Ophelia: Prologue-Chapter 4

by Lisa Klein
Lisa Klein's adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet reimagines the famous tragedy from Ophelia's perspective.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue-Chapter 4, Chapters 5-9, Chapters 10-17Chapters 18-27, Chapters 28-38, Chapter 39-Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. brook
    a natural stream of water smaller than a river
    Through my dream gurgles the fateful brook where I swam as a child and where the willow boughs skimmed the water’s surface.
  2. wax
    increase in phase
    Like the pale moon, I wane, weary of seeing the world’s grief, and I wax again, burdened with life.
  3. vex
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    I tried not to vex or trouble him further, but he never gave me the attention I desired.
  4. dote
    shower with love; show excessive affection for
    Nor did he dote on Laertes, his only son.
  5. consort
    keep company with
    My father disdained shopkeepers as unworthy and low, but he consorted with them and curried favor with the customers, hoping to overhear court gossip.
  6. dowry
    money brought by a woman to her husband at marriage
    My father’s anxious office-seeking consumed our family’s fortunes, the remains of my mother’s dowry.
  7. stark
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    Soon the stark battlements of Elsinore rose against the blue sky.
  8. cavort
    play boisterously
    Then I saw a clown in bright fantastical garb cavorting about the room.
  9. motley
    a multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads
    He wore a peaked cap with jingling bells and a suit of motley.
  10. sleight
    adroitness in using the hands
    I watched as he demonstrated tricks and sleights of hand he learned from Yorick, but I never dared to speak to him.
  11. caper
    jump about playfully
    Proud of its burden, the horse tossed its head and capered, while Hamlet acknowledged the crowd with grand gestures.
  12. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    The red-haired Horatio was beside him, slapping his thighs to add to the din as Hamlet drew near.
  13. indignant
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    I was indignant at being regarded as “little.”
  14. strew
    spread by scattering
    Indeed I saw the ground strewn with dusty ribbons and crushed flowers wilting in his heedless wake.
  15. cur
    an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
    “Let it go, you mongrel cur! It’s only a tiny, innocent lamb,” I cried, pummeling his back.
  16. shrew
    a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman
    “Look here. I’ll show you how to bag the little shrew,” said Hamlet, winking at my chastened brother.
  17. chasten
    censure severely
    “Look here. I’ll show you how to bag the little shrew,” said Hamlet, winking at my chastened brother.
  18. feint
    deceive by a mock action
    Wielding their harmless foils, Hamlet and Laertes thrust and feinted with a mortal seriousness.
  19. parry
    impede the movement of
    He allowed my brother to gain an advantage, then reversed their positions by parrying his thrusts.
  20. lewd
    suggestive of or tending to moral looseness
    One day he caught my arm and spoke lewd words to me.
  21. avail
    a means of serving
    I pushed at him, but to little avail, for he was stronger than Laertes.
  22. bravado
    a swaggering show of courage
    “That wicked boy. I hate him! But he is no match for me,” I said with a feigned bravado.
  23. knave
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    “That knave is the son of my father’s treasurer, a deceitful man. Proof that the apple does not fall far from the tree,” he said.
  24. bodice
    part of a dress above the waist
    My bodice and skirt lay draped over a branch of the tree on the bank, at a distance I would not cross under Hamlet’s gaze.
  25. anon
    (old-fashioned or informal) in a little while
    “I come anon, good Horatio! I have just caught a mermaid. I never thought to find such sport away from the sea!” he called out, laughing all the while.
  26. parapet
    a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony
    Behind Horatio, the stark parapets of Elsinore were barely visible.
  27. countenance
    the appearance conveyed by a person's face
    “She is sweet of countenance, a most fair child,” she murmured.
  28. decorum
    propriety in manners and conduct
    “What you must learn of proper decorum would fill volumes,” she said with a weary sigh.
  29. gilded
    made from or covered with gold
    The court ladies, with their bright plumage and twittering voices, were like so many birds in a gilded cage.
  30. atone
    make amends for
    Her scolding made me more unhappy, as if being a child were a fault I had committed and must atone for.
  31. lute
    a stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body
    I had some success with the strings of the lute, but my fingers fumbled on the keys of the virginal.
  32. ditty
    a short simple song
    So to cheer myself I would often make up ditties.
  33. limn
    make a portrait of
    Cristiana could also limn with skill, painting lifelike birds and flowers and faces I could recognize as those of Gertrude and her ladies.
  34. paragon
    a perfect embodiment of a concept
    Then she was a mere slip of a girl, nobly born and a very paragon of virtue.
  35. convent
    a religious residence especially for nuns
    She was not raised in the court, but in the finest convent in Denmark.
  36. privy
    informed about something secret or not generally known
    "...He chose my most deserving husband, Lord Valdemar, from the ranks of all his nobles to be one of his privy counselors,” she said proudly.
  37. stripling
    a person who is older than 12 but younger than 20
    “His father and my father were in battle together against Norway many years ago, and they pledged us to each other when my lord was still a stripling and I was at my mother's breast,” she said.
  38. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    I took her hand, with its puffed flesh and gnarled bones, between my own small hands, which were not, as Cristiana claimed, fat and clumsy.
  39. rheum
    a watery discharge from the mucous membranes
    Those with rheumy lungs favored her simple but pungent mustard plaster.
  40. reclusive
    withdrawn from society; seeking solitude
    She was a mysterious and reclusive figure whom few had ever seen.
  41. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    At her side trotted a little black dog as wiry and wizened as she.
  42. rebuke
    an act or expression of criticism and censure
    “Ophelia! That is not our purpose today,” Elnora said sharply, but her rebuke was a mild one.
  43. poultice
    a medical dressing spread on a cloth and applied to the skin
    “Hmmm, a thoughtful girl. Cumin is what I advise. Rare and odorous. Not in your queen’s herb bed, I am sure. A poultice applied to the side. I will prepare it now.” She led us toward the cottage.
  44. apothecary
    a health professional who prepares and dispenses drugs
    Curious, I watched while Mechtild unlocked the doors to reveal all the tools of an apothecary.
  45. tincture
    a medicine consisting of an extract in an alcohol solution
    “Tincture of belladonna. Grains of opium. Henbane distilled. If ill-used, these bring death,” she explained soberly.
Created on Thu Feb 01 16:06:10 EST 2018 (updated Fri Feb 02 08:34:56 EST 2018)

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