Useful Definitions

Question 1

Prelapsarian

Answer 1

Characteristic of the time before the Fall of Man; innocent and unspoilt

Question 2

Epithet

Answer 2

An adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as characteristic of the person or thing mentioned
old men are often unfairly awarded the epithet ‘dirty’

Question 3

Uxorious

Answer 3

Having or showing a great or excessive fondness for one’s wife

Question 4

Salvation

Answer 4

Preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss

Question 5

Redemption

Answer 5

The action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil

Question 6

Piety

Answer 6

The quality of being religious or reverent

Question 7

Prohibition

Answer 7

The action of forbidding something, especially by law

Question 8

Idolatrous

Answer 8

Relating to or practising idolatry

Question 9

Sophistry

Answer 9

The use of clever but false arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving

Question 10

Vacuous

Answer 10

Having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless

Question 11

Omniscient

Answer 11

All knowing

Question 12

Omnipotent

Answer 12

Having unlimited power

Question 13

Postlapsarian

Answer 13

After the Fall

Question 14

Protagonist

Answer 14

Leading character

Question 15

Primogeniture

Answer 15

First born male to inherit family estate

Question 16

Aristocracy

Answer 16

Hereditary power and position

Question 17

Meritocracy

Answer 17

Power and position achieved through talent rather than birth

Question 18

Filial

Answer 18

Relating to or due from a son or daughter

Question 19

Unscrupulous

Answer 19

Having or showing no moral principles; not honest or fair

Question 20

Subordinate

Answer 20

Lower in rank or position

Question 21

Superlative

Answer 21

Expressing the highest degree of a quality (e.g. bravest, most fiercely). An exaggerated or hyperbolical expression of praise.

Question 22

Adjective

Answer 22

Describing word

Question 23

Pernicious

Answer 23

Having a harmful effect in a gradual way

Question 24

Antithetical syntax

Answer 24

Language directly opposed or contrasted

‘The more I see / Pleasures about me, so much more I feel torment within me

Question 25

Platonic love

Answer 25

Love that is chaste and non-sexual. The term is named after Plato, who philosophized about the nature of love.

Question 26

Catharsis

Answer 26

The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

Question 27

Machiavellianism

Answer 27

Any means (however unscrupulous) can be used by a ruler in order to create and maintain his autocratic government
(The Cardinal in 'Tis Pity')

Question 28

Pathos

Answer 28

A quality that evokes pity or sadness.

“the actor injects his customary humour and pathos into the role”

Question 29

Caesura

Answer 29

A pause near the middle of a line

Question 30

Venial sin

Answer 30

“forgivable” sin

Question 31

Mortal sin

Answer 31

Wrongful acts that condemn a person to Hell after death if unforgiven

Question 32

Concupiscence

Answer 32

Strong sexual desire; lust

Question 33

Stichomythia

Answer 33

Dialogue in which two characters speak alternate lines of verse, used as a stylistic device in ancient Greek drama.
(Shows sexual tension between Annabella and Soranzo, also shows Annabella and Giovanni belong together)

Question 34

Preordain

Answer 34

Decided/ determined beforehand