joseph Poorgrass joining them. Nothing could be heard by Bathsheba of the conversation among them, it was a pantomime.  Moreover Bathsheba is disturbed by her married life ...

Diana is the Roman Goddess of hunt, moon, nature and childbirth, revered as a patroness of wildlife, hunters and the countryside. Equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, she is the daughter of Jupiter and Latona and twin sister to Apollo.  Diana is depicted as a swift huntress often with a bow, quiver and deer. She protected forests and wild life often portrayed as a fierce independent figure.  She was associated with night and merged with moon goddesses Luna and Hecate, sometimes described as triple deity. She was invoked to aid with child birth and was considered a guardian of women, young maidens and slaves. Diana was a virgin goddess, symbolizing female empowerment and self reliance.  She was originally an indigenous Italian goddess with her own distinct woodland cults, but later absorbed much of the Greek myths of Artemis. Bathsheba Everdene instinctively adore Diana because the goddess perfectly embodies Bathsheba's fierce desire for independence, self sufficiency a...

It is an idiom that means to aggressively or unkindly remind someone of a past error, failure, or fault often during an argument. It is used to provoke guilt, shame, or to diminish someone, usually to make them feel inferior or to win an argument.  It is used to provoke guilt, shame, or to diminish someone, usually to make them feel inferior, or to win an argument by bringing up unrelated past behaviours.  A variation of it is "throw it in my face" or "throw it back in my face."  It is often considered toxic or immature behaviour, designed to turn a conversation into "win/loss situation rather than a constructive discussion. "Rub  it in" is a relative idiom talking about a mistake. In Chapter 41 of  Far From The Madding Crowd Bathsheba was reminds her husband Troy of his promises before their marriage. She says that now he is using her errors or failures to get an edge over her.

The idiom one's heart is in his throat means experiencing extreme nervousness, fear, or anxiety, often causing physical sensation of light-heartedness or pounding heart.  It describes a moment of high tension, such as waiting for bad news, watching a horror movie or anticipating a scary event. Often used to describe a sudden rush of fear such as being heart in mouth while witnessing something dangerous.  In Chapter 41 of Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy use this idiom with slight variation. While leaving for Union House to meet Fanny Robin, Troy inadvertently opened the case at the back of his watch, and the small coil of hair stowed in it fell in the eyes of Bathsheba. Then followed heated exchange between the husband and wife. "Troy had driven her to extreme bitterness: her heart was big in her throat," are the words used by the novelist, to present the mental turbulence of Bathsheba. 

Lucus a non lucendo is a Latin phrase describing an absurd or iconic etymology where a thing is named for the opposite of its nature.  Lucus is a Latin term primarily meaning a sacred grove, woodland sanctuary or a consecrated clearing within a forest. Unlike natural forest a lucus was cultivated and considered a site where Romans held ceremonies, made vows, and left offerings to deities.  In ancient Roman religion, it was a wooded area dedicated to a particular deity  Lucus non lucendo is a Latin phrase refering to an illogical, paradoxical derivation where a word is named after what it lacks.  The paradox is that light does not enter a Lucus ( a grove). A grove is a grove because sunlight does not enter it.  Today lucus non lucendo refers to an explanation that derives something from its opposite. Calling something "black white" is a lucus non lucendo. A noisy place when called "Silent Valley" is lucus a non lucendo. The Chapter 41 of Far From The Madding Crow...

Sergeant Troy uses the phrase "such strait waist-coating as you treat me to is not becoming in you at an early date."  Here strait waist-coating is a metaphor for being confined, restricted, or controlled. He is complaining about Bathsheba's attempt to control his movements, question his expenditure, or prying into his past, implying she is acting more like a strict keeper than a wife. This conversation takes place after they were married when Troy asks for twenty pounds, without explaining why, and Bathsheba's jealousy and suspicion are growing. Strait-waistcoat is a garment designed to retain a person's movement by binding their arms tightly against their body.  Made from durable canvas or leather it features long sleeves that are crossed over the chest and secured behind the wearer's back. The term originated in the mid 18th century was first described in 1772 textbook by David Macbride. Historically they were used extensively in asylums. David Macbride was...

The woman walked on for a considerable time.  Her steps became weak and she strained her eyes to look afar upon the naked road, now indistinct amid the  Penumbrae .  At length her onward walk dwindled to the merest totter, and she opened a gate within which was a haystack.  Underneath this she sat down and soon slept. The woman awoke to find herself in the depths of a moonless night.  A heavy unbroken crust of cloud stretched across the sky; and a distant halo hung over the town of Casterbridge. "If I could only get there!" the woman said looking at the halo hung over Casterbridge.  "Meet him the day after tomorrow: God help me!  Perhaps I shall be in my grave before then."  A clock from the far depth of shadows struck the hour one, in small, attenuated tone.  Two lights arose from the remote shade, and grew larger.  A carriage rolled along the road.  It contained some late diners-out. The light from the carriage showed the crouchin...

The Pleiads also known as Seven Sisters or Messier 45 (M45) is a prominent open star cluster in the Constellation Taurus located at 444 light-years from Earth.  It is one of the nearest star clusters to Earth and is visible to the naked eye as a tiny, blue-tinted misty dipper of stars It contains over 1000 stars, though only six to seven are visible to the naked eye. It is a young cluster consisting of hot B type stars formed within the last few million years.  In Greek mythology Seven Sisters were the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas and the sea nymph Pleione. Pursued by hunter Orion Zeus transformed them into stars to protect them. 

Hazel copse is a traditional woodland area where hazel trees are cut near ground level on a 7 to 15 years rotation, encouraging vigorous regrowth for sustainable timber, fencing and garden material.  This ancient method, called coppicing  produces straight flexible poles ideal for hurdle making, thatch spars, and plant supports while promoting biodiversity. A forest or grove that has been subject to coppicing is called copse. Hazel is often grown as an understorey beneath larger Oak or ash trees. They are cut in winter because it reduces decay in poles. Known for producing flexible wands hazel is used for wattle and hurdles for fencing, beanpoles and walking sticks.  Mass cutting allows light to reach the woodland floors, benefitting wild flowers and dormice.  Similar process is carried out at a higher level is called pollarding. This is done to prevent grazing animals from eating new shoots.  Dormice:  Small nocturnal Old World rodents known for their long...

Plural of penumbra. The lighter outer regions of a shadow where the light source is only partially obscured, surrounding the darker central umbra. The word is commonly used in astronomy. In art it is rarely used as blending of light and shade. It is the play of light and shade. Synonyms: Partial shadow, fringe region, shades region.  Derived from Latin paene (almost) and umbra (shadow)

On the turn-pike road, between Casterbridge and Weatherbury, there was a long steep ascent. In returning from market it is usual for the farmers and other gig users to alight at the bottom and walk up.  The month of October. A Saturday evening.  Bathsheba's vehicle was creeping up the ascent. She was sitting listlessly in the second seat, while sergeant Troy was walking beside the gig in a farmer's marketing suit of unusually fashionable cut.  Though on foot he held the reins and whip, and occasionally aimed light cuts at the horse's ear with the end of lash as a pastime.  Sergeant Troy had  bought his discharge with Bathsheba's money, and was transforming himself to a farmer of spirited and very modern school.  People still called him sergeant and he retained his well shaped moustache of his military days. "Yes, if it hadn't been for that wretched rain I should have cleared two hundred as easy as looking, my love," he was saying. "Don't you see,...

Haeuteur is a formal noun referring to display of arrogance, superiority, or overbearing pride.  It describes an unfriendly, distant manner where someone acts as though they are better than others, often associated with a sense of entitlement or snobbishness.  It is often used to criticize cold or condescending behaviour.  The word stems from the French word haut meaning high or high in one's own estimation.  Synonyms: Arrogance, superiority, disdain, conceit, snobbishness.  Antonyms: Humility, modesty.

The perception that people of England prior to Industrial Revolution often stems from the historical conflict between traditional agrarian lifestyle and the emerging modern work ethic.  Before Industrial Revolution life followed natural cycles rather than clock.  Farming involved intensive labour in times of ploughing, sowing seeds and during harvest, followed by long periods of low activity. It was common for work folks to take Mondays off - a tradition known as Saint Monday - to recover from Sunday drinking, creating a three-day weekend.  Philosophers like David Hume noted that without cheap luxury goods to buy people had no reason to work beyond what they need to survive, naturally falling into a habit of indolence.  Leisure was primary status symbol of aristocracy and emerging middle class.  The aristocracy lived on rents and fortunes. They indulged in scandals, gossips, and social intrigue.  From the 17th century coffee houses became hubs where busines...