All entries for Thursday 28 June 2007

June 28, 2007

carillon

carillon (2.XXIII.i).

1. A set of bells played either by manual action or machinery. 2. 'An air or melody played on the bells' (Bib:OED).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:40 |  Tags:   |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

pity beyond pain

Achille was angrily filled/with a pity beyond his own pain (2.XXII.iii).

This evokes both Achilleus' anger (Iliad 1:1) and the point when his mother, Thetis, encourages him to feel empathy for Priam when she 'stirred the passion for weeping' (23:14).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:35 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

peace beyond beauty

she wished//for a peace beyond her beauty, past the tireless/quarrel over a face that was not her own fault (2.XXII.iii).

A reference to Helen of Troy and her regret at the war that was fought over her (e.g. Iliad 3:172-80). Helen's beautiful face has been celebrated in literature, e.g. Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (variously dated between 1590 and 1604), referring to Helen of Troy, or as Marlowe had it 'Helen of Greece': 'Was this the face that launched a thousand ships,/And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?' (V:i:97-8).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:33 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

pride shook free

her pride/shook free of the neck (2.XXII.iii).

A metaphor for Helen's hair; women's hair was important in classical epic, e.g. 'lovely-haired girls' (Odyssey 6:222).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:30 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

his anger

his anger (2.XXII.iii).

Link with Achilleus' anger in the Iliad: 'Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus' (1:1).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:28 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

twins

All in a night's work he saw them simply as twins (2.XXII.ii).

Possibly a reference to the constellation Gemini, the stars Castor and Pollux. In Greek mythology, these are the twins sons of Zeus and the mortal Leda (Bib:10); in the Iliad they are the brothers of Helen of Troy, whose absence from the battlefield she observes from the walls of Troy (3.236-8).


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armature

armature (2.XXII.ii).

Framework (from French).


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lanyard

lanyard (2.XXII.ii).

A short rope or cord used to fasten something to secure it (Bib:OED).


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Himalayan hill stations

Himalayan hill stations (2.XXII.ii).

The Himalayas are a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. Hill stations are towns in the low mountains, popular as holiday resorts during the hot season (Bib:COD). All three countries surrounding the Himalayas have a colonial history: British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan at its independence in 1947; Tibet, conquered by Genghis Khan in 1206, was nominally ruled by the Mongol empire until 1720, when sovereignty passed to China. Some areas of Tibet were absorbed into British India, but subsequently reverted to Chinese governance in 1906; Tibet was declared an autonomous region of China in 1951 and attempts to gain independence were suppressed (Bib:PWE).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:22 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

muezzin

muezzin (2.XXII.ii).

'a man who calls Muslims to prayer from the tower of a mosque (= Muslim holy building)' (Bib:CALD).


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Alexandria

Alexandria (2.XXII.ii).

Alexandria is a port and city in Egypt, founded by Alexander the Great. Its Pharos lighthouse, built in the third century B.C., was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was also a great seat of learning, and housed a great library, reputedly containing 700,000 volumes (Bib:PWE).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:17 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Edens Suez

Eden's Suez (2.XXII.ii). 'Suez' refers to the Suez Canal, which links Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea, thus allowing trade between Europe and Asia without the need to navigate around Africa. The canal was built (1859-69) by the Suez Canal Company, in which the British government became the major shareholder in 1875, and led to Egypt becoming an important centre for trade (Bib:PWE). Eden here refers to Anthony Eden (1897–1977), First earl of Avon, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain during the Suez Crisis, an ill-advised attack on Egypt by Israel, Britain and France following President Nasser's nationalisation the Suez Canal in 1956 (Bib:PWE).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:15 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Mountie

Mountie (2.XXII.ii).

The informal name for 'a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police' (Bib:CALD).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:13 |  Tags:   |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Anzac

Anzac (2.XXII.ii).

Acronym of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, volunteers at the forefront of battle at the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 (Bib:PWE).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:12 |  Tags:     |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Gurkha

Gurkha (2.XXII.ii).

The name of the Hindu ruling caste of Nepal since 1768, it also denotes a Nepalese soldier in the British or Indian Army (Bib:PWE).


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panoply

panoply (2.XXII.ii).

'[A] wide range or collection of different things' (Bib:CALD).


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howdahd elephant

howdah'd elephant (2.XXII.ii).

A howdah is a 'seat to contain two or more persons, usually fitted with a railing and a canopy, erected on the back of an elephant' (Bib:OED).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:07 |  Tags:   |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

India crumpling

India crumpling on its knees (2.XXII.ii).

India was another colony of the British Empire, achieving independence in 1947 (Bib:PWE).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:05 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Egypt delivered

Egypt delivered/back to itself (2.XXII.ii).

Like St Lucia, Egypt has experienced periods of French and British rule. In 1882, governance of the country was taken over by the British and this continued until 1922, when Egypt became an independent monarchy (Bib:PWE). Walcott is also referring to Moses delivering the Hebrews from the subjugation of Egypt, as described in Exodus and Numbers (Bib:KJB).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:04 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Dominus illuminatio mea

Dominus illuminatio mea (2.XXII.ii).

Meaning 'The Lord (is) my light' (Latin), these are the opening words of Psalm 27 in the Roman Catholic version.


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Journey to the Underworld


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the title he gave his transport

the title he gave his transport (2.XXI.i).

Achille is here seen experiencing a premonition of the downfall of his friend through the movement of the stars above St Lucia. This mirrors the repeated instances of prediction in Homeric epic, for example when Teirisias the prophet of the Underworld predicts a solitary and difficult homecoming for Odysseus should his men eat the cattle of Helios (Odyssey 6:104-117). Foreboding and signs of the future in Homeric epic also often focus upon the skies, but rather than stars they are often told using thunderclaps, the movement of birds etc., for example an eagle is sent by Zeus in Iliad 8: 247-9. In Homeric epic auguries in the sky are sent by the gods to convey an omen to mortals. In Omeros, Achille notes the speedy and inexorable fall of a star (the star's end is wholly unavoidable, as by the time the movement of its light has reached Achille in St Lucia, the star has of course already fallen millions of light years away in space) and, connecting it to the name of Hector's car (the 'sixteen-seater passenger-van' which we will be told about in 2.XXII), 'he trembled'. Achille clearly recognises that in his change of transport, Hector has exchanged the traditional St Lucian way of life, represented by fishing and canoes, for modernity and a newer, westernised lifestyle and set of values. In doing so he has sealed his doom. Just as Hektor's fate is sealed from the beginning of Homer's Iliad, and made more certain by Patroklos' death, so is Walcott's Hector doomed after his purchase of the Comet. Achille expresses the inevitability of Hector's downfall through the simile of the last spark of light in a dying fire hissing out and the image of the falling star. Both presage Hector's death which will occur whilst driving his Comet (6, XLIV).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:59 |  Tags:             |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem

stars in Heaven

those stars were too fixed in Heaven/to care […] forgets a star (2.XXII.i).

The Ancient Greeks believed that the dead are sometimes placed into the firmament as a constellation, e.g. Andromeda, a princess of Ethiopia, was placed into the stars as a memorial (Bib:8). Stars represent what is permanent, infinite and unchanging, in contrast with the island in its state of dramatic change. Even as the young turn away from the traditional culture of Africa and the canoes, dubbing it 'longtime shit', the island itself betrays its values and becomes westernised. Helen is metaphorically representative of this when she is seen as 'a meteor … and her falling arc//crossed over the village'.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:55 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Soul Brothers

the Soul Brothers (2.XXII.i).

An afropop band, formed in 1974, who promoted a traditional type of African soul music (Bib:7).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:52 |  Tags:   |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

whored away

the way it whored/away a simple life that would soon disappear (2.XXII.i, cf. 'daughters to whores').

This suggests the cheapening of the island's values, but also references Helen of Troy, who was made an adulteress when she was given to Paris by Aphrodite. St Lucia's Helen alternately lives with Achille and Hector, and is pregnant by one or the other. [DD]


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:50 |  Tags:           |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Yankee–cool–Creole

Yankee-cool-Creole (2.XXII.i).

This displays Americanisation of the language as a metaphor for the westernising and changing of the island.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:47 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Murder throbbed

Murder throbbed in his wrists (2.XXII.i).

This evokes the normal human pulse in wrist points, but also the expression of Achilleus' murderous rage when robbed of someone dear to him (Patroklos) in dragging Hektor's body in the dust and denying him proper burial (Iliad 22).


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what was happening to the village

Seven Seas, whom he envied, who couldn't see/what was happening to the village (2.XXII.i).

Achille envies Seven Seas for his inability to see the corruption and degradation of St Lucia by western influences. This echoes the way the Narrator envies blind Homer/Omeros for living in an age before modern society's downfall.


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xenia


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clean feet

clean feet […] self-anointing (2.XXII.i).

The language here evokes anointing with oils and bathing, particularly of the feet, which are key in the epics of Homer, particularly in the Odyssey. The rules of xenia shown by Homer suggest that a guest should be offered a bath as part of normal hospitality; and it is while bathing the disguised Odysseus that the nurse Eurykleia discovers his identity.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:39 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Plunketts towel

Plunkett's towel (2.XXII.i).

Helen unashamedly steals personal objects from her employers, the Plunketts. Dennis Plunkett recalls how he caught her trying on Maud's jewellery (2.XVIII.i), and Maud claims that the yellow dress Helen frequently wears was stolen ('She looks better in it […] she stole', 1.V.iii), although Helen insists it was a gift from Maud. Here, there is erotic suggestion in the use of the towel around 'her nakedness', particularly as Plunkett is attracted to Helen and often fantasises about her (e.g., 'the V of a velvet back in a yellow dress', 2.XIX.iii).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:37 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Cadence Country Reggae

Cadence, Country, Reggae (2.XXII.i).

Symbolically western, European and American music are mingled with more traditional music of Jamaica with a particular cadence. Cadence (Bib:OED): '1b. The measure or beat of music, dancing, or any rhythmical movement… c. Local or national modulation, 'accent'. … 4. Music. The conclusion or 'close' of a musical movement or phrase'. 'Country' refers to country-and-western, 'a type of music originating in the southern and western United States, consisting mainly of rural or cowboy songs accompanied by a stringed instrument such as the guitar or fiddle' (Bib:OED). Reggae is a 'kind of popular music, of Jamaican origin, characterized by a strongly accentuated off-beat and often a prominent bass; a dance or song set to this music' (Bib:OED).

Cadence (or cadence-lypso) is a French Antillean dance music highly popular in St Lucia in the 1970s. Unlike the English language calypso, it is a French Creole-based form originating in Dominica and Guadeloupe and a development of Haitian Creole compas (or konpas direk). It was one of the forms that later were blended into the zouk (‘party’) form popular in the 1980s. The early lyrics of cadence often dealt with social issues and as such it was more of a political form than zouk, which developed largely as entertainment music. In St Lucia the political aspect was less strong, possibly because of difficulty in understanding other Creole dialects, and the music was more of an excuse for Jump Up (street party). The cadence style is claimed to be developed in Guadeloupe by the group Exile One led by Dominican musician Julie Mourillon and for a while became the main dance music of Dominica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Lucia and other French Creole islands.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:35 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Trackbacks (1) |  Report a problem

Atlantic City

Atlantic City (2.XXII.i).

A town in New Jersey, USA, with many casinos. The reference implies similarities in St Lucia of a busy, westernised beach town, perhaps appropriately as St Lucia borders the Atlantic, and is also symbolic of western influence on the island, seen in the name imposed by the colonists.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:33 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Compton

Compton (2.XX.i).

Sir John George Melvin Compton KBE PC is the current Prime Minister of St Lucia. He led St Lucia to independence from the United Kingdom in February 1979.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:30 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Carthage Pompeii Troy

Carthage ]…] Pompeii […] Troy (2.XVIII.iii).

All ancient cities destroyed and rebuilt. Pompeii: a Roman city near modern-day Naples which was preserved in ash from a volcanic eruption from Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD and not rediscovered until 1748.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:29 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

calabash

calabash (2.XVIII.iii).

Tree whose fruit is used traditionally to make bowls.


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midden

midden (2.XVIII.iii).

Pile of refuse.


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sea–grape

sea-grape (2.XVIII.iii).

Coccoloba uvifera, commonly known as the sea-grape. A bushy plant that grows near beaches in the Caribbean, it has large, thick leaves and fruit resembling grapes.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:25 |  Tags:    |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

forest of masts

forest of masts with Trojan pride (2.XVIII.iii).

The Greek army sent to recapture Helen from Troy is reputed to have been made up of a thousand ships.


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Caribbean side

On its Caribbean side (2.XVIII.iii).

The west side of the island. St Lucia is one of the most easterly of the Windward Islands. The east side of the island faces Africa.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:21 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

help her people

They're meant to help her people, ignorant and poor (2.XVIII.ii).

Possible allusion to Kipling's 'White Man's Burden', seen by imperialists as moral justification for colonialism.


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Susanna

Susanna (2.XVIII.ii).

The biblical Susanna was accused of adultery in a blackmail organised by lecherous elders who watched her bathing naked. The blackmail was eventually revealed and the elders put to death.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:17 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Judith

Judith (2.XVIII.ii).

The biblical Judith killed Holofernes, the commander of the Assyrian army that had besieged the Jews, after dining with him, saving her people.


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women


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Satan


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Eve


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second Eden

a second Eden with its golden apple (2.XVIII.ii).

The biblical Eden was lost through Eve's temptation by an apple offered to her by Satan in serpent form. The golden apple of Greek mythology was given by Paris to Aphrodite in preference to Hera or Athene, whose anger at this insult led ultimately to the Trojan War.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:10 |  Tags:               |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

islands beauty

the island's beauty was in her looks (2.XVIII.i).

Throughout Omeros, St Lucia and Helen are often compared, seen as symbolic of each other or even interchangeable.


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serpentine

snake's head … serpentine (2.XVIII.i).

Reference to the biblical serpent of Genesis, who tempted Eve [cf. note to a second Eden with its golden apple (2.XVIII.i)].


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:01 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

armoire

armoire (2.XVIII.i).

From the French, a tall cupboard or wardrobe, originally used for storing weapons.


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Circe

pig-farm […] eyes calm as Circe (2.XVIII.i).

In the Odyssey, Circe is witch who entrances her guests and turns them into pigs.


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Homeric repetition

Homeric repetition […] they saw superstition (2.XVIII.i).

Allusion to similarities seen by Plunkett between the Battle of the Saints and the Trojan War. Many of the prophecies in Homer could be taken by a cynic to be superstition accompanied by coincidences.


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ziggurat

ziggurat (2.XVIII.i).

An ancient Mesopotamian pyramid-shaped tower with a square bare, rising in storeys of ever-decreasing size, similar in shape to ancient Central and South American temples by the Aztecs, Maya, &c.


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time reworded

He had no idea how time could be reworded […] their love of events (2.XVIII.i).

The idea of being unsatisfied with a colonial or power-centred record of history and so creating a 'history of the people' was explored in the 'Subaltern Studies' of South Asia in the 1970s.


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face on a burning sea

like that stupid pretense that they did not fight for her face on a burning sea (2.XVIII.i).

The Battle of the Saints is again compared to the Trojan War (cf. note: the claim by native historians that Helen was its one cause (2.XVIII.i)).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:58 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

sea–swift

swift [bird] (1.I.ii &c.), sea-swift (1.IV.ii &c.).

Named as 'Cypseloides Niger, l’hirondelle des Antilles' in XVI.ii, these small, fast-flying birds are famed for their ability to travel great distances in their migration patterns, spending the summer in northern climes and flying south for the winter (Bib:31). Swifts are found all over the world and their habit of connecting widely disparate locations through migration (the common swift, for example, spends summers in Britain and winters in East Africa) makes them a useful symbol for Walcott, as the recurring swifts draw connections between Eurasia, Africa and the Americas. The shape of the swift, with its long, outstretched wings, also stands in the text for the sign of the Cross made by some Christians, such as Catholics, for example, 'the swift's sign' (1.I.ii) and in the pun 'a swift sign of the cross' (1.I.ii).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:57 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Vs

flock of V's (2.XVIII.i).

Rodney's ticks are compared to the recurring sea swifts, drawing connections between Europe and the Americas.


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mutinous harbours

block their mutinous harbours from arms and men (2.XVIII.i).

The revolutionaries in New England were supplied by the French.


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mares tails

mare's tails (2.XVIII.i &c).

Cirrus fibratus clouds: very high, wispy, 'fibrous' clouds that resemble horses' tails. Large numbers can indicate an approaching storm system.


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USA


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New England colonies

New England colonies (2.XVIII.i).

New England is in the north-east region of what is now the USA, including the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, notoriously sympathetic to the idea of independence from the British.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:49 |  Tags:     |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Dutch islands

the Dutch islands (2.XVIII.i).

Netherlands Antilles are two groups of islands, one off the coast of Venezuela, and the other between Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe. Walcott is probably referring to the latter, made up of Sint Eustatius, Saba and St. Maarten, which were captured variously by the British, French and Dutch in the later eighteenth century during the American Revolution. Sint Eustatius became rich by ignoring trade embargoes, selling arms to anyone willing to pay, notably American Revolutionaries.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:47 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Eastern Seaboard

the Eastern Seaboard from Georgia to Maine (2.XVIII.i). The East Coast of the USA; Maine is the most northerly state on the coast, and Georgia is directly north of Florida. At the time of the Battle of the Saints this was British territory, but fighting for independence.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:45 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

sun gold sovereign

the sun's gold sovereign (2.XVIII.i).

Pun on 'sovereign', meaning both monarch and a British gold coin worth £1. Vocabulary in this semantic field continues in this and the following stanza: 'gilding the coast', 'in Rodney's pocket', 'the cost'. Colonies were very valuable resources.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:43 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe (2.XVIII.i).

Guadeloupe is an archipelago of five islands located North of St Lucia in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Guadeloupe was a French haven during the Battle of the Saints, and was the intended destination of the fleeing French fleet. It is now an overseas department of France.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:41 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Helen cause

the claim by native historians that Helen was its one cause (2.XVIII.i).

The Battle of the Saints is again compared to the Trojan War, which in Greek mythology is claimed to be solely over Helen, but may have had wider political and economic causes.


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Helen of Troy


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Aruac

Aruac (2.XVII.i).

Aruac Indians lived on St Lucia before being dispossessed when the French bought the island in 1651 and, with their African slaves, began earnest colonization in 1746 (Bib:1, Bib:3). Aruac Indians also lived by the Lake of Maracaybo in Venezuela and, according to a collection of Spanish manuscripts , written between 1573 and 1575, these Aruac Indians were barbarous, living in huts and villages on the lake, and though not industrious, were very maritime, energetic fishermen (Bib:2).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:35 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

frigate

frigate [warship] (2.XV.i).

A medium-sized square-rigged warship of the 18th and 19th centuries (Bib:CCD), used in the Battle of the Saints. See also frigate bird.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:33 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Afolabe

Afolabe (2.XIV.iii).

Creole spelling of Afolabi, an African name of the Yoruba tribe name meaning 'One born of high status'.


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Castries

Castries (1.XIII.ii).

The capital city and chief port of St. Lucia (Bib:CCD).


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Angelus

Angelus (1.XII.ii).

A devotional exercise of the Roman Catholic, commemorating the Incarnation of Christ into man, it consists of versicles, responses and the repetition three times of the Angelic Salutation. The Angelus is performed morning, noon and sunset and is marked by the ringing of the angelus bell (Bib:OED).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:26 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

bougainvillea

bougainvillea (1.XII.i).

A tropical plant whose flowers are almost concealed by large, leafy bracts.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:24 |  Tags:     |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Colours

Colours


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:23 |  Tags:   |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

allamanda

allamanda (1.XI.ii).

Tropical plant of the Americas, cultivated for its large, funnel-shaped, yellow flowers (Bib:OED).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:21 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Ogun

Ogun (1.IX.iii).

Name of Yoruba god of iron and war; sometimes referred to as a blacksmith, and a close equivalent of Greek Hephaistos/Roman Vulcan. The Yoruba are a tribe/kingdom which originated in south west of Nigeria, but with pockets of offshoot tribespeople in Togo and the Republic of Benin. The language of the Yoruba people is also called Yoruba.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:04 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

porpoise

porpoise (1.VII.iii).

Any of several related aquatic mammals, such as the dolphin.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 13:00 |  Tags:     |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

van

van (1.VII.i).

Hector's taxi or 'transport'. Hector has given up the traditional job of a fisherman to become a taxi driver for tourists.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 12:58 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Antilles

Antilles (1.VII.i).

A group of islands in the Caribbean consisting of the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles (Bib:CCD).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 12:56 |  Tags:    |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Conquistadores

Conquistadores (1.VII.i).

Spanish explorers and soldiers who colonized the Americas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Conquistador is Spanish for 'conqueror'.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 12:56 |  Tags:           |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

sapodilla

sapodilla (1.VII.i).

Evergreen tree which is native to tropical climates.


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 12:53 |  Tags:     |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Etruscan lions

Etruscan lions (1.VII.i).

A piece of Etruscan art, the Etruscans being a civilization from Italy prior to the Roman Empire (Bib:4).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 12:52 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

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