Acrid: sharp

Boorish: ill-mannered

cynical: belief in selfishness

epistle: a letter

heresy: against orthodox opinion

lance: spear/spike

obscure: difficult to understand

poignant: deeply moving

respite: a break

terse: concise

acrophobia: fear of heights

bourgeois: middle class

debility: weakness

epistolary: related to letters

hiatus: interruption

languid: tired

obscured: hidden

poised: calm

resplendent: shining

therapeutic: medicinal