Classics Retold

The corn market of Casterbridge. The extensive hall of Corn Exchange was supported by Tuscan pillars. [1] The hall was thronged with farmers and merchants, all of them men. They talked among each other in twos and threes. Most of them had in their hands a young ash tree pulled directly from the earth as their walking stick, with which they poked pigs, sheep, neighbours with their backs turned, and restful things in general in the course of their roamings. During conversations each put his sapling to different usage -- bending it round his back, forming an arch of it between his two hands, pushing the end of it on the ground till it reached a semi-circle, or tucked it under his arm causing the sample bag to open and handful of corn poured into his palm, and flung upon the floor for market fowls to peck it. Among these male farmers, and merchants came a lone female member. She was well-dressed, and  attracted the attention of the whole corn exchange. Like a chaise between carts she m...

Outskirts of the city of Melchester. A snowy evening. Darkness and gloom. A public path, on its left hand was a river, and behind it a high wall. On the right was a tract of land partly meadow and partly moor. And the moor reaches to a heathen with ups and downs. In winter, the place is marked by snakes, ferns, pools and puddles and the rising of fogs, and  the wood eaten by fungi, all hidden by by snow. The cloud above was low, as if it were the roof of a large dark cavern gradually sinking in upon its floor. The earth, and everything on it and snow and sky appeared a single mass. The wall was darker than the sky; the river was darker than the wall. The facade of this convergence was occasionally notched and pronged by chimneys here and there. The neighbouring clock struck ten. The bell had lost its voice because of the muffling snow. Not long after, when the snow abated, a form moved by the brink of the river. It moved slowly, but without much exertion. It seemed to count "one, ...

Might is the past tense of May. But it doesn't stop there. Some situations require the use of might irrespective of tense.  May suggest a higher probability or is used for formal permission. Might indicates a lower, weaker or hypothetical situation.  Example  It may rain. -- A likely event. The team may win the championship this year; they have been playing exceptionally well. It might rain if the wind shifts. -- less likely or hypothetical  I must go to the party; but I am feeling tired. Here I might go to the party is more suitable. May is also used for permission. May I go? May I borrow your pen? You may now leave the classroom. For past possibilities   Might is used for past situation. He might have left. If I had studied harder, I might have passed the test. She might have been at the library when you called. Polite request   or suggestion  Might I suggest we try a different route?

Half an hour later.  Bathsheba, well dressed, entered the upper end of the old hall followed by Liddy to find that all her men had presented themselves. She sat down at a table and opened the time-book, pen in her hand, and a canvas money-bag beside her. From this she poured a small heap of coins. Liddy took up a position at her elbow, and began to sew, sometimes pausing and looking around, with an air of privileged person, taking up one of the half sovereigns lying before her, and admiringly surveying it as a work of art.  "Now, before I begin, men," said Bathsheba, "I have two matters to speak of. The first is that the bailiff is dismissed, for stealing, and I have formed a resolution to have no bailiff at all, but to manage everything with my own head and hands."  The men breathed in surprise.  "The next thing is about Fanny Robbins. Have you heard anything of Fanny."  "None, ma'am."  "Have you done anything?" "I met farmer ...

Bhojpuri is an Indo-Aryan language, spoken in eastern UP, Western Bihar, and northwestern Jharkand. When we draw a map we see that all these areas are close to one another. Bhojpuri belt is a closely knit  and stretches upto Nepal. How did the Bhojpuri speaking people missed a state? The core Bhojpuri speaking areas cover around 73000 square kilometres, and nearly more than twenty districts. Bhojpuri speaking people missed a state because of the combination of political classification, census practices, and the complex history of Hindi identity. Bhojpuri and other north Indian languages like Awadhi, Maithili, and Magahi were grouped under Hindi umbrella for administrative and political reasons. Because of this Bhojpuri speakers were recorded as Hindi speakers, and significantly inflated the number of Hindi speakers. It was officially labelled as a dialect of Hindi, and with this it lost the status of independent language. Magahi is not Magadhi of the ancient Magadha kingdom and was...

By daylight, the house of Bathsheba Everdene seemed a hoary building with a small estate around it. Fluted columns of solid stone decorated its front. Above the gabled roof, pairs of chimneys were linked by an arch. Soft brown mosses formed cushions upon stone tiles, and tufts of house-leek sprouted from the eaves manifested long neglect or absence of care and maintenance.  The gravel walk leading from the door to the road in front was encrusted with moss at the sides. The manor of a petty lord was altered for farming purpose and this alteration was visible. This has added to the deformity of the building. Inside, the staircase has heavy old fashioned balusters, stout handrails, twisting stairs. Going up, the floor is of very irregular surface, with ridges and valleys. Where uncarpeted the face of board is found eaten by worms. The windows, when opened clanged a loud noise. Every bustling movement is followed by a tremble. A creak accompanys the walker where ever he goes. Bathsheba...

The Philistines were ancient people who lived in the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. They originated from the Greek immigrant group from the  Aegean . The immigrant group settled in Canaan around 1175 BCE during the late Bronze Age Collapse. Over time, they intermixed with the indigenous Canaanites and assimilated elements of their culture. Around 600BCE they were vanquished by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Neo-Babylonian Empire. Like the kingdom of Israel and Judah Philistines lost their autonomy by the end of Iron Age.  The use of the word by Liddy  Smallbury, the maid of Bathsheba Everdene in the novel Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy in Chapter 9 reflects the urban rustic divide in the society. It is also rooted in the biblical grasp of parish girl and the stratified society.