"Lament for St. Floradora" was a poem written by Sister M. Floradora while teaching at Saint Sandra's College (Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies, 78). The author admits the Alexander Pope-inspired style and both she and Dr. Bustard exchange letters on its meaning in the Compositor.
Word List[]
- Swain: A young man or boy in service; (poetic) A rural lover; a male sweetheart in a pastoral setting[1].
- Smite: To strike down or kill with godly force[2].
- Crag: A rocky outcrop[3].
- Shag: Matted material; rough massed hair, fibers etc[4].
- Dale: A valley, many times in an otherwise hilly area[5].
- Thrum: A hum or vibration[6].
- Heath: A tract of level uncultivated land with sandy soil and scrubby vegetation[7].
- Dinky: Tiny and cute; small and attractive[8].
- Grot: Any unpleasant substance or material; a miserable person[9].
- Welkin: The sky, the upper air; the heavens[10].
- Scunge: Muck, scum, dirt, dirtiness[11].
- Hibernus: Wintry; of or pertaining to winter[12].
- Snudge: A miser; a sneaking fellow[13].
- Glebe: Turf; soil; ground; sod[14].
- Eke: To increase; to add to, augment, lengthen[15].
- Grebe: Any of several waterbirds with strong, sharp bills, and lobate toes[16].
- Craw: The stomach of an animal[17].
- Clorabel: Either a variant of Clarabel or an echo of chlor, a Greek word meaning greenish-yellow (e.g. chlorine)[18]. "John possibly saw a humorous point in this, but I think he just wanted to avoid a close echo with the name of his heroine. It sounds like another of those generic shepherdess names from pastoral poetry. If it were Florabel it would mean ‘beautiful flower.’[19]"
- Sottish: Alcoholic, drinking heavily; drunk; foolish, stupid, senseless[20].
- Sedge: A plant; perennial, endogenous herbs, often growing in dense tufts in marshy places[21].
References[]
- ↑ Wiktionary: swain
- ↑ Wiktionary: smite
- ↑ Wiktionary: crag
- ↑ Wiktionary: shag
- ↑ Wiktionary: dale
- ↑ Wiktionary: thrum
- ↑ Wiktionary: heath
- ↑ Wiktionary: dinky
- ↑ Wiktionary: grot
- ↑ Wiktionary: welkin
- ↑ Wiktionary: scunge
- ↑ Wiktionary: hibernus
- ↑ Wiktionary: snudge
- ↑ Wiktionary: glebe
- ↑ Wiktionary: eke
- ↑ Wiktionary: grebe
- ↑ Wiktionary: craw
- ↑ Wiktionary: Chlor
- ↑ Correspondence with Charles Bowen.
- ↑ Wiktionary: sottish
- ↑ Wiktionary: sedge