Classics Retold

In chapter 3 of Great Expectations, the escaped convict speaks to little Pip: "..... hunted as near death and dunghill as this poor wretched warmint is."  Hunted here means chased relentlessly by the hands of law.  This poor wretched warmint means this poor miserable creature.  Warmint is a dialect of vermin.  Near death means almost dead from hunger, cold, and exhaustion.  Dunghill means a heap of cow dung. Figuratively the lowest state of misery and degradation.  The convict is telling Pip: "Look at me.  I have been hunted like a wild animal until I am almost dead and reduced to filthiest condition. 

Imp means a lively, badly behaved, or playful child, or a mythical creature, a small, demon like, goblin or fairy from European folklore known for playing pranks.  In chapter 3 of Great Expectations the convict escaped to marshes asks to Pip "You are not a deceiving imp?" He was afraid that the child would be an informed. 

Arterwards is a Kentish dialect of the word afterwards meaning exactly same as afterwards. This dialect comes in the conversation of the convict who escaped to the marshes, whom young Pip happens to meet im chapter 3 of Great Expectations. 

In chapter 3 of Great Expectations, Pip asks the convict, "I think you have got the ague."  Here, ague means a fever accompanied by violent shivering or chills often associated with malaria but also used more generally in Dickens's time any illness causing repeated chills.  Later, the convict reveals that his shivering is not because of the climate alone, but because of the harsh conditions of the prison, and his escape. 

In chapter 3 of Great Expectations, when Pip goes to marshes with wittles and a file, there he meets a new convict. He is alarmed at the sight of a boy. Pip writes "he swore an oath at me"  In older English it could mean he cursed at me, or uttered a profane or blasphemous language.  Dickens uses an older expression "swore an oath", which was common in nineteenth-century English. 

In chapter 3 of Great Expectations, "felt hat simply means a hat made of felt, a fabric produced by compressing wool or animal fur. During the Victorian period felt hats were common among working people. The hat could have different shapes. 

Here the key word is larks. In the 19th century a lark meant a heavy adventure, a bit of fun or playful enjoyment.  Joe is looking forward to the time when Pip becomes his apprentice in the blacksmith's forge.  Under the apprentice system