by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens's timeless morality tale follows the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge through ghostly visions of past, present, and future that transform his cold heart, rich in Victorian imagery.
adv. having or showing great warmth or deep feeling; intensely eager; ardent in feeling
He prayed fervently that the shadows of what might be were not fixed, but still open to change.
adj. relating to or resembling a ghost or apparition
The apparitional figure drifted through the locked door, its ghostly chains dragging across the cold stone floor.
adj. greedy for riches
Marley warned that his avaricious life had forged every link of the chain he was condemned to carry.
adj. noisy energetic and cheerful.
The boisterous laughter of Scrooge's nephew filled the parlour, warming every guest who had doubted the invitation.
adj. showing sympathy and concern for others.
The transformed Scrooge became so compassionate that he raised Bob's salary before the man had removed his hat.
adj. lacking basic necessities like food and shelter.
The spirit showed Scrooge families left destitute by cold and hunger while he counted coins by candlelight.
adv. free in giving or sharing; noble; abundant
On Christmas morning Scrooge gave so generously that the prize turkey barely fit through the Cratchit's narrow door.
adj. very upsetting or distressing to experience.
The harrowing vision of Tiny Tim's empty chair struck Scrooge more deeply than any ghost's cold warning.
v. to light up or make clear.
The Ghost of Christmas Present seemed to illuminate every wretched alley with the warmth of his glowing torch.
n. a deep feeling of sadness or sorrow.
The spirit revealed a melancholy boy left alone at school while other children rushed home for the holidays.
adv. a greedy stingy person who lives in a poor way in order to save money.
Scrooge was so miserly that he kept his office fire reduced to a single smouldering coal all winter.
adv. being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
The chains rattled ominously in the hallway long before Marley's translucent form passed through the bolted door.
adj. sorry for having done wrong
He fell to his knees, wholly penitent, and promised the phantom he would honour Christmas all the year.
v. to change the form or look or shape of; to change the nature or character or use or condition of
By dawn Scrooge was utterly transformed, laughing at the frost on his window as though greeting an old friend.
v. to shake or tremble with cold or fear or excitement
Scrooge lay trembling beneath his bedclothes, dreading the arrival of the second spirit as the bell struck one.
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