- mirenounChapter 1 →
Thick, wet mud or swampy ground that is difficult to walk through, especially in cold or rainy weather.
“I slowly climb / Through winter mire”
- scanverbChapter 1 →
To look carefully and searchingly over an area, trying to take in every detail of it.
“And scan and trace / The forsaken place”
- traceverbChapter 1 →
To follow or make out the faint remains or outline of something that once existed but is now barely visible.
“And scan and trace / The forsaken place”
- forsakenadjectiveChapter 1 →
Completely abandoned and left behind, with no one remaining to care for or visit it.
“The forsaken place / Where we last made fire”
- raked upphraseChapter 1 →
Gathered or scraped together into patches or clumps, the way a rake pulls debris into piles.
“Raked up in blots / Is the charred spot”
- blotsnounChapter 1 →
Dark, irregular patches or stains on a surface, here referring to the scattered marks of ash and char left on the ground.
“Raked up in blots / Is the charred spot”
- charredadjectiveChapter 1 →
Blackened and partially burned by fire, leaving a scorched, darkened mark or residue.
“Raked up in blots / Is the charred spot / Left by the fire we kindled there”
- kindledverbChapter 1 →
Set alight; started a fire burning, typically by lighting small materials that then catch and spread the flame.
“Left by the fire we kindled there”
- litverbChapter 1 →
Ignited or set burning; here used figuratively to suggest the woman was the one who started or gave life to the fire.
“Of one who was — / And now is not — / By whom it was lit there”
Where the Picnic WasShort story by Thomas Hardy