| Ba'al | name of the Canaanite god of Lot's time. | The priestess sacrificed a lamb to Ba'al. |
| Adonai | one of the names of the Hebrew God. | Adonai was used as a name for God when they could not use God's name directly. |
| City of Sin | the wicked city of Sodom. | Lot was ordered by God to leave the city of sin immediately. |
| communes | in this poem a verb meaning communicates. | I prefer to be in the forest communing with nature. |
| at childbed | giving birth to a baby. | She became sick while at childbed. |
| banquette | an upholstered bench along a wall. | They sat on the banquette in the narrow restaurant. |
| indignant | angry. | She grew indignant when it was obvious that she wasn't going to get what she wanted. |
| Occasion (with the capital "O") | a special event. | It became obvious that this was an Occasion. |
| curt | rude in a brief, quick way. | She was indignant because of his nasty, curt reply. |
| conspicuous | obvious. | She wore a conspicuous red hat. |
| imperially | royally, like an emperor. | The actress walked imperially to the table in the restaurant. |
| arrayed | finely dressed. | The priest was arrayed in a golden chasuble. |
| "in fine" | in summary. | In fine, we thought that he was perfect. |
| "schooled in every grace" | well educated in knowledge and etiquette | The congressman's son was schooled in every grace to prepare him for a life of politics. |
| "fluttered pulses" | made people's hearts race to see him. | Just by walking on stage, the woman caused a thousand men's pulses to flutter. |