SETTING

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 448.

ANALYSIS

GLOSSARY

ill-favoured

self-commiseration

dejected

to saunter

to poise

to survey

yearning face

auburn hair

to irk

poppy

to have a fine carriage

pit

grudgingly

indulgent

in stature

chink of the teacups

to say sth casually

solicitously

to laugh shakily

to bring sth up against sb

caressive

to lounge

cliffs

obscurity

parasol

irresolutely

to crunch

a wicker tray

poised for retreat

quick-witted

to coax

to say sth coaxingly

a winning smile

to have a peep at

wilfulnesss

windows giving on to

ramblers

headland of black rock

to jut

a face transfigured with

beck

to fondle

pathetic

a rambling gait

to blanch

deranged

unavailing

anguish

to pay no heed to

to economize with it

solicitor

to look quizzically

uncanny

disconsolate

complacency

a sturdy figure

a tinge of impatience one's voice

to run up against sb

to turn on sb

at length

the residue of feeling

to take sb on sufferance

to foil sb

to give way to sb

ignominy

to wince

desperation.

to withstand sb

to brace oneself against sb

callously

to be as good as engaged

to chuck sb

to take on with sb

paltry

to carry on with sb

to bait

to go the whole hogger

1. In the beautifully lyrical description of the rose garden underline:

- the flowers that are mentioned;

- words that are associated with light.

What associations do you make with the flowers? What is the symbolic significance of the choice of this setting?

2 . Focus on the description of the house.

1. Find expressions in the text that:

a) suggest it was dark;

b) convey the feeling of mystery

2. Pick out semantic repetitions, what main peculiarity of the house do they emphasize?

3. Which of the adjectives would you choose to describe the house?

- hostile

- welcoming

- alien

- familiar

- inhospitable

- comforting

4. The passage presenting the description of the rector's house and garden can be described as an example of ‘intensified reality': while the setting is the real world, there are elements that add a mystical and spiritual dimension to the scene. Identify these elements in text.

5. What is the symbolic function of the image of the rector's house?

6. What does the juxtaposition of light and the colour of the flowers to the darkness of the house suggest? Does the background correspond to the emotional nature of the protagonists?

7.How would you define the narrator's choice of language in the description of the house and the garden:

poetic – colloquial – literal – childlike – other?

8. How many details does the author provide to describe the couple's own house and garden? Why?

9. What kind of atmosphere does the time setting create?

a. What is the season described in the story? What associations do you make with this time?

b. At what time of the day does the central event take place? Which human characteristics are attributed to this time of day? How does this add to the atmosphere in the text?