Glossary of Terms
anodyne: a medicine that relieves pain
bauble: ornament
Byzantium: an ancient Greek city at the heart of the Byzantine Empire
catalpa: trees with clusters of white flowers
chryselephantine: statues with wooden bases and ivory and gold elements
clangour: noise
courtesans: ladies and gentlemen making up a royal court
crevice: crack
Ephesian: one who sleeps for centuries
exalt: to extol
ignominy: personal humiliation
incendiary: one who deliberately inflames violence
inclemency: storms
lad: boy
mackerel: a type of fish
Magnus Annus: Latin for "great year"
mahogany: a type of dark wood
mar: dirty, besmirch
modernism: a movement in 20th-century literature and arts which emphasized fragmentation, alienation, and recognition of art as art rather than reality
muscatel: a sweet wine
paltry: worthless
pastoral: idyllic, rustic
pate: top of the head (so "crack-pated" means mad)
pathos: the central element of tragedy
perturb: greatly disturb, distract
platonic: non-sexual, the idealized form of something
poignant: deeply emotional, touching
resinous: sticky
retinue: company of men, servants
reveries: dreams
Saturnian: happy, peaceful
sedentary: inactive
spinning-jenny: a multi-spool spinning wheel, crucial for mechanizing production of textiles
statuary: a collection of statues
stumpier: shorter (in stature)
swansong: a swan's last call before death, anything's last appearance
tempest: storm
toper: one who drinks alcoholic beverages
tumultuous: non-peaceful
tyrants: despots, those who rule by force
ClassicNote on Poems of W.B. Yeats: The Tower
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