ACT I - Scene I — Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words from ACT I - Scene I

choler (noun)

Anger or irascibility; one of the four humors in medieval medicine believed to cause a hot temper.

colliers (noun)

Coal miners or coal dealers, considered a lowly occupation. Used here as part of a pun chain with "coals," "choler," and "collar."

bucklers (noun)

Small round shields held by a handle or worn on the forearm, used in close combat alongside swords.

partisans (noun)

Long-handled spears with broad blades, used as weapons by foot soldiers and citizens in civil disturbances.

mistempered (adjective)

Having a dual meaning: ill-tempered (angry) and badly tempered (forged for wrong purposes). The Prince uses it to describe weapons drawn in civil hatred.

pernicious (adjective)

Highly destructive or deadly; having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.

portentous (adjective)

Serving as a sign or warning of something momentous or calamitous; ominously significant.

abroach (adverb)

Set flowing or in action; to open up or start something, especially a conflict or quarrel.

importun'd (verb)

Urged or pressed persistently; made repeated, earnest requests of someone.

shrift (noun)

Confession to a priest, or the absolution received after confession. Here used figuratively to mean a truthful disclosure.

propagate (verb)

To spread, increase, or multiply. Romeo means that Benvolio's sympathy will cause Romeo's own grief to grow.

transgression (noun)

An act that violates a law, rule, or code of conduct; a sin or offense.

augmenting (verb)

Increasing or making greater in size, amount, or degree.

posterity (noun)

All future generations of people; one's descendants. Romeo laments that Rosaline's chastity denies her beauty to future generations.

forsworn (verb)

Renounced or sworn to give up; bound by oath to abstain from something.

gall (noun)

Bile; something bitter or unpleasant. Figuratively, it refers to bitterness or deep resentment.