sharing my love of books with you
Here is one of my favorite words when it comes to crime novels and mystery stories. Even though I know the meaning of the word, when I found it in “The Case of the Bolshevik!” in The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes, I couldn’t resist adding it to my blog’s dictionary.
Nefarious – extremely wicked or villainous
Usage: “I am perfectly aware that he has had nefarious designs upon the eminent statesmen who meet in conference today.”
Here is an uncommon word that I found in The Valley of Fear, in my volume, The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. From the context, I thought it meant praises or congratulations, and I wasn’t wrong. I like it when I guess correctly!
Plaudits – an enthusiastic expression of approval
Usage: “Here they were, safe and sound, their work well done, and the plaudits of their companions in their ears.”
I have made it a point to look for words that I don’t know while I am reading so I can share them with you here on the blog. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has given me most of my new words so far in his stories about Sherlock Holmes. I wonder: were some of the words he used were common, everyday words in his time that have since dropped out of regular usage? I hope it’s not that my vocabulary was much smaller than I thought!
Anyway, the word impetus is in The Valley of Fear, one of The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It reminds me of the word Imp, a mischievous creature, so I wondered if impetus would have something to do with mischief or bad deeds. Especially since it is used in the context of Jack McMurdo and the lodge. Here is the actual definition. I was totally off.
Impetus – a driving force, impulse, or stimulus; the momentum of a moving body, especially with reference to the cause of motion
Usage: “If anything had been needed to give an impetus to Jack McMurdo’s popularity among his fellows it would have been his arrest and acquittal.”
I think this is a word that I knew the meaning of (somewhere in the back of my mind), but I struggled to grasp. I wanted to add it to the blog and look it up so I could concrete the word in my vocabulary. I found it in A Poetry Handbook, by Mary Oliver.
Ambivalence – uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite things
Usage: “Frost kept no jottings about sound while he wrote Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. He did not need to. He was a master poet. The poem is an extraordinary statement of human ambivalence and resolution. Genius wrote it.”
I found this word in The Valley of Fear, in my volume, The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before, but the context made me think it meant something like the lowest of the low. I wasn’t too far off.
Opprobrium – the disgrace or reproach incurred by shameful conduct; the cause of such disgrace
Usage: This is from a newspaper article which described the “Reign of Terror” the lodge had brought on those living in Vermissa Valley. “From that day these outrages have never ceased, until now they have reached a pitch which makes us the opprobrium of the civilized world.” If you read my post about The Valley of Fear, you will remember that this newspaper article , and the outrages mentioned, took place about twenty years before Sherlock Holmes ever began investigating the case.
Here is a word that I think I have heard before, but it was used as an adjective in The Valley of Fear, one of The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. So I looked it up, just to be sure I understood the meaning.
Feted – celebrated, lauded or acclaimed (one who was honored with a fete, which is a festive celebration or entertainment)
Usage: “He could drink hard and show little trace of it; but that evening, has his mate Scanlan not been been at hand to lead him home, the feted hero would surely have spent his night under the bar.”
I just started this new book by Mary Oliver called A Poetry Handbook: A Prose Guide to Understanding and Writing Poetry. Oliver was a world renowned poet, with works like “The Summer Day”, “Wild Geese”, and “The Swan”. I’ve shared a few of her poems here, and will continue to do so as I read them.
I would like to write, someday, like Mary Oliver did. That’s why I got this little Handbook. In her own sweet and simple way, Oliver relays to both amateur poets and readers of poetry tips on how to read, understand, and write poems. What makes a poem? What elements are important in a poem? She doesn’t write like this is a textbook. Rather, it is more of a conversation, maybe even a lecture she might have given to her students. She offers technical terms, but uses examples so that anyone can understand what she is saying. For Oliver, poetry is a way to communicate emotions and feelings of the heart. She wants her readers to be able to communicate their own emotions, feelings, and experiences in their own poems. She is an encourager, not just a teacher.
“A poet’s interest in craft never fades, of course. This book is not meant to be more than a beginning – but it is meant to be a good beginning… It is written to empower the beginning writer who stands between two marvelous and complex things – an experience (or an idea or a feeling), and the urge to tell about it in the best possible conjunction of words.”
Mary Oliver, A Poetry Handbook, 1994
I wish I could have taken writing classes from Mary Oliver. I feel like I would have learned so much. Maybe I would have started writing publicly when I was much younger. Anyway, the past cannot be undone, but the future has yet to unfold. I plan on reading and rereading this book while I practice Oliver’s teachings. Maybe one day, I can be a poet too.
I think I have mentioned before that the Sherlock Holmes volume I am reading includes 4 novels and 44 short stories and is called The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. So, as soon as I finished The Valley of Fear, I began reading the final collection of short stories, His Last Bow. This collection, originally printed together in 1917, includes:
Although I recognize the name Lady Frances Carfax, I don’t remember if I know any of these stories. I am looking forward to reading them. Each story and novel has been a delight, and I think I’m a greater Holmes fan than I was before. I fully intend, once I finish these, to find the twelve which were not included in my volume.
Now, I’ve got my coffee and my book, and it’s a lovely, rainy afternoon. I’m going to finish reading “Wisteria Lodge”.
Here is a simple little paperback that packs a great punch for any poet, student, or teacher… Really, it’s for anyone who likes poetry (even just a little). The subtitle of A Poetry Handbook says, “A prose guide to understanding and writing poetry.” I bought my copy from Barnes and Noble. It’s a very small book, only 130 pages, including the index and permissions granted sections. It is easy to read with great tips for writing and reading poetry. I am really glad I picked it up.
“The heart (that courageous but also shy factory of emotion)”
Mary Oliver, A Poetry Handbook, 1994
Hi! I'm Cadie. Welcome to my Collection of Bookish Thoughts where I will share with you everything I love about books.
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