Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Thomas Hardy

• Publisher: William Collins
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9780007382569
• Topic: Literatur
• Subtopic: Altertumswissenschaften

HarperCollins is pround to present a range of best-loved, essential classics. HarperCollins is pround to present a range of best-loved, essential classics. 'My life looks as if it had been wasted for want of chances! When I see what you know, what you have read, and seen, and thought, I feel what a nothing I am! ''My life looks as if it had been wasted for want of chances! When I see what you know, what you have read, and seen, and thought, I feel what a nothing I am! 'Challenging the hypocrisy and social conventions of the rural Victorian world, Tess of the D'Urbervilles follows the story of Tess Durbeyfield as she attempts to escape the poverty of her background, seeking wealth by claiming connection with the aristocratic D'Urberville family. It is through Tess's relationships with two very different men that Hardy tells the story of his tragic heroine, and exposes the double standards of the world that she inhabits with searing pathos and heart-rending sentiment. Challenging the hypocrisy and social conventions of the rural Victorian world, Tess of the D'Urbervilles follows the story of Tess Durbeyfield as she attempts to escape the poverty of her background, seeking wealth by claiming connection with the aristocratic D'Urberville family. It is through Tess's relationships with two very different men that Hardy tells the story of his tragic heroine, and exposes the double standards of the world that she inhabits with searing pathos and heart-rending sentiment.

CLASSIC LITERATURE: WORDS AND PHRASES

adapted from the Collins English Dictionary

Accoucheur NOUN a male midwife or doctor □ I think my sister must have had some general idea that I was a young offender whom an Accoucheur Policemen had taken up (on my birthday) and delivered over to her (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)

addled ADJ confused and unable to think properly □ But she counted and counted till she got that addled (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)

admiration NOUN amazement or wonder □ lifting up his hands and eyes by way of admiration (Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift)

afeard ADJ afeard means afraid □ shake it – and don’t be afeard (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)

affected VERB affected means followed □ Hadst thou affected sweet divinity [Doctor Faustus 5.2 by Christopher Marlowe)

aground ADV when a boat runs aground, it touches the ground in a shallow part of the water and gets stuck □ what kep’ you? – boat get aground? (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)

ague NOUN a fever in which the patient has alternate hot and cold shivering fits □ his exposure to the wet and cold had brought on fever and ague (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)

alchemy ADJ false or worthless □ all wealth alchemy (The Sun Rising by John Donne)

all alike phrase the same all the time □ Love, all alike (The Sun Rising by John Donne)

alow and aloft phrase alow means in the lower part or bottom, and aloft means on the top, so alow and aloft means on the top and in the bottom or throughout □ Someone’s turned the chest out alow and aloft [Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson)

ambuscade NOUN ambuscade is not a proper word. Tom means an ambush, which is when a group of people attack their enemies, after hiding and waiting for them □ and so we would lie in ambuscade, as he called it (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)

amiable ADJ likeable or pleasant □ Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)

amulet NOUN an amulet is a charm thought to drive away evil spirits. □ uttered phrases at once occult and familiar, like the amulet worn on the heart (Silas Marner by George Eliot)

amusement NOUN here amusement means a strange and disturbing puzzle □ this was an amusement the other way (Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe)

ancient NOUN an ancient was the flag displayed on a ship to show which country it belongs to. It is also called the ensign □ her ancient and pendants out (Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe)

antic ADJ here antic means horrible or grotesque □ armed and dressed after a very antic manner [Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift)

antics NOUN antics is an old word meaning clowns, or people who do silly things to make other people laugh □ And point like antics at his triple crown (Doctor Faustus 3.2 by Christopher Marlowe)

appanage NOUN an appanage is a living allowance □ As if loveliness were not the special prerogative of woman – her legitimate appanage and heritage! (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë)

appended VERB appended means attached or added to □ and these words appended (Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson)

approver NOUN an approver is someone who gives evidence against someone he used to work with □ Mr Noah Claypole: receiving a free pardon from the Crown in consequence of being admitted approver against Fagin (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)

areas NOUN the areas is the space, below street level, in front of the basement of a house □ The Dodger had a vicious propensity, too, of pulling the caps from the heads of small boys and tossing them down areas (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)

argument NOUN theme or important idea or subject which runs through a piece of writing □ Thrice nt to the argument which now (The Prelude by William Wordsworth)

artificially ADJ artfully or cleverly □ and he with a sharp flint sharpened very artificially (Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift)

artist NOUN here artist means a skilled workman □ This man was a most ingenious artist (Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift)

assizes NOUN assizes were regular court sessions which a visiting judge was in charge of □ you shall hang at the next assizes (Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson)

attraction NOUN gravitation, or Newton’s theory of gravitation □ he predicted the same fate to attraction (Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift)

aver VERB to aver is to claim something strongly □ for Jem Rodney, the mole catcher, averred that one evening as he was returning homeward (Silas Marner by George Eliot)

baby NOUN here baby means doll, which is a child’s toy that looks like a small person □ and skilful dressing her baby (Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift)

bagatelle NOUN bagatelle is a game rather like billiards and pool □ Breakfast had been ordered at a pleasant little tavern, a mile or so away upon the rising ground beyond the green; and there was a bagatelle board in the room, in case we should desire to unbend our minds after the solemnity. (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)

bah exclam Bah is an exclamation of frustration or anger □ “Bah,” said Scrooge. (A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)

bairn NOUN a northern word for child □ Who has taught you those fine words, my bairn? (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)

bait VERB to bait means to stop on a journey to take refreshment □ So, when they stopped to bait the horse, and ate and drank and enjoyed themselves, I could touch nothing that they touched, but kept my fast unbroken. (David Copperfield by Charles Dickens)

balustrade NOUN a balustrade is a row of vertical columns that form railings □ but I mean to say you might have got a hearse up that staircase, and taken it broadwise, with the splinter-bar towards the wall, and the door towards the balustrades: and done it easy (A Christmas Carolby Charles Dickens)

bandbox NOUN a large lightweight box for carrying bonnets or hats □ I am glad I bought my bonnet, if it is only for the fun of having another bandbox (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)

barren NOUN a barren here is a stretch or expanse of barren land □ a line of upright stones, continued the length of the barren (Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë)

basin NOUN a basin was a cup without a handle □ who is drinking his tea out of a basin (Wutheriug Heights by Emily Brontë)

battalia NOUN the order of battle □ till I saw part of his army in battalia (Gulliver’s Travelsby Jonathan Swift)

battery NOUN a Battery is a fort or a place where guns are positioned □ You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)

battledore and shuttlecock NOUN The game battledore and shuttlecock was an early version of the game now known as badminton. The aim of the early game was simply to keep the shuttlecock from hitting the ground. □ Battledore and shuttlecock’s a wery good game vhen you an’t the shuttlecock and two lawyers the battledores, in which case it gets too excitin’ to be pleasant (Pickwick Papersby Charles Dickens)

beadle NOU...