english3

afoot

developing or in the process of happening

assail

violently assault

auspicious

favorable

avouch

affirmation

baseness

the quality of lacking higher values

beshrew

curse

besmirch

soil; tarnish

bestial

brutal without reason; having the attributes of a savage

blastments

injury by a destructive cause

brazen

shameless; insolent; disrespectful

cautel

deceit; falseness

calumnious

slanderous; defamatory

clemency

leniency

consonancy

agreement or harmony

cote

surpass

dexterity

skillful and active

discord

a lack of agreement; strife; tension

dole

sorrow

enmity

a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will

entreaty

a plea; an earnest request

equivocation

ambiguousness; deliberate evasiveness in wording

fardels

burdens

felicity

happiness or delight

fie

an interjection used to express disgust or disapproval

forbear

refrain

galled

annoyed; irritated

gratis

free

harbinger

foreshadows a future event; an omen

hies

goes quickly; hastens

homage

a reverential regard; respect shown by external action

importing

indicating or signifying

incorporeal

having no material or tangible form

ingenious

cleverness; inventiveness; resourcefulness

interred

deposited a dead body into a grave

jocund

cheerful; merry; blithe

martial

of, related to, or suggesting of war

mote

speck

mutine

rebel (like mutiny)

obstinate

unyielding regardless of reason or logic

ostentation

excessive display

palpable

tangible; perceptible; easily noticeable

parch

to become dry from heat; to shrivel from heat

parle

talk

partisan

a sword

peruse

to read or examine

plausive

manifesting praise or approval

ponderous

very heavy; unwieldy from weight

portentous

ominously significant

prate

to talk idly and foolishly at a great length

precepts

directives; rules

prodigal

giving or yielding profusely

quaintly

in an unusual or old-fashioned manner

quicksilver

the liquid metal mercury

ratify

to give formal approval

relish

to take great pleasure and delight in

requite

to make repayment or to return

retrograde

reverting to an earlier or inferior condition

rouse

to awaken; to become active

sanctify

to set apart for sacred use; to make holy; to purify

scant

barely sufficient

scruple

feeling of doubt regarding morality

sepulcher

tomb cut into rock

sovereign

possessed of controlling power

spurn

to reject or to refuse with hostility

tenable

capable of being maintained in argument; rationally defensible

thews

muscles

usurp

seize by force

allegory

a story with a moral or political meaning; achieved through symbols or extended metaphor

aside

In a play, a character's comment that is directed to the audience or another character, but is not heard by any other characters on the stage.

ballad

a simple narrative poem of folk origin, composed in short stanzas and adapted for singing

couplet

a two-line stanza, or the same rhyme pattern in two conjoined lines

dramatic monologue

a poem that dramatizes someone's thoughts and actions; the persona talks directly to the reader

dramatic irony

when the audience or reader knows something that the characters do not know.

foil

a minor character whose attitude, beliefs, and behavior differ significantly from those of a main character

in media res

beginning in the middle of things

lyric poetry

having the form and musical quality of a song; a songlike outpouring of the poet's thoughts and feelings

octave (or octet)

a stanza of eight lines

ode

a poem that commemorates or celebrates; written for an occasion; classic Odes have three parts

paradox

seemingly contradictory statement that, upon reflection, reveals a truth

quatrain

a stanza of four lines, usually with alternate rhymes

refrain

a repeating line/verse in a song or a poem

sestet

a six-line stanza

situational irony

when the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what was expected

soliloquy

a dramatic device in which a character, alone on a stage (or under the impression of being alone),reveals his or her private thoughts and feelings as if thinking aloud

sonnet

any 14 line poem, may be Shakespearean, Italian or Spenserian based on rhyme scheme

syllogism

form of deductive reasoning in which related and dependent premises lead to a conclusion (e.g., coyness is fine if we have time; we have no time; therefore, let's do this thing)

tercet

a group of three lines rhyming together or connected by rhyme with the adjacent group or groups of three lines

verbal irony

when a person says one thing while meaning another

villanelle

a 19 line form using only two rhymes and repeating two of the lines according to a set pattern

volta

the turn (shift) of thought or argument

apathetic

showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern

brash

self-assertive in a rude, noisy, or overbearing way

droll

curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement

earnest

resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction

grave

giving cause for alarm; serious

jovial

cheerful and friendly

melancholy

a feeling of pensive sadness

ribald

referring to sexual matters in an amusingly coarse or irreverent way

surly

menacing or threatening in appearance

whimsical

playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way