Lesson Fifteen
No Signposts on the Sea
by V. Sackville-west
I. Warming –up questions for the students.
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Can you tell some stories of Greek mythology?
Do you the historic meaning of Olympus?
What would you do if you had only 100 days in the world?
II. Background information
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1. about the author
Victoria Mary Sackville-West (1892-1962) was an English poet and novelist. She was
born in Knole Castle, the seat of the Sackville family from the time that Queen
Elizabeth Ⅰgave Knole to her cousin, Lord Treasurer Thomas Sackville. She was
educated at home, and Knole and its traditions exerted a major influence on her life. In
1913 she married diplomat Harold Nicolson (1886-1968) and they traveled extensively
during his years in the Foreign Office. In London she was a member of the
Bloomsbury group, an informal group of literary and artistic friends including Virginia
Woolf, Lytton Strachey, E.M. Foster and others. She was a close friend of Virginia
Woolf and is said to have been the model for the character of Orlando in Virginia
Woolf’s novel of that time.
Victoria Sackville-West first gained literary recognition for her long poem The Land
(1926) which won the Hawthorndon Prize and was praised as one of the most beautiful
bucolics in English literature. Her poetry is traditional in form, reminiscent of the work
of the English nature poets of the age of romanticism.
A prolific writer, Victoria Sackville-West is the author of 15 novels, as well as
biographies and travel books.
Though her novels are more widely known, her poetry may prove to be more enduring;
there is a depth of feeling and perception in the best of her poems, a quality at once
stately and moving, that is rare in her fiction. Nevertheless, her prose is of consistently
high quality, supple clear, and craftsmanlike. Viewed as one of Britain’s promising
young writers in the 1920’s, she is now regarded for her personality and influence as
much as for her writing.
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2. About the novel No Signpost in the Sea
The 144-page novel is written in the form of a journal kept by a man called Edmund
Carr, 50, an influential political columnist and a bachelor. He learns that he has a
limited time to live – a few days or weeks, a few days or weeks, a month or two at
most. How shall he spend them? In this quandary, he learns that a widow who he has
lately met at random social occasions has booked passage on a cruise to the Far East.
Her qualities, her intelligence and warmth stiffened by a deep reserve, have struck him
as uncommon; he decides to be aboard.
For Carr, the first weeks at sea, while inevitably tinged with an undercurrent of
sadness, are nonetheless idyllic. The release from pressure; the lackadaisical rhythms
of ship life; the shifting panorama of magnificent skies and sea, of enticing, passing
shores and the infrequent ports-of-call; his growing knowledge of Laura the widow –
all these combine to give Car an unfamiliar peace and a profound change in
perspective.
Power, prestige, practically – the former watchwords of his career – lose their ring.
Illusion, which he had abhorred, and the natural world, uninvaded by civilization,
begin to seem transcendent.
Carr’s growing love for Laura, despite his self-acknowledgement that she must be
unattainable for him, shatters this expanding felicity. A handsome, pompous yet
unpredictably engaging Colonel form a three-some with them, and Carr is catapulted
willy-nilly into the all-too-human ignominy of jealousy, despair, meanness, and
outbursts of disappointment against his “rival”.
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3. notes:
1). Pharisee: member of a Jewish religious sect (from about 120 BC). They were more
puritanical than the other sects; term now applied to a hypocritical or overrighteous
person.
2). Endymion: in Greek mythology a beautiful shepherd loved by Selene, the moon
goddess.
3). Olympus: mountain range on the borders of Macedonia and Thessaly in northern
Greece; home for the Gods in Greek mythology.
III. Questions after the detailed study of the text.
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1. What pleasure does Edmund Carr get by observing Laura without her knowing
it? What compliment does he pay her?
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2. Does Carr appreciate natural beauty? Was he always like that?
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3. What effect does the moon and the cool water of the swimming pool have on
him?
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4. What kind of coastline does he like? Why？
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5. Who is in charge of the lighthouse? Does he like his job?
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6. Why does Edmund Carr like islands?
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7. Why does he say: “God, is there no escape from suffering and sin?”
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8. What is the “green flash”?
IV. Analysis and Appreciation of the text
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1. The Outline of the text
2. Type of literature: novel
V . Special difficulties in the text
 1. paraphrasing some sentences
 2. translating some paragraphs
 3. identifying figures of speech
VI . Rhetorical Devices
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1. metonymy: … in the evening she wears soft rich colours…
… she says he used to read me…
2. metaphor: … and the sky a tender palette of pink and blue
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3. assonance: it refers to the repetition of similar vowel sounds, usu. close
together, to achieve a particular effect of euphony. E.g. 1) entering and leaving;
coming and going; delicate and intricate ; 2) hustle and bustle 3) Haste makes
waste.
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4. onomatopoeia: And then I like all the small noises of a ship: the faint creaking,
as of the saddle-leather to a horseman riding across turf, the slap of a rope, the hiss
of sudden spray.
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5. personification: …a figure of speech that gives human form or feelings to
animal or life and personal attributes to inanimate objects or to ideas and
abstractions E.g. The young moon lies on her back tonight as is her habit in the
tropics, and as, I think, is suitable if not seemly for a virgin.
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6. transferred epithet… A transferred epithet is a figure of speech in which an
adjective or descriptive phrase is transferred, most commonly, from a person to a thing.
… and the cool support of the water…
… and a tender palette of pink and blue…
I had no temptation to take a flying holiday to the South…
… but above all I love these long purposeless days in which I shed all that I have
ever been…
7. overstatment/hyperbole: a conscious exaggeration for the sake of emphasis, not
intended to be understood literally.
I wondered what mortal controlled it, in what must be one of the loneliest, most
forbidding spots on earth.
8. euphemism: …I want my fill of beauty before I go.
VII . Detailed study of the text.
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1. have an eye for: to be good at noticing a particular type of thing:
She has an eye for detail.
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2. flush: v. When you flush, you become red in the face, especially as a result of strong
emotions, heat or alcohol:
She flushed with pleasure as she accepted the prize.
3. supple: adj. bending or able to be bent easily; not stiff:
I'm not supple enough (= My body doesn't bend easily enough) to be able to touch the floor
with my hands while I'm standing up.
4. clumsy: adj. awkward in movement or manner:
The first mobile phones were heavy and clumsy to use, but nowadays they are much easier to
handle.
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5. leader: n. editorial
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6. beguile: v. to charm, attract or interest, sometimes in order to deceive:
He was completely beguiled by her beauty.
7. deferential: adj. respectful and polite:
She is always extremely deferential to/towards anyone in authority.
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8. proceed to do sth.: to do something after you have done something else:
She sat down and proceeded to tell me about her skiing holiday.
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9. opinionated: describes someone who is certain about what they think and believe, and who
expresses their ideas strongly and often:
He was opinionated and selfish, but undeniably clever.
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10. to the exclusion of: If you do something to the exclusion of something else, you do it so
much that you do not have time for anything else.
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11. bored: adj. feeling tired and unhappy because something is not interesting or because you
have nothing to do:
It was a cold, wet day and the children were bored.
12. latent: adj. present but needing particular conditions to become active, obvious or
completely developed:
Recent developments in the area have brought latent ethnic tension out into the open.
13. unwitting: adj. without knowing or planning:
The two women claimed they were the unwitting victims of a drugs dealer who planted a
large quantity of heroin in their luggage.
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14. dismissive: adj.
He's so dismissive of anybody else's suggestions.
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15. spare: v.
to prevent someone from having to experience something unpleasant:
Luckily, I was spared the embarrassment of having to sing in front of everyone.
16. creed: n. a set of beliefs which expresses a particular opinion and influences the way
you live
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17. ascribe to: v.
1). to believe something is the cause of something else
Their defeat was ascribed to a poor defence.
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18. scorn: v.
1). to show scorn for someone or something:
So does he respect the press and media, or does he secretly scorn them?
19. despise: v. to feel a strong dislike for someone or something because you think they are
bad or worthless:
The two groups despise each other.
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20. into the bargain: in addition, moreover
A new Cloves, loving what I have despised, and suffering from calf-love into the bargain.
21. disperse: v. to scatter or move away over a large area, or to make something do this:
When the rain came down the crowds started to disperse.
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22. creep: v. crept, crept to move slowly, quietly and carefully, usually in order to
avoid being noticed:
She turned off the light and crept through the door.
23. inspire: v.
1). to make someone feel that they want to do something and can do it:
His confident leadership inspired his followers.
24. pantheism: n. belief in many or all gods, or the belief that God exists in and is the
same as all things, animals and people within the universe
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25. score off: score (points) off/over sb (ALSO score points)
to make clever remarks in order to make someone look foolish:
He's always trying to score points over people and it's really irritating
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26. voluptuous: adj.
1). describes a woman who has a soft, curved, sexually attractive body:
a voluptuous body/mouth/figure
27. pious: adj. strongly believing in religion, and living in a way which shows this
belief:
She is a pious follower of the faith, never missing her prayers.
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28. absolution: n. official forgiveness, especially in the Christian religion, for
something bad that someone has done or thought:
She was granted/given absolution.
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29. precipitous: adj. If a slope is precipitous, it is very steep:
a precipitous mountain path
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30. soar: v.
to rise very quickly to a high level:
All night long fireworks soared into the sky.
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31. ravish: verb
to force a woman to have sex against her wishes
32. austere: adj. without comfort; plain and without decoration; severe:
an austere childhood during the war
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33. nurture: v.
to take care of, feed and protect someone or something, especially young children or plants,
and help them to develop:
She wants to stay at home and nurture her children.
34. Drearee sorter cowst: Australian pronunciation for “Dreary sort of coast”
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35. intermittent: adj. not happening regularly or continuously; stopping and starting
repeatedly or with periods in between:
intermittent rain
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36. gleam: v.
to produce or reflect a small, bright light:
He polished the table until it gleamed.
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37. wreck: n. a vehicle or ship that has been destroyed or badly damaged:
Divers exploring the wreck managed to salvage some coins and jeweler.
38. impart: v.
1). to communicate information to someone:
to impart the bad news
I was rather quiet as I didn't feel I had much wisdom to impart on the subject.
39. latitude: longitude
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40. lore: n. traditional knowledge and stories about a subject:
According to local lore, the water has healing properties.
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41. lounge about/around (sth): to spend your time in a relaxed way, sitting or lying
somewhere and doing very little:
We spent our days lounging around the pool.
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42. serene: adj. peaceful and calm; troubled by nothing:
She has a lovely serene face.
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43: bear: = carry v. bore, borne: to carry and move something to a place:
At Christmas the family descend on the house bearing gifts.
44. wake: n. the waves that a moving ship or object leaves behind:
The wake spread out in a v-shape behind the ship.
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45. blemish: v. spoil
This latest revelation has seriously blemished (= spoilt) the governor's reputation.
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46. save: but or except for:
They found all the lost documents save one.
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47. quirk: n. an unusual part of someone's personality or habit, or something that is
strange and unexpected:
You have to get used to other people's quirks and foibles.
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48. divert: v.
1). to cause something or someone to change direction:
Traffic will be diverted through the side streets while the main road is resurfaced.
49. vengeance: n. the punishing of someone for harming you or your friends or family,
or the desire for such punishment to happen:
On the day after the terrorist attack, the overall mood in the town was one of
vengeance.
50. cove: n. a curved part of a coast which partly encloses an area of water; a small bay
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51. plait: v.(US USUALLY braid) to join three or more lengths of hair or string-like
material by putting them over each other in a special pattern:
She plaited the horse's tail.
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52. hump: n. a round raised part on a person's or animal's back:
Some types of camel have two humps and others have one.
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53. recede: v. to move further away into the distance, or to become less clear or
less bright:
As the boat picked up speed, the coastline receded into the distance until finally it
became invisible.
54. obscure: v. to prevent something from being seen or heard:
Two new skyscrapers had sprung up, obscuring the view from her window.
55. liable: adj. very likely to happen:
The areas of town near the river are liable to flooding (= are often flooded).
56. doom: n. death, destruction or any very bad situation that cannot be avoided:
A sense of doom hung over the entire country.
57. twilight: n. the period just before it becomes completely dark in the evening or
before it becomes completely bring in the morning:
I could make out a dark figure in the twilight.
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58. fallacy: n. an idea that a lot of people think is true but which is false:
It is a common fallacy that women are worse drivers than men.
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59. merge: v. to combine or join together, or to cause things to do this:
They decided to merge the two companies into one.
60. aquamarine: n. greenish blue
crème de menthe: a sweet mint-flavored alcoholic drink
jade: color of jade
emerald: a bright green color
vicious viridian: very intense bluish-green color
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61. opaque: adj. preventing light from traveling through, and therefore not transparent or
translucent:
opaque glass/tights
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62. indolence: n. laziness
After a sudden burst of activity, the team lapsed back into indolence.
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63. torrid: n. extremely hot:
the torrid heat of August
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64. snatch: v. to take hold of something suddenly and roughly:
He snatched the photos out of my hand before I had a chance to look at them.
65. bliss: n. perfect happiness:
Lying on a sunny beach is my idea of sheer bliss.
66. hiss: v. sound like the letter 's':
I heard a hiss and a pop as the cork came out of the bottle.
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67. exhilarated: adj. very excited and happy:
At the end of the race I was exhilarated.
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68. shed: v. shedding, shed, shed
(often used in newspapers) to get rid of something you do not need or want:
900 jobs will be shed over the next few months.
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VIII. Assignment
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1) Writes a short paragraph of description---a beautiful place that you have visited
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2) Words for dictation: flush, tropical, supple, clumsy, beguile, offensive,
opinionated, exclusion, latent, dismissive, spare, hydraulic, creed, distinguish,
scorn, adolescent, disperse, creep, mythological, inspire, frailty, score, purification,
voluptuousness, pious, solemnity, absolution, taffrail, ripple, satin, marble,
precipitous, arid, stern, stretch, sheer, bleach, barren, soar, altitude, unravished,
crag, austere, recesses, nurture, solitary, promontory, reef, latitude, lore, lounge,
serenity, scratchy, wake, unblemished, queer, domain, queer, skiff, vengeance,
hump, tender, opaque, torrid, exhilarated, shed