ACT V - Scene II — Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words from ACT V - Scene II

pestilence (noun)

A fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague; here, the outbreak that causes health officials to quarantine Friar John.

associate (verb)

To accompany or join as a companion on a journey; Friar John sought a fellow friar to travel with him to Mantua.

searchers (noun)

Officials appointed to inspect houses and bodies for signs of plague during epidemics in Elizabethan England.

nice (adjective)

In Elizabethan usage: trivial, unimportant, or petty—the opposite of its modern positive meaning.

charge (noun)

Weighty importance or serious responsibility; used here to stress the urgency of the letter's contents.

import (noun)

Significance, meaning, or consequence; Friar Laurence emphasizes the letter carried life-or-death information.

crow (noun)

Short for crowbar—an iron lever used to pry open doors or lids; Friar Laurence needs one to open the Capulet tomb.

beshrew (verb)

To curse mildly or blame; Friar Laurence fears Juliet will reproach him when she awakens to find Romeo absent.

accidents (noun)

Unexpected events or occurrences; in Elizabethan English, it carries less sense of mishap and more of unplanned happenings.

corse (noun)

An archaic or poetic word for corpse—a dead body. Friar Laurence calls Juliet a "living corse," a striking oxymoron.