Glossary for Virginia Woolf’s "How Should One Read A Book?"
Abeyance: n. The condition of being temporarily set aside. [1]
Agamemnon: Greek tragedy by Aeschylus (c. 525 – c. 456 BC), a Greek dramatist. [10]
“And the woodland haunter/shall not cease to saunter”...from When the World is Burning, a poem by Ebenezer Jones. [2]
Arcadia, The: A prose romance by Sir Philip Sidney (published after his death in 1590). [10]
Arouet, François-Marie (Voltaire) (1694-1778): French writer, historian and philosopher. [10]
Austen, Jane(1775-1817): A British novelist of romantic fiction, including such classics as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility.[10]
Berry, Miss: Woolf is referring to Mary Berry (1763-1852), an English author and editor who, among other books and journals, compiled The Works of Horace Walpole (1798). [10]
blue-book(s): n. A book listing the names of socially prominent people. [1]
Bunburys, the: Bunbury was a character in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. [10]
“cheek by jowl”: adv. phrase. An archaic equivalent of 'side by side”. [1]
Clifford, Anne/Lady Pembroke (1590-1676): A member of British royalty, daughter of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland. She was a patron of the arts, and married Phillip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke in 1630. [10]
Coleridge: (1772-1834) The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, most famous for his Rime of the Ancient Mariner. [5]
“cross the channel”: Simply a reference to the fact that France (home of the French writers alluded to after the phrase) is across the English Channel from Great Britain. [8]
Defoe (1660-1731): Daniel DeFoe was an English novelist, most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe (1719). [10}
Diderot (1713-1784): Denis Diderot was a French writer and philosopher. [10]
Donne (1572-1631): John Donne was an English poet. [10]
drawing-room: n. A large room in which guests are entertained. [1]
Dryden (1631-1700): John Dryden was an English poet , critic, and playwright. [10]
Du Deffand, Madame (1697-1780): A French literary critic and patron of writers. {10]
Emma(1815): a novel by British romantic novelist Jane Austen. [10]
Garrick (1717-1779: David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, and theater manager. [10]
Goldsmith (1730-1774): Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish novelist, playwright, and poet. [10]
Hardy, Thomas (1840-1928): An English novelist and poet. [10]
Harvey, Gabriel (1552/3-1631): An English writer. [10]
hetereogeneous: adj. Consisting of dissimilar elements or parts. [1]
impalpable: adj. Difficult to perceive or grasp by the mind. [1]
“I shall fall like a tree, and find my grave”... from The Maid's Tragedy, a play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. [3]
Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784): An English poet, essayist, critic, biographer, and editor. [10]
Lear: Short for for King Lear (1608), the tragic play by William Shakespeare [10]
Maria Allen/Dr. Burney/Rishy: Three persons mentioned in the memoirs of Fanny Burney/Madame d'Arblay (1752-1840). [9]
Meredith (1828-1909): George Meredith, an English novelist and poet during the Victorian era. [10]
“Minutes are numbered by the fall of sands”... from “A New World”, a play by John Ford [4]
pathos:n. A quality, as of an experience or a work of art, that arouses feelings of pity or sorrow. [1]
Peacock (1785-1866): Thomas Love Peacock, an English novelist and poet. [10]
Phedre, The: (originally Phèdre et Hippolyte) is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written by Jean Racine (1639-1699), first performed in 1677. [10]
platitude: n. A trite or banal remark or statement, especially when expressed as if significant. [1]
Pope, Alexander (1688-1744): an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. [10]
Prelude, The: A poem by William Wordsworth. [7]
Return of the Native, The (1878): Thomas Hardy's 6th published novel; one of his most popular. [10]
Robinson Crusoe (1719): The famous novel by Daniel DeFoe. [10]
“rubbish-reading”: apparently an archaic equivalent of “trashy novels”.
Scott: Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet. [10]
Sidney: Sidney Smith (1771-1845) was an English wit, and writer. [10]
Spenser: Edmund Spenser (1552-1599) , English poet known for The Faerie Queen (1590/1596). [10]
Strawberry Hill: also known as Strawberry Hill House, was the estate of English author Horace Walpole. [10]
subaltern:n. A second lieutenant in the British army. [1]
Thackeray: William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863), an English satirical novelist most famous for Vanity Fair (1847) [10]
“The moving Moon went up the sky/and nowhere did abide”... from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge [5]
Trollope: Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) was a prolific Victorian English author.
Twickenham: A town on the Thames River in England, about 10 miles Southwest of London. [10]
Walpole: Horace Walpole (1717-1797) was an English art historian and Whig party politician. [10]
Waterloo: The famous battle (18 June 1815) in which Napoleon and the French army were defeated by the Prussians. [10]
Wellesley, Arthur (1769-1852): Wellesley was a British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military figures of the 19th century. [10]
“Western wind, when wilt thou blow”... This is the first line of an anonymously written 16th century song. [6]
“Whether we be young or old/our destiny, our being's heart and home”... from The Prelude, a poem by William Wordsworth. [7]
Wilkinson, Tate (1739-1803): A British actor and theater manager. [10]
Works Consulted
[1] Merriam Webster Dictionary. Encyclopedia Brittanica. n. d. 29 Aug. 2014. Web.http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
[2] PoemHunter.com. N.p. n.d. 28 Aug. 2014. Web. http://www.poemhunter.com/
[3] The Maid's Tragedy: Act 4, Scene 1. N.p. n.d. 28 Aug. 2014. Web. http://people.exeter.ac.uk/pellison/BF/tragedy/a4s1.htm
[4] A Study of John Ford. Dartmoor Resource. n.d. 28 Aug. 2014. Web. http://www.dartmoorresource.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=298:a-study-of-john-ford&catid=107:history&Itemid=63
[5] The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Wikiquote. n.d. 28 Aug. 2014. Web. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner
[6] Western Wind. Innerlea.com. n.d. 29 Aug. 2014. Web. http://innerlea.com/aulit/garden/westwind/notes/gNote.html
[7] The Prelude. Wordworth, William. Bartleby.com. n.d. 28 Aug. 2014. Web. http://www.bartleby.com/236/68.html
[8] No reference consulted.
[9] Full Text of Fanny Burney (Madam d'Arbley). Internet Archive. N.p. n.d. 28 Aug. 2014. Web.http://archive.org/stream/fannyburneymadam00dobsiala/fannyburneymadam00dobsiala_djvu.txt
[10] http://www.wikipedia.org/
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