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
