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Vocab TPODG
Vocabulary on the Picture of Dorian Gray
Question | Answer |
---|---|
a figure from Greek mythology, a mortal said to represent the pinnacle of physical beauty and athletic perfection | Adonis |
coldness, or shivering | Ague |
heretical Christian belief holding that predestination frees people from morality | Antinomianism |
a white flower that symbolizes death, as ancient mythology holds that it covers the Elysian fields | Asphodel |
a priestess of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine ("Dionysus" in Greek), whose worship may take the form of drunken revelry or murderous blood lust | Bacchante |
a man responsible for driving game into a hunter's line of sight by beating plants and bushes with a stick | Beater |
a metal-based whitening powder used primarily as theatrical make-up | Bismuth |
a book listing the names and addresses of important people, such as government officials; like a selective telephone directory | Blue-book (or "English Blue-book") |
covered carriages used as cabs for the wealthy in Victorian London | Broughams |
the uneducated, brutish savage enslaved by Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest | Caliban |
a small chest, or strongbox | Cassone |
meat or fish served in gelatin; a French delicacy | Chaudfroid |
a broad, rounded cloak worn by priests and other members of the clergy during church processions | Cope |
a word used amongst members of British high society in Wilde's day to describe a fashionable young man with effeminate affectations | Dandy |
a figure from Greek mythology, a mortal said to represent the pinnacle of physical beauty and athletic perfection | Adonis |
coldness, or shivering | Ague |
heretical Christian belief holding that predestination frees people from morality | Antinomianism |
a white flower that symbolizes death, as ancient mythology holds that it covers the Elysian fields | Asphodel |
a priestess of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine ("Dionysus" in Greek), whose worship may take the form of drunken revelry or murderous blood lust | Bacchante |
a man responsible for driving game into a hunter's line of sight by beating plants and bushes with a stick | Beater |
a metal-based whitening powder used primarily as theatrical make-up | Bismuth |
a book listing the names and addresses of important people, such as government officials; like a selective telephone directory | Blue-book (or "English Blue-book") |
covered carriages used as cabs for the wealthy in Victorian London | Broughams |
a derogatory term for an intellectual who is doggedly devoted to the theories and ideas of others | Doctrinaire |
a rich widow | Dowager |
the French word for boredom | Ennui |
settled securely; surrounded by | Ensconced |
the French word for liveliness, spiritedness, or sprightliness | Esprit |
see "dandy" | Fop |
a strong, exotic perfume | Frangipanni |
a man employed by an estate to care for the birds and other animals that are kept for hunting purposes | Gamekeeper |
a figure from Greek mythology; a beautiful young boy chosen by Zeus to be the cup-bearer of the gods | Ganymede |
mentioned by Lord Henry in conversation with Basil, it refers to The Grosvenor Gallery, which in Wilde's day was a newer, more progressive venue for art than The Royal Academy | Grosvenor |
oboe | Hautboy |
a doctrine from ancient Greece stating that the pursuit of pleasure is life's greatest aim; Lord Henry's form of "new hedonism," a popular term during Wilde's life, was a variation on this idea, holding that the pursuit of new sensations through art takes | Hedonism |
high, stiff collars worn by fashionable men | High Stocks |
adoring something excessively, bordering on or exceeding worship | Idolatrous |
transgressions or sins | Iniquities |
nineteenth century slang for coach drivers | Jarvies |
nonchalant, apathetic, and lacking energy; Wilde often uses this word to describe the mannerisms of his characters, especially Lord Henry | Languid |
flexible; supple | Lithe |
an ornate style of fashion and furniture named after Louis XV of France | Louis-Quinze |
a pout or frown | Moue |
pearl, or mother-of-pearl | Nacre |
the love of one's own appearance; named for Narcissus, a figure from Greek mythology who fell in love with his reflection in a pond, was drowned when he tried to embrace it, and was transformed into a narcissus flower. | Narcissism |
a musical composition with a dark, reflective, dreamy atmosphere | Nocturne |
a tall, rectangular object that tapers to a point at the top | Obelisk |
a place, generally located in a slum, where opium is bought and smoked, usually along with other illicit activities, such as prostitution and gambling. Opium use was common among artists of the romantic period, and retained its popularity well into Wilde' | Opium Den |
a true statement that seems to contradict itself | Paradox |
a French word meaning strewn or speckled | Parseme |
a French word indicating a synopsis of important facts | Precis |
a French word referring to a person under the tutelage of a master or mentor; an apprentice | Protege |
a French word for "living room" that is used to denote a regular social gathering of artists and intellectuals | Salon |
a highly decorative, fringed ceremonial handkerchief | Sudaria |
mentioned by Lord Henry in the first chapter, The Academy refers to The Royal Academy of Arts, one of Britain's oldest societies of fine art. The Academy was known for its support of conservative taste at the time of the novel's publication | The Academy |
a fancy, expensive London hotel | The Bristol |
a small, covered carriage | Victoria |