Enter my Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of The Dead: Things of Note, it is just as it sounds, through page 79, if you’d like to go in blind/spoiler free I’d recommend looking away, but you’re welcome to come along if you’d like.
Here, as you will see, I like to turn analyzation into a bit of an art form itself, adding in my own flourishes around the edges of owned text. Sometimes it is akin to poetry, others an interpretation/embellishment of what already is and other times (most of the time) it is an off-the-cuff add-on that isn’t really planned, but rolls off my mind’s tongue and is therefore gobbled and spit and jotted down here in big, haphazard lines-
Things of Note in Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Ephemerides
“e-phem-er-is / (singular=ephemeris, plural=ephemerides) noun / a table or data file giving the calculated positions of a celestial object at regular intervals throughout a period,” (Oxford Languages)
Valerian (pills) pg. 1
“va-le-ri-an / noun / a plant that typically bears clusters of small pink or white flowers. Native to Eurasia, several species have been introduced to North America
· A drug obtained from the root of common valerian, used as a sedative and antispasmodic,” (Oxford Languages)
Word Origin/Historical Transference
“Medieval Latin-> valierianus (of Valerius) -> valeriana herba -> Old French -> valeriane-> late Middle English-> Valerian
also noted to be that of the feminine of Valerianus ‘of Valerius’ (a personal name),” (“”)
“I had helped myself with an infusion of hops, and I also took two valerian pills,” (Tokarczuk, pg. 1)
and I drank from that vase of pretty pinks and whites, watching them fall one by one to the bottom and float back up again…
“the world has dropped its’ petals,” (Tokarczuk, pg. 57)
Capricious (nature)
“Ca-pri-cious / adjective / given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior,” (Oxford Languages)
Word History/ Origin
“Italian-> French (capricieux) + English (capriccioso) -> capricious (early 17th century),” (“”)
Dilapidated (folding couch)
“di-lap-i-dat-ed / adjective / (of a building or object) in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect,” (Oxford Languages)
Word History/Origin
“Latin -> di (apart, abroad) + Latin-> lapis/lapid (stone) -> dilapidare (scatter as if throwing stones) -> dilapidate (demolished/squandered -> dilapidate (waste, squander) early 16th century,” (“”)
And a couch, with rabid, angry beasts eating at its hinges and chewing its’ cushions, leaving the little goblin to sit, lying and puddled in his own blood, at its’ feet…
(and I think I am forgetting something..)
(and oh there little goblin, don’t you feel better now that you are telling the truth?)
Diminutive
“di-min-u-tive -> adjective -> extremely or unusually small, “ (Oxford Languages)
Word History/ Origin
Late Middle English (grammatical) Old French diminutive, -ive + late Latin diminutivus, deminut (diminished), verb deminuere,” (“”)
“The forest nurtured this little goblin…” (Tokarczuk) and endowed his toes with pretty white stones and little earth jewels until he was floating in the river, bellyside up..
“Oh yes, suddenly I realized what a good thing death can be, now just and fair, like a disinfectant or a vacuum cleaner,” (Tokarczuk, pg. 6)
Literature Mention: the studying of poems by William Blake
Vestibule
“Ves-ti-bule / noun / an antechamber, hall, or lobby next to the outer door of a building / an enclosed entrance compartment in a railroad car,” (Oxford Languages)
Word History/Origin
French + Latin (vestibulum= entrance court) -> vestibule (early 17th century) ,”(“”)
“Apoptosis is a natural death, brought about by tiredness and exhaustion of matter. In Greek this word means “The dropping of petals.” The world has dropped its petals,” (Tokarczuk, pg. 57)
Foehn (wind)
“Foehn / noun / a hot southerly wind on the northern slopes of the Alps / (meteorology) a warm dry wind developing in the lee of any mountain range,” (Oxford Languages)
Word History/Origin
“Latin (ventus Favonius-> mild west wind) -> German (foehn-> mid 19th century),” (“”)
Perfidious
“per-fid-i-ous / adjective / deceitful and untrustworthy,” (Oxford Languages)
Word History/Origin
“Latin-> perfidia (treachery) -> perfidiosus -> late 16th century,” (“”)
Scene pg. 79 A visit from mother
Quoted text from Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk and Oxford Language Definitions, others as noted otherwise.
Flourishes (not including definitions or the sort) and add-ons are my interpretations and creativity with the text at hand.
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