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Act I, Scene 1
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Arcadia.
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A region of ancient Greece in the central Peloponnesus. Its inhabitants, somewhat isolated from the rest of the world, proverbially lived a simple, pastoral life. Any region offering rural simplicity and contentment. The term Arcadia is used to refer to an imaginary and paradisal place.
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Derbyshire (1).
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A county in central England; Matlock is the administrative center.
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English park (1).
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Examples of a form of English landscaping begun during the rise of romanticism in the late 18th century that imitated rather than disciplined nature. It celebrated the picturesque, wild nature, the past, and the exotic. Gardens like this are characterized by gently sloping hills, sweeping lawns, curving paths, and rivers and ponds with informally planted trees and shrubbery. Often these gardens included fake medieval ruins, Roman temples, and Chinese pavilions and bridges.
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primer (1).
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A book that covers the basic elements of a subject.
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quarto (1).
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The page size resulting from folding a whole sheet into four leaves or a book made up of pages of this size.
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theodolite (1).
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An optical instrument used to measure angles in surveying, meteorology, and navigation, it consists of a small telescope which rotates in horizontal and vertical planes.
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mutton (1).
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The meat from fully grown sheep
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haunch of venison (1).
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The leg and loin of a a deer used as food.
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grouse (1).
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Plump, chickenlike game birds with mottled brown or grayish plumage found in the Northern Hemisphere.
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caro, carnis (1).
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Latin for flesh or meat.
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QED (2).
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Abbreviation of Latin phrase Quod erat demonstrandum. Used to mean: of course; undeniably; without doubt; as demonstrated.
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Gallic Wars (2).
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The campaigns which Julius Caesar led in Gaul (mostly France) from 58-51 B.C. Caesar's commentaries on the wars were a common Latin textbook.
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"The Britons live on milk and meat" (2).
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("lacte et carne vivunt") from Caesar's commentaries on the Gallic Wars, De bello.
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Onan (2).
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The son of Judah in the Bible (Genesis 38:9). Onan is remembered for spilling his seed on the floor and is associated with masturbation and Coitus interruptus.
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Fermat (2).
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Pierre de Fermat, a French mathematician and magistrate who lived from 1601 to 1665. He was a founder of modern number and probability theories.
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Fermat's Last Theorem (2).
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This was a conjecture stating that the equation xn + yn = zn, where x, y, and z are nonzero integers, has no solutions for n when n is an integer greater than 2. In 1993 British mathematician Andrew Wiles described a proof of the conjecture.
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Eros (2).
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Latin, from the Greek word eros meaning sexual love. In psychiatry, it refers to the sexual drive. Eros was the son of Aphrodite and the Greek god of love.
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gazebo (2).
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A freestanding, roofed and open-sided garden structure providing a shady resting place.
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landskip gardener (2).
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Landscape gardener.
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groom (2).
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A man or boy employed to take care of horses.
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meat larder (3).
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A place, such as a pantry or cellar, where meat is stored.
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the picturesque (4).
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The late 18th century movement driving British landscape architecture. See English gardens.
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Newton, Sir Isaac (5).
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The English mathematician and scientist (1642-1727) who invented differential calculus. He also formulated the theories of universal gravitation, terrestrial mechanics, and color.
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Newtonian (5).
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Refers to Mechanics, the branch of physics concerned with the motion of objects and their response to forces. For normal phenomena Newton's laws of motion remain the cornerstone of mechanics. However, Newton's laws have been superseded by quantum mechanics and Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
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Etonian (5).
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A reference to England's Eton School, founded by Henry VI in 1440. Located southeast-central England on the Thames River opposite Windsor, it is the largest and most famous of England's public schools (in England, "public schools" are the equivalent of "private schools" here in the US.
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Newton's law of motion (5).
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Isaac Newton developed three laws of motion: (1) a body at rest tends to remain at rest, or a body in motion tends to remain in motion at a constant speed in a straight line, unless acted on by an outside force; (2) the acceleration of a mass by a force is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the mass; (3) for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
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lecher (6).
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An individual given to lewdness or excessive indulgence in sexual activity.
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satisfaction (6).
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Refers to either the fulfillment or gratification of desire or the opportunity to avenge a wrong through a duel.
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epitome (7).
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A representative example of a class or type of thing.
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rota (7).
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A roll call or a rotation of duties.
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Milton, John (7).
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(1608-1674) The English poet and scholar who is best known for the epic poem Paradise Lost , perhaps the greatest epic poem in English. It recounts Satan's rebellion against God and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
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Southey, Robert (7).
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British writer (1774-1843) known for his romantic poetry, criticism, and biographical works.
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coterie (7).
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A small, select group of people who associate with one another.
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Jeffrey, Francis or Lord Jeffrey (7).
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Scottish literary critic and jurist (1773-1850) who cofounded and edited the Edinburgh Review and was known as a harsh critic of romanticism.
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Lord Holland (8).
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Henry Richard Vassall Fox, 3d Baron (1773-1840) was a British statesman and writer. A liberal Whig supporter, he was lord privy seal from 1806-7 until the fall of the Whigs. He is best remembered for his writing and his wife's literary salon gatherings.
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Piccadilly Recreation (8).
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In Arcadia this is fictional publication reviewing and satirizing literature.
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canard (9).
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An unfounded or false, and often deliberately misleading story.
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Walter Scott, Sir (9).
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Scottish novelist and poet (1771-1832) who wrote romances of Scottish life. He is best remembered for Ivanhoe (1820), his first historical romance in prose.
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Humphry Repton's 'Red Books' (10).
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English landscape architect Humphry Repton (1752-1818) modified the picturesque landscape style by merging formal flower beds subtly with naturalistic backgrounds. He demonstrated his ideas through the use of books of watercolors designed to show both the "before and after" views of his landscape treatments.
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Corsican brigands (10).
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Corsica is a Mediterranean island SE of France. Corsica is known even today as a site of blood feuds and banditry. A brigand is a robber or bandit.
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hyperbolize (10).
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To use hyperbole, a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect.
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Salvator Rosa (11).
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Italian Baroque painter and poet (1615-1673) known for his romantic depictions of wild landscapes, and his tempestuous marine and battle scenes..
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elucidate (11).
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To clarify by explanation.
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fortuitous (11).
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Happening by chance or a fortunate accident.
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crag (12).
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A steeply projecting mass of rock which forms part of a rugged cliff.
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cricket pitch (12).
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The rectangular area between the wickets in cricket, an outdoor game played in Britain with bats and a ball by two teams of 11 players each. The rectangular area between the wickets in cricket, 22 yards by 10 feet. The wickets consists of two sets of three stumps, topped by bails, that form the target of the bowler and is defended by the batsman.
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hyacinth dell (12).
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Hyacinths are fragrant bulbous plants with long, sword-shaped leaves. The color of the flowers range from white through yellow, red, blue, and purple. A dell is a small, secluded, wooded valley.
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Kew (12).
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A district of western Greater London on the River Thames where the famed Royal Botanic Gardens were established in 1759. The gardens contain thousands of plant species and includes museums, laboratories and hothouses.
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obelisk (12).
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A tall, four-sided stone shaft, usually tapered and monolithic, that terminates in a point. The ancient Egyptians dedicated them to the sun god and placed them in pairs before temple portals. Hieroglyphs commonly ran down each of their sides. Many obelisks were taken from Egypt.
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rill (12). |
A small brook or rivulet.
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Et in Arcadia ego (12).
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(Latin) not "Here am I in Arcadia, " but "Even in Arcadia, there am I" (the "I" refers to death). This is a quote found on a tomb painted by Guercino in 1623. There is also a famous painting by Nicholas Poussin called "Shepherds in Arcadia" showing a group standing around a shepherd's tomb on which the words appear.
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Radcliffe, Ann Ward (13).
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(1764-1823) A British writer of Gothic novels
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| Horace Walpole (13). |
The 4th earl of Orford, 1717-97, English. He is noted for his Gothic romance, The Castle of Oranto (1765). Strawberry Hill, Walpole's Gothicized cottage, is credited with starting the Gothic/picturesque craze in English landscape design.
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partridge, snipe, woodcock, teal (13).
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A variety of plump-bodied Old World game birds. The partridge is related
to the pheasant and grouse; the snipe and
woodcock are shorebirds; and the teal is a duck. |
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hermit (13).
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A person who has withdrawn from society and lives a solitary existence, often in a retreat called a hermitage.
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Baptist in the wilderness (14).
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Refers to John the Baptist (8 or 4 BC to about ad 27 AD) the cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. He was a Nazarite and prepared for his mission by years of self-discipline in the desert.
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