Summary, Analysis, and Original Text by Scene

Act V: Scene 1

brow of Egypt (11) face of a gypsy.

abridgement (39) pastime.

Bacchanals (48) worshippers of Bacchus, the god of wine and revelry.

Thracian (49) belonging to an ancient region in the E Balkan Peninsula.

conn'd (80) to peruse carefully; to study; fix in the memory.

stand upon points (118) pay attention to details.

hight (138) named; called.

Limander, Helen (190, 191) blunders for the lovers Hero and Leander; Leander swims the Hellespont from Abydos every night to be with her; when he drowns in a storm, Hero throws herself into the sea.

Shafalus and Procrus (192) blunders for "Cephalus" and "Procris," famous lovers.

'tide (197) betide; happen.

Furies (266) the three terrible female spirits with snaky hair (Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera) who punish the doers of unavenged crimes.

thread and thrum (268) everything, both good and bad.

mote (299) a speck of dust or other tiny particle.

videlicet (303) that is, namely.

Sisters Three (316) the Fates, the three goddesses who control human destiny and life.

imbrue (324) stain.

Bergomask dance (332) a rustic dance, named for Bergamo (a province ridiculed for its rusticity).

wasted brands (351) burned-out logs.

triple Hecate's team (360) Hecate, a goddess of the moon (Luna), earth (Diana), and underground realm of the dead (Hecate), later regarded as the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft.


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